Animal Caretaker Resume Examples & Tips
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Animal caretakers look after animals in zoos, shelters and other hosting facilities, providing them with fresh food, clean water, a clean environment, adequate physical exercise, grooming, medications, and anything else they require.
Use these expert tips and our resume examples to create a resume that gets your animal caretaker career on track:
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Animal caretaker example (text version)
Name: SARAH BLACKWELL
Address: City, State, Zip Code
Phone: 000-000-0000
E-Mail: email@email.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
History of delivering exceptional care to animals in various environments. Passionate about promoting health and optimal wellness by organizing top-notch support. Carefully observe animals and coordinate with owners or senior staff to optimize care.
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Problem-Solving:
- Monitored animal behavior and completed examinations to identify illnesses, injuries or potential diseases.
- Mixed and administered special food formulas to individual animals based on unique dietary needs.
- Minimized animal injury risk by monitoring behaviors and eliminating safety hazards.
Communication:
- Provided top-notch customer service to every customer and exceptional care to all animals. Bolder Animal Healthcare .
- Followed all pet care instructions, including dietary needs and medication regimens.
- Consulted with veterinarians to diagnose problems and administered prescribed treatments.
Physical stamina:
- Acclimated every animal to feel of different harnesses and equipment by steadily increasing touches and overall use.
- Assessed animals and consulted with owners about suitability for desired use based on temperament, age and other factors.
- Maintained clean, neat and hazard-free animal areas to protect individual health and wellbeing.
WORK HISTORY
Company Name ,City,State
Animal Caretaker | 04/2019 Current
Company Name ,City,State
Veterinary Intern | 02/2016 -10/2018
Company Name ,City,State
Assistant Manager | 07/2012 02/2015
SKILLS
- Surgical safety
- Animal diagnostics
- Animal behavior knowledge
- Emergency pet care
- Chronic and acute conditions
- Proper animal restraint
- General anesthesia monitoring
- Systems monitoring
EDUCATION
Company Name ,City,State
Associate of Applied Science: Animal Health
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Animal Caretaker Resume FAQ
1. What skills should I emphasize in my animal caretaker resume?
- Communication skills
- Administrative expertise
- Animal nutrition
- Maintaining equipment and animal living spaces
- Record-keeping for animal diets, physical condition, and behavior
- Knowledge of animal physiology and healthcare
- Animal exercise program management
- Grooming animals
- Enthusiastic
- Empathetic
- Multitasking
- Written and verbal communication
- Adaptable
- Reliable
- Positive attitude
- Certified in CPR and First Aid
2. How should I incorporate keywords in my resume?
As mentioned above, many employers now use ATS to scan and pass resumes based on the right keywords. To make sure you have the right keywords in your resume, review the job description and pick out the phrases that define major tasks and qualifications, such as “Maintain facility professional appearance and cleanliness” or “Provide excellent customer service with shelter staff, veterinarian partners, volunteers, and community members.” Then feature skills and work experiences in your resume that fit these responsibilities, such as a previous job responsibility in which you were in charge of facility sanitation and general housekeeping, or including “customer service” in your skills section. For more examples of getting keywords into your resume, see How to Use Keywords Effectively.
3. What format is best for my resume?
Your format (or how you organize your resume) will depend mainly on your experience. If you already have a few years of caretaker experience, use a combination resume format that presents a blend of relevant skills and work accomplishments. If you’re just starting out as a caretaker, go with a functional resume format that emphasizes job-ready skills and training, as well as any extracurricular experiences (like internships or volunteer jobs) that show you have what it takes. If you have plenty of caretaking experience with a wide variety of animals and facilities, use a chronological resume format, which focuses on your work history, and shows the range and depth of your career.
For additional information about formatting your resume, visit our resume format page.
4. Where can I find work as an animal caretaker?
Workplaces that require animal caretakers include:
- Veterinary clinics
- Animal shelters
- Boarding kennels
- Pet stores
- Veterinary hospitals
- Stables
- Aquariums
- Zoological parks
- SPCA locations
To get ahead of the game on scouting out job opportunities with organizations like these, and taking advantage of them, use our job search resource center.
