How to hire a small animal veterinarian

How to hire a small animal veterinarian, step by step

Here's a step-by-step small animal veterinarian hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a small animal veterinarian job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new small animal veterinarian
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a small animal veterinarian job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The small animal veterinarian hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A small animal veterinarian's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, small animal veterinarians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents small animal veterinarian salaries for various positions.

   Type of Small Animal Veterinarian	Description	Hourly rate
   Small Animal Veterinarian	Veterinarians care for the health of animals and work to improve public health. They diagnose, treat, and research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and other animals.	$14-64
   Doctor Of Veterinary Medicine	A Veterinary Medicine Doctor is responsible for studying animal nature, diagnosing animal illnesses, and developing treatment plans and medications. They analyze an extensive scope of animal conditions to identify care programs that would keep them healthy... Show more	$31-133
   Public Health Veterinarian	Public Health Veterinarians require participation in a public health program that leads to a master's degree in public health with a focus on veterinarian medicine, should this be their career choice. Earning an average of $76K per year, it is a position that requires a great deal of compassion, as well as manual dexterity, and decision-making, interpersonal, problem-solving, and management skills... Show more	$13-65

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • PET
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Patient Care
   • Soft Tissue
   • DVM
   • Internal Medicine
   • Medical Care
   • Critical Care
   • Pigs
   • Veterinary Services
   • Dental Procedures
   • Client Communication
   • Surgical Cases

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage wildlife rehabilitation program for native species, including state and federal rehabilitation licenses for the practice.
   • Gain valuable small animal and exotic pet surgical and medical experience.
   • Work at various small animal practices in Indiana after obtaining DVM degree
   • Perform healthy pet exams and administer preventative health care, including spays and neuters.
   • Manage wildlife rehabilitation program for native species, including state and federal rehabilitation licenses for the practice.
   • Supervise laboratory testing, reagent selection and flock management staff for in-house SPF poultry operation.f.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your small animal veterinarian job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A small animal veterinarian salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, small animal veterinarians' average salary in oklahoma is 56% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level small animal veterinarians earn 77% less than senior-level small animal veterinarians.
   • Certifications. A small animal veterinarian with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a small animal veterinarian's salary.

   Average small animal veterinarian salary

   $65,546yearly

   $31.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level small animal veterinarian salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a small animal veterinarian job description

   A small animal veterinarian job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a small animal veterinarian job description:

   Small animal veterinarian job description example

   Tieton Drive Animal Clinic, in Yakima, WA is seeking an Associate Veterinarian to join our growing practice.
   
   Tieton Drive Animal Clinic in Yakima, WA, is seeking a full time Associate Veterinarian to join our 6-doctor team. We are a well-established progressive practice with a stellar reputation throughout our community. We are looking for excellence and place great value on finding our next teammate. We offer a competitive salary, paid CE and time off allowance, paid fees, dues and license, comprehensive Health Benefits, 401K Retirement Plan, terrific support staff, and a positive and professional environment.
   
   We strive to provide the highest quality of services possible, including: a variety of surgical opportunities, comprehensive dental care, and diverse medical cases. We are humbled to be supporting a wonderful client base and place customer service and client satisfaction at the top of our priority list. A newer graduate would find themselves in an attractive position to learn and be mentored at a high level. Our veterinarians work 36-40 hours a week, some Saturdays. We take pride in mentoring new doctors and embodying a family and value oriented environment. We believe that a healthy and happy work environment is key to give our clients and patients superior care. We have tenured doctors, trained support staff and 8 licensed Technicians.
   We are well-equipped with the following:
   
   * Ultrasound
   * Digital Dental Radiography
   * Surgical CO2 Laser
   * Digital Radiography
   * Advanced Orthopedic Equipment (including TPLO kit, bone plating and ESF equipment)
   * We use an Ezyvet and Smartflow paperless integrated hospital management system.
   
   About Yakima, WA
   
   Yakima is a city about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in Washington. Referred to as "The Heart of Central Washington," Yakima Valley is best known for its apple, wine, and hop production. Because of Yakima's ideal location (a little over 2 hours to either Seattle or Portland) and small-town coziness, newcomers to the area relish in the high quality of life at a reasonable cost. Outdoor enthusiasts and recreation lovers are drawn to the area for the water and snow skiing, fishing, boating, hiking, horseback riding, and white water rafting... and of course, the multiple craft breweries and wineries make Yakima an attractive home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
   
   * < Back to search results

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right small animal veterinarian for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your small animal veterinarian job on Zippia to find and recruit small animal veterinarian candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with small animal veterinarian candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new small animal veterinarian

   Once you've decided on a perfect small animal veterinarian candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new small animal veterinarian first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a small animal veterinarian?