Right, good evening. My name is Lennon. Thanks for hopping on this call with us for this webinar in a very Not very well presented or documented webinar on how to look for your first few jobs and you know, all sorts of different things on clinical studies.
So tonight, we thought we would just discuss a little bit more about how do you actually look for your first jobs or first few jobs. As Steve Jobs said, you know, the only way to do great work is to love what you do. So tonight we'll try to find out exactly what we can do to Look for your first job.
So just a bit of housekeeping. So for course etiquette for this session tonight, please do type all your questions into the Q&A or the chat box or chatbo, but if you can put in the Q&A, we'll answer all the questions in the end. Certainly, any comments you can put inside the chat box as well.
So just a little bit about myself. I'm a vet. I qualify at a point in time.
I bet RSCBS what's going on in goodness, who is this person who is qualifying. I also have one practise at Amity down in Devon. And this is what people tend to see you.
You qualify and you work in a practise and things like that. But sometimes what people forget is that we also have got a sense of humour for most of us. This is between jobs and my boss wasn't too impressed, but there we go.
I'm I was also in the army. I'm an infantry officer. I've written a book as well, some of you may have read it.
Occasionally I do salsa and tango. I'm also a father. And you know, I also play basketball, water polo, roller skate, and do capoeira.
The reason why I mentioned this is just remind us, we are more than our jobs. We are more than just a vet. We are more than how the public sees us most of the time.
So remember to embrace that and don't just think that I am only a vet because you're never only a vet. So the introduction. So I grew up in Singapore after wanting to be a vet after reading James Harriet like many, many vets have done.
I qualified from the RBC back in 2004 after failing three times, no less. I spent 12 years working in 4 different practises and volunteering in 5 different countries with the worldwide vet services. Before opening MIT.
I've also seen multiple senior vets and RVans take their lives. We started Amity back in 2017. So we just celebrated our eighth year birthday.
I was quite frustrated with the ongoing stats. And that's where I did dive into a financial, personal development and success to contribute to a profession that I love, which also includes this particular session. What about you?
What's your story? So the mission of amity for the team is to develop each person's greatest potential and to facilitate success, their achievement and fulfilment. But the pet guardians is to honour and celebrate their born with their pet, also be part of their pet's life in health and also disease and helping the pet guardians to become their pet's hero.
For the profession, improve retention in the profession. You may be a new grad, you may be a fresh grad, but there are many people who have left the practise and we want to, want to improve people to enjoy and stay being vets, improving the well-being and also eliminating suicide. In one case, also improving the financial knowledge profitability.
Fundamentally, we're looking to embrace humanity through vet medicine. So this is a quite an interesting statement. I truly believe that what we do is that no matter what job you're in, fundamentally you'll be embracing humanity through the platform that you're in.
Example for us is vet medicine. If you were a lawyer, you'll be embracing humanity through law because you're still talking to people. If you're an accountant, you're embracing humanity through accounts.
So the content for tonight's evening, OK, we will discuss the universal rule. What is that? We'll talk about how something is foundational and not prestige.
As a newly qualified vet surgeon. You now possess the knowledge of a vet. How are we going to develop that?
We talk about researching the practise, how do you actually look for your first job, what things, what tools can I share with you to make sure that you find the right fit? When you actually get the interview, what sort of tips do I have for you for the interview to ensure a successful outcome, and bearing in mind a successful outcome does not necessarily mean you get the job. It's not unusual if you have just qualified to move around job after job, so what other tips can I share with you and what other things can you look out for?
And we will end up with questions. At this moment in time, do get prepared for the BFOs or the blinding flash of obvious and the aha moments, please do share them in a chatbox. You will find anything I say, it's like, wow, that's so obvious, share in the chatbox.
You will find something, aha, OK, actually, that's a good point. Share in the chatbox. OK, the more you participate, the better it is.
This is just a suggestion. Einstein once said that we cannot solve our problems using the same thinking we used when we created them. So, my suggestion for this evening is to learn how to empty your cup.
A cup is only useful when it's empty. The universal rule. In looking for a job and doing what you're doing.
Never compromise yourself personally to become who you wish professionally. I'll say this again. You will be seeing a lot of different jobs that will ask you to do different things, OK?
