Veterinary cover letter example

Although pets are notoriously reluctant to visit them, veterinarians keep our dogs, cats and other animals healthy, vaccinated and spayed or neutered. If this is your field, writing a standout veterinary cover letter is an essential step to getting your next job.

The advice in this writing guide is paired with a veterinary cover letter example that can be modified for your own use. What we’ll cover: 

• The correct format for structuring your veterinary cover letter
• Persuasive pointers for each section of your veterinary cover letter: header, greeting, introduction, body and conclusion
• Avoiding common cover letter mistakes

Best format for a veterinary cover letter

Like all cover letters, the one you write as part of your veterinary job application should be structured to include these essential sections:

• Header
• Greeting
• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion
• Sign-off and signature

Harried vet hiring managers will appreciate the favor of you sticking to these simple cover letter ground rules. 

• Tailor to a tee. Every cover letter must fit the employer’s specific hiring needs.
• Less is more. A power-packed cover letter can still be short — never more than 400 words on one page.
• Pay close attention to the design and layout of your veterinary cover letter, making sure it has a professional, eye-pleasing look, with appropriate use of fonts, margins, and white space. Do not use a tiny font size to try to cram a wordy letter onto one page.
• Strive for a balanced look, avoiding a page layout that is full of text at the top and blank at the bottom. Keep your paragraphs of more or less equal length, and avoid big blocks of unbroken text.

Our writing tips for each separate part of your cover letter will refer to the veterinary cover letter sample below, which you can modify.

Cover letter header: How to reach you

A distinctive cover letter header visually sets you apart from other job contenders in a professional “brand” sense. As a modern version of what used to be the typed letterhead portion of correspondence in pre-digital times, the header prominently displays your identifying details to eye-pleasing effect: your name, profession, phone number, and email. Add links to your LinkedIn profile, website and any other professionally relevant online information or social media.

A well-designed header will automatically make your cover letter text look more professional and inviting to read by creating white space in between. Double the impact with matching headers on your resume and cover letter. Then it’s obvious both documents belong to you, and your contact information is easy for duly impressed recruiters to find later when inviting you for an interview.

Goal of the cover letter header: Acts as a branding element to create a memorable first impression when recruiters are drawn to your identifying information.

Cover letter greeting

The cover letter greeting, also known as a salutation, should usually start with the word “Dear,” followed by “Mr.,” “Ms.” or “Dr.” and the hiring manager's last name of the hiring manager. 

Always try to find out the actual name of the person processing job applications for the veterinary position job you’re seeking. In all likelihood, that won't be difficult if it's a vet clinic position. It might take some sleuthing if the hiring organization is large — for instance, a government department or college faculty — or you are applying through a recruiting agency.

But if it's impossible to identify any individual to address by name in your cover letter, use a more generic salutation like “Dear Happy Pet Veterinary Clinic” or “Dear Veterinary Hiring Team,”

Goal of the cover letter greeting: Addressing the recipient by name sets the right professional and personal tone to form an immediate direct connection.

Cover letter introduction

This is where you lock the connection you just made in the greeting. Your cover letter introduction must grip the reader’s attention without letting go. By hitting just the high notes, these opening lines will compel further reading. 

Confine your cover letter introduction to a few captivating statements, leading with your most impressive job qualifications, whether that’s your years of experience in the field, your education or something else. Cite talents, interests, motivations, and achievements that match what this employer needs. “This is what I can do for you” should be the basis for connecting your past animal health contributions to your future potential.

Goal of the cover letter introduction: Appeal to the employer’s hiring needs by stressing compatibility with your strengths and goals as a veterinarian.

Below is the greeting and introduction from our veterinary cover letter sample.

Cover letter body

The central part of your cover letter, known as the body, should present the meat and potatoes of your case. It’s the recruiter’s reward for reading past the introduction and could help you secure a short list spot. This section usually focuses on work experience, though it may mention education and special skills as well. 

Try to mention why you want to work for this employer in particular so it's obvious that you aren’t just e-blasting the same boilerplate cover letter to multiple employers. 

Reinforce that you are thoroughly familiar with the target job requirements by incorporating tangible, relevant examples of your veterinary success stories. Quantify with facts and figures wherever possible when describing beneficial outcomes that are sure to resonate with your next employer. For instance, how many specialized procedures did you perform per week (or month), using which techniques or equipment, to achieve what success rate percentage on average? Is there a particularly difficult case you could mention as an example of overcoming challenges?

Goal of the cover letter body: Build the recruiter’s confidence in your ability to provide excellent veterinary care.

Check out the body section from our veterinary cover letter example below.

How to close a veterinary cover letter: conclusion and sign-off

The conclusion of your cover letter — the final paragraph — is where you reiterate your interest in the veterinary job opportunity and why you are an ideal match. It should include a call to action in which you tell the hiring manager that you look forward to a response. Be sure your tone is not demanding or presumptuous, but do make it clear that you’d really like to follow up.

The sign-off, sometimes called a complimentary close, is the line that says “Sincerely,” “Best regards,” “All my best,” “Thanks so much” or the like. Add a space below this and type your full name. 

Goal of the cover letter closing: End on a confident, upbeat note with a call to action implying some response from the hiring team is expected.

See our the conclusion of our veterinary cover letter sample below.

Related article

20 Cover letter do’s and don’ts

There is plenty of advice out there in terms of writing a cover letter, so we thought that we would summarize it into a simple do and don’t format.

Common cover letter mistakes to avoid 

Being in a profession where life-or-death outcomes are at stake, you know more than most about the importance of mistake prevention on the job. That sets the bar especially high for avoiding preventable missteps in your job application documents. Particularly in your cover letter, which recruiters are likely to look at first, just one careless error could at best raise eyebrows, and at worst be a dealbreaker.

These are some of the most common cover letter mistakes to avoid.

• Typos, misspellings, grammatical gaffes, and other writing mistakes are unacceptable in a cover letter. Don't rely solely on spell-check and word use apps like Grammarly. Enlist at least one proofreader qualified to spot errors.
• Sending the same generic cover letter to all potential employers sends a message that you're not taking their job opportunity seriously enough to custom-tailor your approach.
• Limited page space makes it imperative to omit information such as irrelevant hobbies and interests.
• An unattractive, poorly formatted layout and design can immediately turn off the reader, making your cover letter a write-off.

Key takeaways for a veterinary cover letter

1. Think of your veterinary cover letter as a written handshake (or paw shake!) that enables you to connect with the hiring manager on a more immediate, direct and personal level than what a resume allows.
2. Each cover letter part serves its own purpose in reinforcing your case for being an excellent veterinary hire. Follow proper cover letter structure to make sure you’ve covered all the bases you need to.
3. Try to quantify the accomplishments you cite in the body of your cover letter.
4. Take every error-proofing measure possible, including a careful review by more than one person qualified to spot goofs.

Best of luck in our job search. Woof!