In an interview for a veterinary position, an interviewer typically asks you several questions to determine if you’re prepared to succeed in the role. Knowing how to respond to common questions like “why do you want to be a vet” can help you leave a positive first impression, which may encourage the interviewer to select you for the position. It can also assist help you show an interviewer your qualifications and dedication to the career. In this article, we discuss why interviewers ask about your desire to be a vet, explain how to answer and provide three example responses.
Why I Wanted To Become A Veterinarian
Professional Community
Veterinarians have the opportunity to lead a team of animal lovers including veterinary technicians, kennel attendants, and office staff. It makes a difference when all the employees at an office enjoy what they do for a living, and, in this line of work, people tend to be truly committed to helping animals.
Community Interaction
Vets get to meet many members of the community by virtue of seeing their animals for appointments and emergencies. They also have opportunities to educate and advise owners about a variety of important health issues, such as spay/neuter programs and proper nutrition for their animals.
Lifetime Learning
Veterinarians never stop learning new things. Continuing education hours are required to renew your license to practice medicine, and most vets want to learn new techniques and innovations even when there is no official requirement.
The industry constantly evolves, and it is important to keep up with the latest developments so you can provide the best possible care to your clients. Vets can pursue board certification in a host of specialty areas that require a great deal of additional training and hands-on experience.
Example 3
In your answer, you can also discuss why you want to be a vet at a particular clinic, animal hospital or other health care facility and how you might apply your skills there:
“Im interested in becoming a vet with this organization because it provides important emergency care for animals, which is my specialty. In any emergency, veterinarians maintain a calm attitude, and I believe that my problem-solving skills would allow me to do this effectively. In my previous position at an emergency veterinary clinic, I assisted veterinarians during emergency situations. Now Id like to use the skills I gained there to help animals in need of care at this organization.”
Example answers for “Why do you want to be a vet?”
Here are some ways you could answer a question about why you want to be a vet:
Example 2
Consider discussing your background and explaining why it would make you a good fit for the position:
“I want to be a vet because I value the contributions vets make to the scientific community, and Id like to contribute to making the world a safer place for humans and animals. As a medical professional with a background in research, Im interested in providing the scientific community with valuable insights into veterinary medicine.
I also want to continue growing my skills and learning as much about the field as possible. Im excited about the opportunity to use my scientific knowledge, attention to detail and ability to learn quickly to perform the responsibilities Id have in a veterinary clinic. Im also looking forward to receiving training on new technology and continuing my professional education in specialties such as veterinary surgery.”
Example 1
You can answer this question by describing your passion for specific aspects of the position:
“Ive always been passionate about working with animals, but what drew me to this field is the ability to also help people. As an animal lover, I know it can be challenging to take a pet in for veterinary care, so Im dedicated to communicating effectively to make all visitors feel as comfortable as possible. I enjoy helping anyone who walks into the clinic, regardless of species. This means I consistently try to improve my bedside manner for both people and different types of animals.”
Notice that we say “interest in animals” instead of “love for”. Our previous article, entitled “Is the veterinary profession for you?”, explains that the veterinary industry is often very difficult for those who only find justification for their career choice in their love of animals.
This post may seem a little off-topic for those of you who are changing jobs mid-career, having previously been a veterinary surgeon. However, the tips and advice above are still relevant, as you’ll likely find the question: “Why do you want to be a veterinary surgeon?” crop up in a different guise.
Instead you need to focus your answer on the role the interviewer is recruiting for – along with some of the core skills that every veterinary surgeon requires to succeed.
If you’re applying for a veterinary surgeon job then it’s clear that you’ve made a conscious decision to not go into a commercial or research role. However, the interviewer will still want to know why you made that choice. Use the ten points in this article to support your answer – and use your experience to your advantage too.
To help you communicate why you are perfect for the role, and why you really do want to be a veterinary surgeon, we’ve put together ten ways you could answer this notoriously tricky interview question:
I am the person that looks for any excuse to attend an equestrian event. I have more than once spent a lecture with a showjumping or eventing live stream on another tab while I’m taking notes. I still crane my neck to look at horses while I’m in the car. I am as infatuated with my own mare as the first day I saw her. Horses have given my life so much meaning, have taught me so much, have brought amazing people into my life, and continue to do so. And my own mare has saved me time and time again from literally any stress that you can imagine.