And you may think that you have to do everything that the job asks you to. It comes back to this, to ensure a successful outcome in whatever job you take, you should never compromise yourself personally to become who you wish to be professionally. So, understand that your first job, your first few jobs is going to be foundational, not prestige.
You are just qualified, you're not possess the knowledge of a vet. Your mind will be packed with so much information from all the tiers of antibiotics, multiple non-steroidals, countless surgical procedures, and numerous chemotherapy protocols. All you need now is a practise that allows you to provide a platform to exercise your knowledge.
Understand your first job is more than just a paycheck or a tick in your resume, just like building a house on a strong foundation. The rest of your professional life may simply rest on the experience and support you receive from your first job. If you speak to many experienced vet surgeons who are still in the profession, you'll find that you ask them why are they still in the profession when so many have quit, and you'll find that a lot of them, they have, they would say that the first few jobs give them such a good grounding to allow them to continue with what they're doing.
So that is how important it is. You will experience the steepest growth of your professional career in the 1st 3 to 5 years of being a vet. You'll be exercising many theories, concepts and ideas for the first time on real animals with real guardians.
They will be paying and relying on you to solve their problems. And some of them are pet related, and some of them they are not. You can no longer say I'm only a vet student.
And hide behind another vet. You're a qualified, registered, and licenced vet. What sort of circumstances do you thrive in?
What sort of environment allows you to learn the most? How long do you take to fly to become a fully fledged vet? Look for a practise that can provide the support you need that allows you to grow at your own pace.
So understand That there is no vaccinated or recommended timeline here. People always want to compare how much should I know after 1 year? How much should I know after 2 years?
OK. Recall the time in college when some of your friends found exams easy and scored well, whereas others like myself, kept failing. Until graduation, that to say, but nonetheless, all became fats in the end.
So, do not place undue pressure on yourself thinking you must succeed immediately. Mm. Using a metaphor, you could be like a robin that learns to fly in 9 days from hatch, you naturally like challenges and like being thrown into the deep end.
You learn to swim best when struggling to stay afloat. You learn things at your own pace and do not require too much support. A practise that has an infrastructure of support, but not necessarily be holding your hand, step by step, maybe your cup of tea.
Or you could be like a barn owl that takes 65 days from hatch to fly. You're more cautious and like to check, double check and triple check dosages and treatment options with your peers before committing. You'd like to know that support is ready at hand.
When you need it easily. You enjoy taking little steps. And savouring each moment.
Of growth no matter how small. A vet practise with multiple experienced vets that do not put you in sole charge of a surgery, but it's a branch or a surgical procedure. Maybe a more conducive environment for you.
Remember that a golden eagle takes 72 days to fly from the hatch. Some things cannot be rushed. Or perhaps you are somewhere in between.
Regardless, remember that all roads lead to you becoming more experienced and confident. There is no right or wrong in this, only suitable or not. Yeah, I say this again, all jobs, OK, whatever vacancy or positions you see, there is no right or wrong in this, only suitable for you or not.
Someone who thrives in a fast growth and enjoys plenty of responsibility placed upon her. May get bored and frustration and frustrated if the job holds them back. Someone who enjoys taking things slowly may be overwhelmed easily in a job that does not provide the support that they need or expect or require.
Yeah, so. At this moment in time is a reminder, do not look solely for high pay, working with friends, or prestigious positions, etc. So choose a job that allows you to grow.
According to your values, your character, and the sort of vet you want to be. So understand your first few jobs are foundational. Do not take a job solely based on prestige, money, location because your friend is working there.
Though the support of a friend is invaluable, that particular job may not be suitable for you. When you're starting out, only take a job that provides you with a steep. How steep is entirely up to you, learning curve and strong training.
They are foundational and will have a dramatic impact on your career and the longevity of your professional life. So Coming to the nitty gritty bits of researching the practise. Yay, I love the job advert.
You saw the job advert, OK, and you're like, Hmm, OK, this one resonates with you a little bit for whatever reason. Maybe it's the location, it's the money, it is the photographs they send inside there, the little words they use. Either way, you resonate with it and say, Yep, I like this job advert.
