Im trying to remember what I had in my cover letter for my first vet job. It was so long ago lol
-experience with animals? If you have no animal experience, you could mention your experience with your own animals. But since you said you volunteered at a SA hospital i would leave your own pets out. Unless you do something more than basic care, like giving medicine
-I volunteered at a small animal hospital 7 years ago. Should I put this down as experience? YES!! mention how you are interested in vet med and to gain experience you volunteered at this hospital and add in things you enjoyed observing or doing (if it is more than just cleaning cages). If they didnt let you do hands on things, you can explain how you would like to learn how to ____ (w/e you observed the vet techs doing)
-schooling? Yes, but only a short line. Either the high school or college you are attending. maybe just as an introduction sentence
-future plans? Yes, but keep this short
-what attributes would be good to list? I don't think you need attributes. If they are interested they may interview you or want to casually meet so they can get to know you. You can slip in 1/2 attributes in the sentence before you thank them. (as a fast learner...i know i can add__ to your hospital, w/e attribute you want to say) But just at the end before you thank them, dont spend a paragraph on it
The most important thing is to keep it short. Don't be too wordy and make sure you have someone who is good at editing read over it. Short and sweet is the best. Get right to the point. I would say 3 small paragraphs.
1) where you are going to school. if you are in hs then i would add in if you applied/were accepted into a college. state that you are interested in vet med. and you would like to gain more experience in this career field.
2) talk about the experience you have already gotten by volunteering at the hospital. talk about future things you would like to observe (surgery) or like to learn yourself (vet tech skills)
3) [if you can.... compliment the vet. This is some of the best advice i've gotten with cover letters. Now, usually it is easier if you compliment someone in a specialty or research ex. i am very interested in the work you do on drosophilia and learning more about... But if this is just a general vet it may be hard. Some ideas to look for that would fit in this category are if they do laser surgeries or advanced techniques. They should list this on their website. Or maybe they have state of the art equiptment (digital radiographs). My vet gives presentations to schools so in my cover letter i expressed my interest in his career after hearing him speak in my class.]
Now, if you literally cannot think of anything for paragraph 3, in terms of "complimenting" the vet or the practice. Then you can just add 2 more sentences to the other paragraphs and then end with a thank you for the opportunity/time....
good luck!
