Question about Resume

[Fishey]

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Hi everyone 🙂
I'm working on my resume to apply for veterinary assistant positions in the future and I got stuck at the skills section.
From my volunteer experience at a local vet clinic, I learned the basics of proper animal restraint, was introduced to the Cornerstone management program, taught how to calculate dosages, taught how to create a stain, and taught how to give oral medication to animals under supervision. However, if I were told to do any one of the things listed above alone, I would probably get nervous as I am not proficient at them yet.

Should I put these in the skills section or do you usually put things that you are proficient at in this section? If not, should I mention that I have brief knowledge in those procedures?
Also, another question: Should I list my references in the same resume or give them my references when they ask for them?
Thanks!

 

[equineconstant]

On the sample resume I got from my vet school, some of the skills had qualifiers like "some experience with X." If you don't have a lot of experience where you became really comfortable with doing those things, you might end up with a lot more of that wording. My resume looks like that now since I have no previous research experience, and that's the area I'm looking to work in this summer.

However, I would like to say that my pre-vet school resume didn't have a skills section. I listed a few bullets about what I did at each experience underneath the title like "restrained animals for physical examination." If you wouldn't really feel comfortable if someone told you to go do something and wind up with not much of a skills section, you might consider something like that.

 

[Rabbit Riot]

I think you would be fine listing some of those things in a skills section of a resume. When my resume was shorter or shortened to just "animal-stuff," I sometimes would add a "brief duties" heading under certain jobs - like lab-based jobs where I was supervised performing specific procedures. No matter how you choose to list things, you'll likely be interviewed so you'll have a chance to further discuss your experiences.

I view "skills" as more general things that a person is good at or has mastered (at least at the student level). I do have "extensive animal handling" on my resume and I've listed the species with which I've worked as part of my skill set, though only when I'm applying to certain jobs where that type of skill would be appreciated. Typing abilities, knowledge of common and less common computer applications, organizational skills, customer service skills, etc. tend to be things I've been told to lump into "skills." I've never had a problem with keeping it general.

As far as references go, I've always been told to put "references given upon request" unless otherwise solicted for them through the job posting.

 

[Fishey]

On the sample resume I got from my vet school, some of the skills had qualifiers like "some experience with X." If you don't have a lot of experience where you became really comfortable with doing those things, you might end up with a lot more of that wording. My resume looks like that now since I have no previous research experience, and that's the area I'm looking to work in this summer.

However, I would like to say that my pre-vet school resume didn't have a skills section. I listed a few bullets about what I did at each experience underneath the title like "restrained animals for physical examination." If you wouldn't really feel comfortable if someone told you to go do something and wind up with not much of a skills section, you might consider something like that.

So either one would be acceptable? 🙂

 

[equineconstant]

So either one would be acceptable? 🙂

As far as I know, yes. 🙂

 

[that redhead]

I don't have a "skills" section either, I just lump it into the job description part. You could word it something like "beginner-level efficiency in X" or something to show that you learned it but are still mastering it.

And yeah, I always put references upon request 🙂

@LetItSnow might be a good person to chime in, since he's done some hiring in his day.

 

[StartingoverVet]

I would use "have experience with".
That shows you have done it, but doesn't imply mastery.

 

[LetItSnow]

You could do it any way you pleased, as long as the info is presented clearly, succinctly, and professionally.

The key with a resume isn't what categories you include, it's making sure it gives them the information they need to hire you. So ideally it should be tailored for the specific job; even better, for the specific employer. That's not always feasible if you're mass distributing in a big job hunt, but it's the 'ideal'.

So ask yourself: "What important things about me does the person hiring for this job need to know?" And then I'd structure it appropriately. There are some basics you shouldn't leave out (your work history, educational history, contact info, etc.), but you can be pretty flexible. Just don't be weird. 🙂

For a veterinary assistant position, a 'skills' list is totally appropriate. You could lump it into your previous work history job descriptions. Either one works.

With regard to the specific question about skills you haven't totally mastered, there's nothing wrong with putting them in the list or job description. I'd write something like "exposure to ...." or use SOV's suggested language or whatever. Something to clue them in that you've got a start but need a little more work on that skill.

Just remember that you get maybe 30 seconds to a minute from most people who are looking at a stack of resumes. If they have to dig deep through long paragraphs ... probably not gonna happen.

Last bit of advice: Spell-check. I was always amazed at how many people would send me a resume filled with errors. I'm sure in their head they're thinking "what does it matter? I'm not applying to be a writer...." In my head I was thinking "Wow. They wrote this in Word and didn't bother to take advantage of spell-checking? Do I want to hire someone that lazy who doesn't care about doing the best job possible?"

 

[Fishey]

@LetItSnow - Thank you so much for your thorough answer! Since employers wouldn't really look deeply into resumes, would it be better to bullet point the duties of each experience? Currently, I have tiny paragraphs (about 3-4 sentences long) describing my responsibilities and experience briefly. I did this to save space as it would make my resume pretty long if I bullet point everything. What would you advise?