So how do you research this practise more? OK. You can do it in 3 different ways.
One, online, OK? Secondly, first contact, what was it like when you first contacted them, and lastly, in person, when you're there personally. Analogy I like to use is just like dating, OK, and some people shouldn't be dated.
Just because it's a job doesn't make it ideal for you. Just because you're a vet doesn't mean that the job is suitable for you. Just because you're single doesn't make me your partner.
So use this analogy. You can check them online, first contact and in person. That's an analogy which I use.
Think of it. It is, we do that naturally when we're dating, but for whatever reason, we don't do that when we're looking for a job. Remember this analogy when I go along.
So firstly, online, OK, check out the website, look at our website. Does it look cheap or and haphazard? Does it look modern and effective?
How do you feel when looking at a website? Remember the client who is a human like yourself will feel in a certain way when browsing the website. What is the vibe that the practise wants to portray for the client?
Have they got their values, purpose, some call it mission statement, and or culture publicised. If they do, do they align with yours? At this moment in time, when you're viewing the website, do write down your thoughts and feelings.
Social media, still online, check their social media, whether it's Facebook, Instagram. What sort of posts do they put up with? Are they the generic stuff that you see on all other practises, social feeds?
Do they customise the pose to reflect the practise etiquette and culture? How much pride goes into their work. If the polls are generic, it may mean that they're too busy to do their own and contract that side of things out.
How do you feel about that? Write down how their post made you feel. You will realise that I will be using a lot of words like feelings, OK?
And using the same analogy, when you go dating, do you not, it's not what they wear or what they say, it's how do they make you feel that's the most important. Same thing, OK? Check out the reviews, OK.
Learn from their clients where the reviews they live on a platform like Google, Facebook, and other areas like Vet Health Direct in UK. It is one thing that a practise tells you what they are and value through their website and what they shouted out. It's another thing when their customers tell you how they feel and what they receive.
Remember that when you say it, it means something. When somebody else says it, it means everything. How would you feel if the same review was written about you?
Write down 3 most recurring descriptions of the practise mentioned in the reviews. Do you like them? Do you like those three recurring descriptions of the practise?
So those are the online things you can do, the website, social media, reviews. Now let's talk about first contact. When you first contact them, OK, maybe it's by telephone.
When you call the practise, what do you hear? Do you get to speak to someone immediately, or have you got to go through a myriad of option recordings before you hear a live voice? How are the telephone skills?
Does it feel horrid? Caring or relaxed. How do you feel when you put the phone down?
OK, here's a little tip, if you're interested, OK. You can pretend to be a client and experience for yourself how it feels to be like one of their clients. That is the same feeling that you're expected to provide when you're working over there.
Test the customer service further. You can be a little bit difficult to see how they deal with it. It's entirely up to you, OK?
It is like dating, isn't it before you commit longer, it will be a little bit tricky and see how they how they deal with you. Same thing. What's the application process like?
OK. Few things to ask yourself, why did you pick this particular practise? How did you know about it?
Was it by word of mouth? Was it an advert you spot in bad times or Facebook? If so, what struck you to apply?
How did you feel about it? Write down how you felt? Did they ask you for a CV or do they or do you have to fill in an application form?
If it's a letter application form, what was the application form like? Was it quite generic, or was it quite personal? Did they ask for an informal chat via telephone or Zoom?
How was it presented? Did they ask you, did they ask about you? Or were they just telling you what their practise was like?
How did you feel after? Here's a little tip. When someone tells you about their practise and does not ask about you, they may be just looking for someone to fill in a cog and expect that person to do just a job.
When they ask about you, they are more likely to be taking care that you are the right fit for them. In the former, you need to ask more questions to find out if the fit is suitable, if all they talk about is themselves, OK? What about in person?
OK, now you have done all your homework remotely via online and telephone and have gathered how you felt about it. Understand that this is external marketing that the practise has projected to the outside world, whether intentional or not, OK? Now it is time to see if the marketing or brand is purely for show, or does it resonate throughout their internal infrastructure.
Do they walk the talk? With all your feelings you have written down, you're about to experience it if this was all a facade or if they are exactly as they portrayed. Why does this matter?
