Testimonials and Case Studies
Case Study – Anna was in a rush – the clock was ticking
What Anna* Wanted
To protect this vet’s privacy, we’re calling her Anna.
Anna was a recent graduate from Massey looking for her next move, six months after she started at her first permanent and full time job.
Anna accepted the first position offered to her straight out of Massey. It was a clinic where she’d done a couple of placements while studying and enjoyed working in the small, provincial clinic alongside the veterinarian owner.
However, her experience whilst on placement was completely opposite to how things turned out to be once she was on the full time and permanent staff. From day one, everything turned miserable for Anna.
Anna wanted to move on and move on fast!
She gave Julie one week to line up a job interview, otherwise she was going to start knocking on doors and applying for jobs herself. She was feeling desperate and miserable.
Anna was looking for a clinic that “had its act together”. One that had great employee relationships and where she could be mentored.
The challenge for Julie (apart from the ticking clock) was that Anna wasn’t able to provide any references. Her Massey placements were with the clinic which she wanted to leave. Neither did she want her current boss knowing she was looking to move on.
Anna was willing to relocate to find the dream job, but not too far. She wanted a mixed animal clinic within a small geographic location.
Within 24 hours Julie had lined up three job interviews for Anna.
Within five days Anna was presented with a job offer and an Individual Employment Agreement.
The remuneration package Julie negotiated for Anna included a $21,000 increase on what she was currently earning as well as other ‘perks’.
Anna was thrilled to pieces.
What Anna Said
“I really didn’t think Julie would be able to arrange an interview in the time I gave her, let alone get me a job offer…
“I was relieved to know I didn’t have to negotiate the finer points of the contract – Julie took care of all of that for me.
“I would recommend Julie and VetStaff – if you let her get on with her job she’ll come through for you.
“I look forward to Mondays again – they were a dread for a while, but not any more thanks to Julie!”
What the Clinic Wanted
The client had stopped advertising because they weren’t getting any responses from their advertisements. However, we (VetStaff) had already undertaken an extensive “clinic interview” and knew the type of person they were looking for on their team.
The clinic wanted to expand its new grad team as internal progression was important to them.
This clinic believed in promoting from within and had an active succession plan in place.
In Anna’s case, the principal knew that time was strictly of the essence and helped keep the programme moving by returning calls and emails fast.
This was a team effort: Julie knew the clinic well, the principal at the clinic responded to Julie in a timely way and Anna trusted everyone to do their job behind the scenes for her.
What Simon Wanted
Simon wanted to work in a clinic where T.E.A.M. (Together, Everyone Achieves More) was one of their core values.
As a gifted surgeon (with a great sense of humour) it was important for Julie to find Simon a clinic where his skills & expertise would be recognised (not only financially) by his peers who were all about ensuring the absolute best outcome for their patients.
By the time Julie started working with Simon, he had multiple job offers on the table all at the same time. Only one of those was Julie’s client.
Julie helped him work through which was the best clinic for him (not her).
After each interview she suggested he write up a list of pros/cons of the job. He had so many interviews in such a short space of time it would’ve been very easy for all the jobs to merge into one and all look the same. Or to confuse which interviewer promised which deal.
She then suggested he make a list and weight what was important to him in his ideal job, and then match those weightings against each job offer.
Simon “tested” out Julie’s client: a two days informal, no obligation, relaxed trial was arranged. This enabled Simon to see whether Julie’s client was for him or not (and vice versa).
He said he knew early on the first day this was where he wanted to work.
It’s having happy endings like this that light Julie up and get her out of bed every morning!
What Simon Said
“Julie was so helpful every step of the way….
“From tips on interview technique, to ironing out contract details, she had all bases covered.
“Julie took the time to get to know me, ensuring that she could find me the perfect job.
“I am forever grateful!”
What the Clinic Wanted
The client had been advertising extensively in its own right for a Companion Animal Veterinarian for one of its three clinics.
Apart from the obvious technical skills – surgical & consults – they were looking for someone who would fit right in from the get-go.
Yes – they wanted someone who’d laugh along with the jokes – but more so, someone who actually understood the jokes.
Their are many different nationalities working inside the clinic and it was critical the new team member fitted in as if they’d always been on the team.
Fortunately, Simon was the very first Companion Animal veterinarian Julie presented to the clinic and it was the perfect match.
Offering Simon the opportunity to test them all out by working for a couple of days with them enabled everyone to see whether the relationship was going to work. And it did!
As one of the directors said after the first day: “we just knew Simon was the team member we’d been waiting for! He’s perfect! – thank you!”
“We engaged VetStaff to assist with the development and appointment of a new position within our business. VetStaff listened and understood what particular skills, and more importantly, the attributes, that were required of the person specification to fill the position description.
“With veterinary industry experience within VetStaff, it meant we could quickly communicate and understand what it was we were wanting … combined with wider industry experience outside the veterinary profession it also meant we were not following industry dogma.“
“We engaged Vetstaff to full a permanent position within our team.
“Previously I have spent hours on this task but have come to a simple conclusion: “Why spend time on tasks that you can pay somebody to do better and more efficiently?”
“The recruitment consultant spent time getting to know our team and matched a candidate perfectly. During the process she was in contact with updates and progress, her manner was always professional, courteous and friendly. Not only did I love the fact that she got to know us, it was great that we could choose the level the employment went to i.e.: from finding employees to contract, you get to choose when to stop. I’ll be using Vetstaff again for sure.”
I would like to thank you for all your help and advice over the past few months. I will definitely be recommending you if any friends are thinking of heading to New Zealand.
Hi Julie – I’d just like to say that communication with you has been fabulous and very easy.
I’m pretty busy and being able to text or email without judgement or negative outcomes from that has made things very easy for me.
The first placement I had was at a very lovely, easy going clinic and they were all very welcoming.
Your help with how to send invoices/ time sheets etc was all very straight forward. – my placement went without a hitch 🙂
I’d definitely recommend VetStaff!