5. How do I use my resume as an “elevator pitch”?
An elevator pitch involves summing up your career highlights and strengths in a few seconds, presenting yourself as the right person for the job, Sounds a lot like the summary statement, doesn’t it? Use your summary as your elevator pitch, gearing your pitch towards directly fulfilling what the job needs. For example, if the position demands a detail-oriented approach to dog behavior and communication, address this area in your summary: “Attentive Animal Caretaker experienced in caring and tending to the needs of dogs of all breeds.” See our article How to Write a Perfect Summary Statement for more tips.
Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume
- DO keep your resume concise.Recruiters generally take only a few seconds to scan a resume, so make sure your document is to-the-point. Aim for a length of 2 pages at most, emphasizing skills, accomplishments and experiences that are most relevant to the caretaker position you’re applying for, and limiting your work history to the last ten years.
- DO quantify your achievements.Use metrics and numbers to illustrate your successes, and give them more weight. Quantitative statements such as “Ensured 100+ horses and mules were properly shod” say a lot more than simply writing “Ensured government horses and mules were properly shod.”
- DO proofread your resume for errors.One of employer’s biggest pet peeves when it comes to resumes is finding easily avoidable mistakes. Re-read your resume a few times before you send it in, and make sure you’re free of errors. This is also your chance to double-check your information for accuracy. To ensure your resume is free of flaws, you can also use the built-in review tools in our Resume Builder.
- DON’T use the same resume for different job openings. Every job has different demands and requirements, so customize your resume according to the specific requirements of each job. For instance, if the position you’re applying to lists cleaning animal cages as a prime task, include information in your resume that speaks to how well you can handle this duty, such as listing “animal area maintenance” as a skill, or giving a work history example that shows you have experience in maintaining and cleaning cages. For more suggestions on how to customize your resume, see our article How to Create a Targeted Resume.
- DON’T neglect mentioning valuable soft skills.Soft skills like excellent communication, time management or good organizational and observational skills are key to success in caretaker jobs. Be sure to include them in your skills section, and give examples of how you’ve used them in previous jobs (e.g., writing “Worked closely with management to ensure quality of care for animals” shows off your collaborative and teamwork abilities). Our Top Resume Skills page provides more tips on important soft skills.
- DON’T get too cute with your resume layout. You may be tempted to use a fancy design, graphics, or fonts for your resume to show off your personality, but doing so runs the risk of confusing potential employers, or even worse, throwing off applicant tracking systems (ATS) that employers use to scan incoming resumes. Keep your layout straightforward, with standard fonts and headings, and concentrate instead on getting the right content into your resume. Use one of our professional resume templates as a foundation.
Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Animal Caretaker Resume
Summary
In your summary statement, provide a brief overview of your work experiences and essential skills, explaining why you fit the role. For example: “Animal-loving Caretaker with two years of experience in shelters, veterinary hospitals and zoos. Capable of maintaining trusting relationships with aggressive and withdrawn animals.”
Skills
Consider splitting this section into two categories: practical skills (such as pet grooming, animal training or knowledge of medical and emergency care for animals) as well as key soft skills such as communication, organizational ability, a compassionate approach or multitasking abilities.
Work history
For each previous job, provide three to five bullet points that focus on prime duties and accomplishments. Showcase responsibilities that show off your best skills. For example: “Loaded and transported animals, waste materials, equipment, and supplies to designated areas,” or “Maintained records of animal feedings and medications.”
Education
Feature your highest educational qualification (e.g., high school diploma, bachelor’s degree in animal sciences, animal husbandry, or related subject), as well as any other courses or training you’ve had, such as training to become a Certified Animal Control Officer (CACO), or certification in Animal Food Science.
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Animal Caretaker Resume Example
Kellie is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with extensive experience in digital media. She is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She earned a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.
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