For example, The way a business is run reflects deeply on how the management team is. For example, if it appears to be haphazard, it is likely that internally, it could be the same. If they pay great attention to detail, you usually find the boss to be incredibly detailed too.
So if what you see and feel outside the practise is what you see and feel inside the practise, There would lie a sense of honesty. And truth that you may rely on how they operate as a business, extending in their personal and professional relationships. So in person, look at the practise.
Look at the practise when you step into the reception area. How does it make you feel? Is it clinical?
Is it neat, sterile, homely, or relaxed? What sort of vibe does it throw out? Examine the clinical areas.
Is it clean, organised, or haphazard? Does it feel like an environment you can work in? In person, who is your interviewer?
Is it the practise manager, someone from Human Resource HR, or one of the bosses? Do they talk about them or ask about you? Are they succinct in the communication or do they get distracted easily jumping from topic to topic?
Do you feel this is a person you can work for and with? Did they ask About your family. When they ask, was it a probe or are they genuinely interested in you?
How did you feel about this person? So let's pretend you have gotten into the interview, OK? So what sort of questions can you ask your interviewer?
People usually get stuck in this. When I interview people, I always ask them what questions have they got? And to my surprise and dismay, many of them say, I've got no questions at all, and I know that they are not very clear in what they want.
Can you imagine going on a date and you ask your prospective? Have you got any questions you ask me? And they said nothing, and they are not interested or they do not know how to ask more about yourself.
How would that make you feel? Little bit scary, yeah. Same thing for a job, OK?
First question to ask them, why are they hiring you? Is it to it to replace or to expand? If it is to replace, what happened to the last vet?
Why did they leave? If it is to expand, is the infrastructure in place to support another vet? Yeah.
What are the expectations of you get really granular on this. Some use turnover, some talk about covering different surgeries, and many more. What do they want from you?
OK, let's pretend they hire you. What do they expect you to do? If you're not sure of what is expected, it's hard for you to meet any expectations.
If the employer does not know why, that is also a warning sign. After all, how can you win if you do not know what the target is? What does he or she value most and least in an employee?
Do your values match? Other questions to ask. What sort of support and resources would they provide for you as a fresh or recent grad?
Do their support meet your needs? What do you need, and is a practise able to provide that some people want books for, for example, some people who desire books and manuals. Some prefer formal or informal CPDs, whereas others may prefer a mentor or a coach.
It's not unusual to want them all to be more demanding. Will you be put in sole charge? How do you feel about that?
Remember, there is no right or wrong answer, just what suits you. What sort of support will be provided in terms of CPD allowances in both monetary and time? How do they calculate, how do they calculate their salary?
And just to let you guys know, salary negotiation will be discussed at a separate webinar, I think it's next month, June 25. So if you're interested in that, that's also part of it. So if your, your interviewer is not the boss, Next question you can ask them is, how long have they worked there and in what capacity do they work as?
Are they part of the clinical team or purely administrative? If it's a latter, their version of work may not reflect what you'll be doing as a vet. If your interviewer is the boss.
Ask them, how long has the practise been open? Does the length of time reflect the growth? What's the biggest choke point to preventing the growth or sustenance of the practise?
What is the dream or the vision for the practise? Questions for the team. Let's pretend sometimes they ask you to spend a day with them, so it's no longer an interview, it's just spending a day with them to see how it works and see if it's a good fit, and that's where you can see the team, OK?
That's a very, very good time to ask even more. No you're looking for a good fit. So how long have, how long have they been working there?
Are they long standing or is there a high staff turnover? If they're long standing, ask them more questions because they know what's happening. If it is a letter, there is a high staff turnover, is there a good reason why, like a change in management, culture, or any other reason?
How do you feel about that? If they were to describe the boss and the management team, what do they say? Can they actually describe the culture?
Is it congruent with the entire team? Do individual people say the same thing or is it different from different people? So, you know, there is this whole word culture has been thrown around so much in the last few years.
It's great to have a great culture. I'm all up for it, and we do have a very strong culture here. My question is, what is their culture?
Is there something that's written on the website? And nobody else knows it. Printed on the wall, maybe?
