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Veterinary Technologists and Technician resume example

A resume for a Veterinary Technologists and Technician needs to show the work itself: perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Day to day that means work like this: administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted; care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery. 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.

  • Certified Veterinary Technician
  • CVT
  • Licensed Veterinary Technician
  • LVT
  • Registered Veterinary Technician
  • RVT
  • Veterinary Technician
  • Vet Tech
  • Emergency Veterinary Technician
  • Emergency Vet Tech
  • Internal Medicine Veterinary Technician
  • Internal Medicine Vet Tech
  • Veterinarian Technician
  • Veterinary Laboratory Technician
  • Vet Lab Tech
  • Veterinary Nurse
  • Vet Nurse
  • Veterinary Technologist

O*NET records 35 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT)
  • Emergency Veterinary Technician (Emergency Vet Tech)
  • Internal Medicine Veterinary Technician (Internal Medicine Vet Tech)
  • Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)
  • Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT)
  • Veterinarian Technician (Vet Tech)
  • Veterinary Laboratory Technician (Vet Lab Tech)
  • Veterinary Nurse (Vet Nurse)
  • Veterinary Technician (Vet Tech)

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.

  • Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
  • Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
  • Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
  • Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
  • Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians.
  • Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
  • Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.
  • Clean and sterilize instruments, equipment, or materials.
  • Provide veterinarians with the correct equipment or instruments, as needed.
  • Perform dental work, such as cleaning, polishing, or extracting teeth.
  • Observe the behavior and condition of animals and monitor their clinical symptoms.
  • Give enemas and perform catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.

31 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.

  • Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems, 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.

  • Animal Intelligence Software Animal Intelligence
  • FileMaker Pro
  • McAllister Software Systems AVImark
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Practice management software PMS
  • Veterinary practice management software PMS
  • Web browser software
  • Word processing software

Tools and equipment

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

  • Adult Magill forceps
  • Adult non-rebreather oxygen masks
  • Adult stylets
  • Aerosol nebulizers
  • Airway suction units
  • Ambu bags
  • Ambulances
  • Anesthesia syringes
  • Animal capture nets
  • Animal catching poles
  • Animal electrocardiograph ECG units
  • Animal nail trimmers

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.

  • immunize patients

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Critical Thinking
  3. 03Reading Comprehension
  4. 04Speaking
  5. 05Complex Problem Solving
  6. 06Monitoring
  7. 07Writing
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Coordination
  10. 10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

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

  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Biology
  • English Language
  • Mathematics
  • Chemistry

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.

  • 41%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 26%Associate's Degree
  • 15%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Veterinary Technologists and Technician do?
Perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Day to day that includes work like administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted and Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
What skills should a Veterinary Technologists and Technician put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Complex Problem Solving 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 Veterinary Technologists and Technician list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Animal Intelligence Software Animal Intelligence, FileMaker Pro, McAllister Software Systems AVImark, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel. 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 Veterinary Technologists and Technician work?
O*NET records 35 titles for this occupation, including Certified Veterinary Technician, CVT, Licensed Veterinary Technician, and LVT. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Veterinary Technologists and Technician need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% 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 Veterinary Technologists and Technician 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.