Caring for the basic needs of animals from food, comfort, safety, and health is not easy. One has to hold a high degree of patience, stamina, strength, and sound mental condition to look after animals. Taking up this profession also needs knowledge of behavioral changes in animals. While on-the-job training, a certification, or a diploma can prepare you to take up the responsibilities entailed in the job, one inherent quality that you must have compassion towards animals. If the very sight of animal suffering makes your restless, or you feel a strong desire to do something for it, you are perfect for the job. In case you cannot stand the stink of animal waste or hate the sight of it, please stay away from this profession.
An animal caretaker can work at a veterinary clinic, pet shop, zoo, circus, stable, kennel, and laboratory. Daily responsibilities at all these settings will be the following:
Education required for animal caretaker
Usually, no formal education is necessary for animal caretaker jobs. You can take up this profession with a high school diploma. But some jobs like of a zoo-keeper and animal care specialist require associates or a bachelor's degree.
Working conditions
The job is physically demanding and mentally challenging. It also requires you to work on a rotational shift. The job involves lifting heavy animals, bathing and grooming them, cleaning wounds and administering medications as per the instructions of vets. There is also a possibility of getting infected or being bitten when handling injured or abused animals. An animal caretaker has to be mentally strong in case if there is a death. Above all, the jobholder has to cope with the stink of animal waste, and sharp smell of cleaning agents used in disinfecting living areas for animals.
Animal caretaker resume
Because presenting an effective professional resume can often be the only chance to grab employer's attention, avoiding mistakes is vital. The information and tips provided below explain what a good animal caretaker resume must include.
Choose the right resume format
Choose the right resume format among chronological, functional and combination, based on your skills and experiences. Chronological resume format is mostly used, which includes work experiences and educational qualifications written in a reverse chronological order. This format can be used for entry-level, mid-level and executive-level positions. For career changers, functional and combination resumes are the best choices, which mostly focuses on highlighting the skills relevant for the job.
Next step is to fill the resume with information needed under different sections.
Header
Include name and contact information in this part of resume. Contact information contains your email id, phone number and address. Also, your name should be written in a bigger font than the rest of the content in the resume.
Job objective
Job objective, for fresher candidates, should be written in two or three sentences explaining about the position you are interested in, your skills or abilities and how these will benefit the employer, etc. For experienced candidates, write a career summary instead of objective that should not exceed to more than three or four sentences.
Summary of skills
A brief to-the-point list of skills or abilities relevant for the job position is included under this section. Most preferred skills for animal caretaker jobs are abilities to handle all types of animals, provide obedience training, assist vets during animal treatment, customer service, time management, and organization.
Work experiences and accomplishments
If there is a long list of work experiences, list only the relevant ones and write them in reverse chronological order. Focus on your achievements instead of duties in the previous jobs. For example- Saved around 60 stray animals in short career of 3 years.
Education
If you are applying for a specific animal caretaker job, present education starting with the latest degree, diploma, or certification. Name the degree along with the institution that offered you the education, and year of passing.
Follow these guidelines to write an effective animal caretaker resume, that will help you to land on a job, you'd love to be hired for. For more guidance, check out the animal caretaker resume samples below to draft an impressive resume.
Listed below are some samples for an animal caretaker resume. You can choose any one of these sample templates for your resume.