Or do all of them actually know the culture? Can they actually recite the culture to you? Can they share the culture with you?
Is it the same for all of them, or is it just something nice that somebody came out, you know, the blue sky thinking and they came up with that particular idea and said, Oh yeah, it's cool to have a culture, so let's write one down. Can they actually describe the culture? OK.
Would they recommend their friends to work there? Just a little note. It is not necessarily a good thing if anyone can work there, as it may imply the job may not be challenging or specific enough.
It is not necessarily a bad thing if only a few people are suitable for the job, as a job could also be very distinct and demands specific qualities. The question is, do you think you have those qualities? Same thing, back to dating.
If anybody can be my girlfriend, nobody is my girlfriend. Yeah, OK. Other questions for the team.
Do they mean outside work, indicating personal relationships in additional professional ones? What bonuses do they receive, if any? What is a salary increment scheme like?
Is that even a scheme at all? If you're a vet nurse, what is a salary increment scheme like? Is it by timing?
Is it by value given, or if you're a vet? OK, how does that work? OK.
Is it turnover related? Is it time span? Is it number of on-calls you do?
How do you know that you're going to increase the salary? What's the scheme like? Observe their general demeanour.
They may put on a show just for you, however, you can observe nonetheless. Do they really appear to be enjoying their work? OK, this is quite good.
When the phone rings, pay attention to how they speak to the client. First of all, is the phone even picked up? If so, who does it?
Is it purely front of house? Do the nurses pick up the phone? Do the vets pick up the phone?
Is there a divide to whose phone duties it should be? When they pick up the phone, what's the telephone manner like? From that, you can tell a lot of what the culture is like.
So pay attention to how they speak to their client. If you have a chance, seeing consults, observe the clients and the pets. How does a I didn't feel about coming to the vets.
How does the client feel throughout the consultation? How would you describe the interaction between the vet and the client? Is it purely transactional, clinical, or maybe in some practises, transformational.
How would you feel if you were a client? More importantly, how would you feel if you were a vet? So remember that you may not tick all your boxes, so that maybe you need to compromise.
Just be sure to focus on your most important needs. Growth and support. The reality is that you will never really know the full extent of the jobs or the unseen downsides and the possible upsides until you're in it, just like a relationship, isn't it?
OK, however, you can always prepare as much as possible. The universal rule still stand. It's important, as I'm repeating right now.
Never compromise yourself personally to become who you wish to be professionally. So, these are some tips for the interview. First one, be sure to dress appropriately regardless of gender, be sure to dress smart.
If you're unsure, sometimes you can ask the interviewer, what do other people wear? What do they expect? But if not, please do dress smart.
Secondly, definitely be early. OK, give allowance for traffic, inclement weather, etc. As coach John Wooden said, if you're early, you're on time.
If you're on time, you're late. Give yourself enough gaps, OK? Do your homework.
Be sure to research the practise as much as you can before turning up. OK, if you can find out who your interviewer is and research that person as well. Make it a point to stand up, to stand out from the rest of the candidates.
So many people that come to interview unprepared, whether it's face to face. Whether it's a video interview, it's unprepared. There's so much digital footprint out there.
There's really no excuse that you don't know anything about the practise, about its ethos, about what it is like, and about your interviewer, if you know who's going to view you. So, make sure you do your homework. OK, so we're going to spend a little bit of time talking about tips for moving around.
OK. It is not uncommon to move around, especially in the first few years, for your job. OK, it's been said that 50% of fresh grads, they only stay in the first job one year.
So not unusual. I myself said in one year before I found that I've outgrown it, I was looking for something different, because the reality is that you may not know what you want until you're in it. So for some, it may be fun, like a new adventure to move around and they may relish it.
For others it may be fraught with fear of the unknown stress. And burden to even contemplate the need to make new friends, settle in an unfamiliar place, and establish a new life. They may feel lonely Lost and displaced.
The reality is that it is likely when you change your job, you have to move. So here are a few tips managing the move. When possible, before moving to research the area to seek out your common hobbies, pastime, and even maybe your friends who are available there.
Contact your local network to see if they have any contacts in the new area. Join some local clubs, you know, whether it's WI Young farmers. Whether it is something you have done before or not, it is more important to meet people first before refining your personal interest.