It’s a question that has universally and repeatedly popped up since deciding upon my career path. And it’s totally valid; what with the extended, insanely expensive education, the difficulty of said education, student debt, long hours and a massive imbalance of income, emergencies, euthanasia…it’s not surprising that this question is an inevitable hurdle whenever the topic of what I’m doing with my life comes up in conversation. From friends and family to professors, acquaintances, bosses, peers, perfect strangers who notice a veterinary logo on a polo, I’ve had to learn to answer this question. When this question comes from a veterinarian, however, it always gives me pause. The cookie-cutter, ‘because I love animals’ works for the cashier who reads my AAEP polo at the supermarket. But, obviously, the vet who asks that question *knows* that I love animals. Of course, I love animals. Lots of people love animals – not all of them become vets. Through all my externships, just about every vet has asked me why I am becoming an equine vet. And I’ve stumbled over the question quite a bit trying to rattle around an idea that didn’t sound so simple or overly cliche leaving my mouth.
While my mom and grandma had jobs in the equine industry at a large Arabian breeding farm, I wouldn’t necessarily call anyone in my family particularly ‘horsey’, but I was drawn to them at a pretty young age, having been bitten by the horse bug. I begged for lessons and spent a good bit of my childhood and teen years working any job I could to pay for lessons and shows. The barn became my refuge, the horses swept away my problems time and time again, and the people at the barn became a second family.
I want to be a vet because I am passionate about horses; I want to be the person who can help them when they need it and I want to be the person who can help that horse’s person. I want to be the person who is able to make the difference for that horse. I want to be the person who is able to provide the gift of euthanasia to a horse that is in unrelenting pain or suffering, who can give a soft end to a golden oldie and comfort their owner through their decision. Horses have given me so much that I cannot even articulate what I have gained from being with them; I think it is only fitting that I join a profession that I can spend the rest of my life giving back to them.
I think about the vets that influenced me, that got me interested in the field. The veterinarian my mom worked for who was also the vet for our zoo and shared stories of caring for big cat litters in the barn on his property to elephant necropsies to turning his own land into a bird sanctuary. My vet growing up who helped my family take on behavioral and urinary tract problems in my childhood cat; the vet who diagnosed our young Australian Shepherd with lymphoma after I found a mass on her abdomen and handled her palliative care and eventual euthanasia with such grace and compassion. The vet we started using after I shadowed at her clinic who I watched balance her job and family life with skill and took on her appointments each day with both a sense of humor and dedication. My veterinary professors in undergrad who made learning about veterinary medicine so enthralling that it barely felt like learning at times.
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I have always loved animals. My desire to help them has led to a possible career path: becoming a veterinarian. Veterinarians all have one thing in common, they like animals. When I was little, I just loved to go inside a pet store and look at all the amazing animals. The one animal I wanted to look at the most was the dogs. Even today, I have stuffed animal dogs, dog t-shirts, and pretty much anything that has a dog on it. I enjoy reading dog books at my local library. I learn about their anatomy, how to care and train them, and the different breeds. My other favorite animals are horses, cats, rabbits, and frogs. I have begun taking horseback riding lessons to learn more about horses and how to care for them. I know that to become a vet, I will need to study hard and go to a university such as Texas A&M to earn my Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. I will then need to pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam in order to practice as a Veterinarian. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that this job has fast job growth by 2020. I was excited to learn that there should be many opportunities for me with this career path. Ive learned about this career through the books that I have read and by searching the internet. I know that I should become a veterinarian when I grow up because its the perfect job for me.
Samanthas essay appears here as written, to preserve the young author’s unique voice and individual writing style. However, we have deleted personally identifiable information to protect the student’s privacy.
FAQ
What drives you to be a veterinarian?
Why do you want to work with animals?
When I grow up I want to be a veterinarian?
