What does a Animal Trainer do?

Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. Day to day that includes work like cue or signal animals during performances and Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.

What skills should a Animal Trainer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Instructing, Learning Strategies, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Animal Trainer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Atlassian JIRA, Customer information control system CICS, Database software, Epic Systems, and Facebook. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Animal Trainer work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Dog Trainer, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, GDMI, and Horse Trainer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Animal Trainer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 44% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Animal Trainer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Animal Trainer resume example

A resume for a Animal Trainer needs to show the work itself: train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. Day to day that means work like this: cue or signal animals during performances; talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Dog Trainer
Guide Dog Mobility Instructor
GDMI
Horse Trainer
Trainer
Agility Instructor
Dog Obedience Instructor
Guide Dog Instructor
Guide Dog Trainer
Racehorse Trainer
Service Dog Trainer
Animal Handler
Bronc Breaker
Bronc Buster
Canine Handler
Canine Service Teacher
Cat Groomer
Dog Groomer

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Cue or signal animals during performances.
Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.
Evaluate animals to determine their temperaments, abilities, or aptitude for training.
Administer prescribed medications to animals.
Keep records documenting animal health, diet, or behavior.
Evaluate animals for trainability and ability to perform.
Advise animal owners regarding the purchase of specific animals.
Train horses or other equines for riding, harness, show, racing, or other work, using knowledge of breed characteristics, training methods, performance standards, and the peculiarities of each animal.
Use oral, spur, rein, or hand commands to condition horses to carry riders or to pull horse-drawn equipment.

15 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Cue or signal animals during performances, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Atlassian JIRA
Customer information control system CICS
Database software
Epic Systems
Facebook
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Project
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Oracle Database
Oracle PeopleSoft

17 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Agility A-frames
Agility dog walks
Agility jumps
Agility pause tables
Agility see-saws
Agility tire jumps
Agility tunnels
Agitation sticks
Agitation whips
Bite sleeves
Bite suits
Bite tugs

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

train animals
maintain facilities

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Instructing
02Learning Strategies
03Speaking
04Critical Thinking
05Active Learning
06Active Listening
07Judgment and Decision Making
08Monitoring
09Complex Problem Solving
10Coordination

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Education and Training
Psychology
Administration and Management
English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

44%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
23%Less than a High School Diploma
17%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Animal Trainer do?: Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. Day to day that includes work like cue or signal animals during performances and Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
What skills should a Animal Trainer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Instructing, Learning Strategies, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Animal Trainer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Atlassian JIRA, Customer information control system CICS, Database software, Epic Systems, and Facebook. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Animal Trainer work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Dog Trainer, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, GDMI, and Horse Trainer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Animal Trainer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 44% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Animal Trainer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.