You may find a new passion you did not know you had. Fine and make friends with another young recent vet in that local area. Accept invitation from your team to any activity after work, even if it's not a cup of tea, get a connection first.
Before trying to develop anything more specific. Keep in touch with your peers and lecturers either by phone or messaging. Technology these days has enabled contact to be maintained so much more conveniently and easier these days, isn't it?
Have a plan or routine. Having a daily routine or plan would greatly aid in providing activities for you to do and keep the focus away from the complete change of environment as your internal environment can still be maintained while you adjust. OK, this is quite key.
I've spoken to a lot of different friends and sometimes they have issues moving or this compos moving. Remember to let go of inner emotions. And thoughts when you move, only hold on to those that serve to empower and help you grow instead of hindering you.
Many people, they have changed their physical address, yet retain the previous postal code internally and wonder why they feel unsettled. So in summary, Remember, universal rule, never compromise actually. I won't say, type inside a chat box if you know what the universal rule is.
Fine, I'll just share that. Just remind us, the universal rule is such that never compromise yourself personally to become who you wish to be professionally. Thank you very much, Emil.
You are absolutely correct. Never compromise yourself personally to become who you wish to be professionally. Growth and support are paramount.
Look for a job that provides both. You have to be growing. If you go to a job that does not allow you to grow, it will be very, very detrimental to your inner confidence and your health and your career as a vet.
Support are also very, very important. To be able to grow the way you want to grow, you must be able to receive the support that you need to be supported in. It's not a speed game, it's not a race.
Some people like it fast, some people like it slow. So decide what you like and learn from it. Growth and support are paramount.
Look for a job provides both of them. Good growth, steep learning curve, how steep, you decide. And support.
Researching for the practise, the online research, your first contact and in person should be congruent to give you a very, very clear understanding. Just like dating. Yeah, the online research, your first contact and in person, it should be similar.
If not, it's what we call catfishing. And you know all about that. We've shared some tips for the interview, be early, be prepared, research the practise, research the interviewer as much as possible, dress appropriately.
We'll share you some tips for moving around as well. So at this moment in time, if you got any questions, please do type inside the chat box and all the content for what we discussed today is actually found inside this book, Vet For Life, that's available on Amazon. So if you want fuller, more complete details of everything we just went through.
It's in this book, it's available either hard copy, a Kindle version, and also an audiobook. But if not, that is the end of this particular presentation, and I'm just looking through them, so. The first attendee was asking me, what did I look for in my first job?
Do you wish you had done anything different? Very, very good question. I'll just share with you my own experience.
So, when I first qualified back in RBC London 04, I'm from Singapore. I missed the sea. So when I qualified in London, my job criteria was very simple.
I just wanted anywhere that did mixed practise down south. So I applied for all the jobs from Bournemouth all the way to Devon. And my first job landed me in Newton Abbott, where I'm actually still here right now.
I haven't been here for all this time, but I'm actually here right now, when I open my practise called MT. So my first job was doing max practise, which is exactly what I wanted. So I was doing TB testing, I was seeing horses, no pigs, a few sort of sheep.
And a lot of small animals, and I don't think I've done anything different, so I left after my first job only because After one year of working as a mixed vet, I knew that I I was not that smart. It's just too much information. I can't do all the species.
If someone comes to me with a horse, I'd rather they see a vet who sees a horse every day than me seeing a horse once every 2 weeks and call myself a horse vet. So that's why I gave that up and went straight to small animal. And at a point in time, I had also done what I wanted in large animal, which is a C-section in a cow.
So I've done that once, not under my belt, fine. Again, so that was one of those things. So, no, I wouldn't wish I'd done anything different.
I think I did a great choice, and I got exactly what I wanted. I got out what I wanted before I move on to the next job to focus more on small animals. So I hope that answer your question.
OK. So, Let me just see the next question. What tips do you have for someone who has been out of practise for some years and also need to pass licencing exams to get back to get back to job searching or volunteering?
So am I correct to say that you still need to pass licencing exam before you can work in a particular country? I'm presuming it's UK or some other country. So my tips is that do what you need to do.
