Tips For Vet Tech Relief Work
Doing vet tech relief work can be fun, and a great way to pick up some extra income. Often times working relief you get paid at a higher rate than if you actually worked full time at the clinic. Vet relief can be easy to find if you are in a large city, but even in smaller communities you can find some work. Here are some of my tips for finding good jobs and some pitfalls to avoid.
Do you want a full time job?
Before you start doing relief work, decide what your goal is. Is it to just earn some extra cash, or to eventually find a full time job? If you just want to do some relief work you have to be careful. Often time you will end up with job offers. This is great, but don’t be seduced. You just want the freedom that comes with relief work.
Work of mouth
Finding vet tech jobs can be hard sometimes, but the best way to go about it is to mail out resumes with your services listed, make phone calls, or go visit the clinics first thing in the morning.
Vet clinics are always looking for help, and you showing up may seem like a miracle to them.
Once you make contact with several clinics you should start getting some jobs from them.
Vet Tech Relief Pay
So how much do you charge? I recommend charging more than what a full time employee would get paid via an hourly rate. I say this because you do not get any benefits as a relief vet tech and you have to pay for them out of pocket, so you need a higher rate.
If you feel you do not command a higher rate ask yourself why? Do you need more experience? Find out any shortcomings and fix them.
Show up prepared for anything
A good vet tech relief worker should be ready for anything when you go through that door. No two vet clinics are the same, in fact most are so vastly different it is amazing. Some clinics allow vet techs to do almost everything, while other clinics it seems like you just answer phones all day.
Finding a needle in a haystack
If you do find a great clinic in your rounds doing relief, try to foster a great relationship with that clinic so in the future you are the first one they call when they need help!
