People & growth
Recruiting Is More Than Filling a Vacancy: Introducing The Veterinary Recruiting Playbook
Why every veterinary vacancy is a financial, operational, and leadership decision—not just a job post.
A vacancy in a veterinary practice is rarely just an empty seat. It can mean delayed appointments, overtime, relief-labor expense, longer client waits, burnout, postponed procedures, and an owner pulled back into daily operations. That is why recruiting should not begin with panic. It should begin with clarity.
An open position is a business problem
Before posting a job, define why the position exists and what business problem it should solve. Is the practice trying to increase appointment capacity, reduce overtime, improve patient flow, support a new service line, or give the owner room to lead?
A clear purpose makes the search more focused and gives the practice a better way to evaluate whether the hire ultimately works.
Recruiting begins before the first candidate call
The salary is only one part of the decision. The real cost may also include payroll taxes, benefits, continuing education, dues, licensing, insurance, relocation, incentives, recruiting fees, equipment, support staff, training, and reduced productivity during the ramp-up period.
The practice should know how the full cost affects cash flow, whether the position has the support needed to succeed, and what the first 90 days will look like before the candidate accepts.
The candidate experience matters
A strong recruiting process communicates clearly, moves with purpose, and respects the candidate’s time. Compensation matters, but candidates may also be evaluating mentorship, schedule flexibility, leadership, clinical autonomy, team culture, growth, and whether the practice can keep its promises.
Every interaction teaches a candidate what it may feel like to work inside the practice. A disorganized search can quietly warn away the people the owner most wants to hire.
Retention is the second half of recruiting
Recruiting finds the person. Accounting determines whether the practice can responsibly support the position. Leadership creates the conditions that help the person stay.
That means preparing onboarding, role clarity, feedback, training, equipment, team integration, performance expectations, and a realistic path to productivity. A successful hire is not complete on the start date.
Toward a human-capital balance sheet
Veterinary practices track equipment, inventory, debt, and cash carefully, yet the team is often treated as a simple payroll line. A stronger framework asks what capabilities the practice has, where it is vulnerable, what it costs to replace key people, and what leadership systems protect that investment.
Clean books create clarity. Strong recruiting creates capacity. Strong leadership helps good people stay. Together, they build a veterinary team that can serve, grow, and last.
Why this work is personal
Recruiting helped Anthony rebuild during a difficult chapter in his own life. After a divorce and a move from San Diego to Los Angeles, recruiter Dan Levy taught him a business that created a new path forward. One commission—about $50,000—helped him regain stability.
That experience is one reason Anthony views recruiting as more than a transaction. A thoughtful opportunity can change a business, a team, and a life.