First to pass that exam. Until you pass that exam, it is really hard to. Look for jobs in the first place, OK?
So volunteer if you must, see practise if you must, but get that exam passed so you can actually physically legally work. In that place, OK, if you're out of practise, go see practise, volunteer, that is you said exactly what you said the answer already. Volunteering helps.
OK, you cannot get a paid job because you're not licenced yet. Volunteer, get, get to a vet practise that allows you to see practise with them, and learn from them and pass that exam. That is important.
OK? So I hope that answers your question. If you catch a bad vibe from the employer, how do you politely decline if they do decide to hire you?
Well, very simple. It depends how they. How the structure of the hiring process is.
So for example, you have done your online, you like the practise very much, hence you still want to go for it. You do your first contact, you call them, you like the telephone call, the application process, whatever, and now you're face to face with that person and you had an interview that you didn't feel very good, you caught a bad vibe you caught a bad vibe, or even the interview was good, but you went to see the team. And you caught a bad vibe from the team, long and short of it, it is a bad vibe over there.
My question is, how do you say no to a date that you do not want to see again? Yeah. So you're not going to pretend to continue to go on the next date, are you?
You just say politely decline. There's so many different ways to decline. You can either say things like, you know, after careful consideration, I'm afraid I have to decline this offer.
Thank you very much for your time along those lines, or you can simply say that I've received another offer elsewhere after careful consideration, I've decided to accept the offer. Thank you so much for your time. So there's a lot of ways you can politely decline, the keyword being politely declined, you've already said that very, very politely, just like how when you do not want to go on a date again, you said, thank you very much.
I don't think we're a good fit, and just stop there. Same for the employee, you can just say that. Thank you very much for your time, but I don't think it's a good fit.
But thank you very much for your time though. I wish you all the best in your business, your job, in your practise, all those sort of things. That's the answer.
So you can really, really sort of play about with these things. Failure to that, OK, this is just my suggestion. What I found randomly these days is chat GBT is actually quite good at that.
You can actually just type in chat GBT and say, how do I politely decline the job offer, and I can give you a lot of different variations, whether you want to send an email or you want to physically say, it all depends up to you to what sort of character you are, whether you are confident enough to voice it up or would you prefer to just A send an email. So, I hope that answers your questions. If there's any more questions, please do ask right now or hang about for a little bit more.
If not, what I would really, really appreciate is that if you could give your commands any feedback from this particular presentation. To Webinar that. So I know what I can do to help more in future presentations.
So what do you enjoy about this? What do you wish to see improved? If you can give all your feedback, how did this whole presentation make you feel?
Was it actually helpful? You can give all that feedback to Webinar that, I'll be very, very much obliged and they'll be very appreciated. I'll sit around for a little bit more and please do .
Let me know if you have any other questions. OK, so Sophia has asked I was wondering how do you weigh the various factors that go into the decision of accepting a job. For example, if everything is good, the team, good hospital structure, but the boss has a bad vibe, this opportunity or others way more.
Very, very good question. OK. It depends.
It really, really depends. When you say the boss has got a bad vibe, so my question would be how impactful, how, how, how much involved is the boss in your daily runnings? OK.
Few different scenarios here. One is that he's literally the boss and it's not. Involved in the practise at all, i.e., he owns the place.
He makes money from it, but he himself hasn't got any, he or she himself themselves hasn't got any input on the daily. They think they're not even there, they just, and on Monday they just looking for that and there's another management team that manage it, the vets, nurses, the assistants, whatever, and that sort of situation. In those sort of situation.
It may not be a bad thing to get involved in that because, yeah, the boss is not good, but you know, it's not really affecting me in any way, anyway, and your relation with that particular person is very, very distant, so that may not even be a factor, example, just like dating. Nice boyfriend, nice brothers, nice sisters. Terrible mom or a dad.
But the question is, so should you go for this particular? Well, it depends. If the mom and the dad or whoever is affected is very, very close in that life, then yes, but if he doesn't even speak to the mom or dad, then you know that is a non-relevant issue.
Yeah, so that is one scenario. The more common scenario will be the boss is involved, whether he's a head vet, he's there for at least 2345 days a week. OK.
He has input on a clinical input, he may be the Consulting vet there, he may be the surgeon there. He is actually involved. OK.
And this is where, and this is just my personal opinion. No matter how good the team is. It will never elevate.
More than what the boss is. Because the leader can take you so far, the team with all the great ideas and supportive can have all these great ideas and all this management, but if the leader is not there, him or herself, it is very, very hard for the team to elevate more. Hence, the growth is always going to be stuck and stunted by the leader.
How far a practise goes. It's depending on the leader, because the leader is the lead. And when I say leader, I use the word leader slash boss, although we all know that it may not be the same thing.
A boss may not be a good leader, but nonetheless, if they're the boss, no matter how amazing the team is, if the boss hasn't grown himself, I find it very, very difficult for the team to excel even further. Classic example, if the boss is stuck over there and the team, the vets, they want to do more, I want to do more TPLOs, I want to do more exotics, I want to do acupuncture and all these sort of things, and the boss says, no, how can the team grow? So, you know, it is a tricky.
So. Yeah, I've seen a lot of practises, great team. But they don't go too far because the boss isn't great, and they can go through all the management training and things like that, but it just gets stuck there.
So great question. So my opinion is tricky unless the boss is not involved at all, it's like fine. And if you're going to go for a pay increase, who do you speak to?
HR or the boss? If the boss is the one who's going to discuss your pay increase, then your bad vibe, where is it going to go? So thanks for the question, Sophia.
I hope that makes sense to you. Any other questions? And back to the basic universal rule, never compromise yourself personally to become who you wish to be professionally.
If the ethos of the boss doesn't align with yours, you can only go that far before there will be a clash, in my opinion, unless the boss is not involved at all. It's just someone who owns the place. So you can find me on LinkedIn under Lennon Foo, or you can email me as well on [email protected].
Yeah, from David, have you met people who changed industry, how they can handle the possible bias against them? David, could you clarify your question a little bit, please? So are you talking about people who have left?
The vet industry or they have come from another industry to join the vets in the vet profession. And the bias against them because they're from a different industry. I'm not very sure I understand this question.
What sort of bias do they have against them because they left the profession or they've joined the profession? Change from another industry and trying to join a vet profession. OK, good question.
So basically, from what I understand, you're asking whether, so they have come from another industry and they joined a vet profession. For example, they have come from medical side of things or they, they were nurse before and joined the vet industry, humanist or whatever, long short of it. So.
I think it depends from what industry you've come from. In my head, there shouldn't be any biasedness. If you are, if you're in the vet profession, whether you're going to become a vet, if you become a vet, once you qualify as a vet, not many people ask what were you doing before.
And because you have become an MRC vet, you become a vet already anyway, if you, your plan is to leave the IT 15 years and find it amazing. OK, well, David, first of all, well done on following your dream. If you're going to leave the IT industry after 15 years and you're finally you're going to become a vet, so first of all, before you do that, I will presume there's a huge presumption, you have a great reason why you to be a vet.
OK. Your reason to be a vet must be so strong because being a vet is not straightforward, it's not easy, super long course, it's a super long sort of university course and as you can appreciate, many people, they are getting, getting out of profession actually. So your Y must be very, very strong, OK.
And what I will say that when you actually become a vet, OK, you have gone to vet college, you got MRCVS, I don't really think people care what you were doing before. And in fact, you probably have one up against the other vets who haven't got the IT industry, experience before, because you know a little bit more than other people regarding that sort of things, and maybe that's where you can even provide more value to the vet profession using your information that they had been. Before and take it from there really.
But in my experience, once you become a vet, nobody really cares where you, where you come from. And I don't think many people discriminate or have bias against, oh, you're not a real vet because you used to be IT. No, not at all.
You become a vet, you become a vet. So that's it really. I wish you the best of luck.
I highly, highly suggest you getting the book Vet for Life, which is just a picture over here because it does go through about Being a vet and the the sort of trials and tribulation you can go through and little tips that can ensure you're picking the right profession and how to actually bat for life. I hope that helps. You're welcome.
Thank you very much for your kind words. You're welcome. You and I.
Welcome all of you guys. Thanks for your attendance and your energy. It's so good.
Bye bye.
