Hiring guideRead at source, 29 September 2026
How to Recruit Veterinary Assistants: Where to Find Them and What the Ad Must Say
To recruit veterinary assistants, recruit for animal experience and attitude, not clinic experience. The job needs a high school diploma and on-the-job training, so your pool includes kennel, daycare, grooming, shelter, farm and pet retail workers. Lead the ad with pay, the weekly schedule and whether there are overnights, keep the application to a few mobile questions, and do not ask for a veterinary technician credential on an assistant posting. Call or text within the day.
Who you are recruiting
BLS counts veterinary assistants with laboratory animal caretakers. The occupation had 132,100 jobs in 2025 and is projected to reach 144,200 by 2035, a 9.1 percent increase, with about 23,200 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections 2025-35). The typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with short-term on-the-job training, and the May 2025 median annual wage was $38,150 (BLS, May 2025 median annual wage).
That entry profile is the most useful fact for recruiting. You are not looking for a credential; you are looking for someone who handles animals calmly, cleans without complaint and learns fast. NAVTA offers a voluntary Approved Veterinary Assistant (AVA) designation through more than 65 approved programs in the United States and Canada (NAVTA). List it as a plus, or offer to pay for it, rather than a requirement. Our veterinary assistant job description has duties, pay by setting and a template.
Where to find veterinary assistants
- Kennel, boarding and doggy daycare staff. They already restrain, feed and clean up after animals all day.
- Groomers and pet retail workers. Comfortable with nervous animals and anxious owners.
- Shelter staff and volunteers. People who give time to animals unpaid are worth a direct invitation.
- Farm and stable workers. Especially for mixed and large-animal practices.
- Pre-vet and veterinary technology students. Part-time and weekend shifts suit them, and some become your future credentialed technicians.
- Facebook and Instagram job ads. Most of the people above are not searching job boards for clinic work; an ad showing your real team and patients reaches them in their feeds. Meta employment ads run in a special ad category with no age, gender or ZIP code targeting and a 15-mile minimum radius (details).
What to pay veterinary assistants
Start from the $38,150 BLS median and check local practices and emergency hospitals, since those are your real competitors. Pay differs by setting; research and laboratory settings pay differently from clinics, and the job description page lists the medians by sector. Beyond the rate, candidates weigh a predictable weekly schedule, discounted care for their own pets and a paid path to becoming a credentialed technician. Put the pay range in the ad.
How to write the veterinary assistant ad
The three things this candidate checks first: how much, what schedule, and whether they need experience. Answer all three in the first two lines. Sample headlines:
- “Veterinary Assistant: no clinic experience needed, we train. Closed Sundays.”
- “Love animals? Join our small-animal team. Four 10-hour days, no overnights.”
- “Emergency vet assistant, overnight rotation with premium pay. Animal handling experience a plus.”
Be plain about the less glamorous parts: kennel cleaning, restraint of difficult animals, and helping with euthanasia. Saying it up front filters out people who would leave in the first weeks.
Do not ask for a technician credential
A veterinary technician is a different occupation with a credential and a higher wage. Asking for a technician credential on an assistant posting shrinks your pool to people who will expect technician pay. If you need a credentialed technician, post that job separately; our guide on how to recruit veterinary technicians covers it. What an assistant may do in your practice depends on your state’s rules, which vary by state, so write duties that match them.
Screening questions for a mobile application
- Can you work the schedule in this ad, including the weekends and holidays listed? (knockout)
- Can you lift the stated weight and restrain dogs and cats of all sizes with training? (knockout)
- What hands-on animal experience do you have? (multiple choice: clinic, shelter, kennel, grooming, farm, none; not a knockout)
- Are you interested in becoming a credentialed veterinary technician? (not a knockout; flags your future pipeline)
Speed and follow-up
Text every applicant within minutes and invite promising ones to a short working interview or shadow shift in the same week, paid. Watching someone handle an anxious dog tells you more than any answer to a question. Text recruiting makes that follow-up fast while your team is busy with patients.
The first 90 days
Most new assistants come from outside clinics, so plan the training. Pair each new hire with one experienced assistant or technician, teach restraint and kennel protocols before surgery support, and check in at 30, 60 and 90 days. If you offered to pay for the AVA program or a path to a technician program, start that conversation in the first quarter so it stays real.
What a veterinary assistant applicant costs on Meta
Boostpoint’s 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark does not segment veterinary or animal-care roles, so there is no veterinary assistant figure to quote. Across all roles, the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant and the middle half ran $6.48 to $29.74. The biggest lever is the apply rate: campaigns converting over 35 percent of clickers ran $1.61 per applicant, and a short, no-experience-required application is how an entry-level role gets there. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire. See the full benchmark and our look at the veterinary staffing shortage.
Frequently asked questions
How do you recruit veterinary assistants?
Recruit for animal experience and attitude rather than clinic experience. Run ads on Facebook and Instagram that lead with pay, schedule and no experience needed, keep the application short, and invite promising applicants to a paid shadow shift the same week.
Where can I find veterinary assistants?
Among kennel, boarding and daycare staff, groomers, pet retail workers, shelter staff and volunteers, farm and stable workers, and pre-vet students. Social ads reach them in local feeds where animal people are already active.
Does a veterinary assistant need a certification?
BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. NAVTA's Approved Veterinary Assistant designation is voluntary, so list it as a plus. What assistants may do varies by state, so check your state's rules.
How much do veterinary assistants make?
BLS reports a May 2025 median annual wage of $38,150 for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers. Pay varies by setting and region.
What should a veterinary assistant job ad say?
The pay range, the weekly schedule, whether there are overnights or weekends, and whether clinic experience is required. Be honest about cleaning, restraint and euthanasia support.
How much does it cost to recruit veterinary assistants on Facebook?
Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark has no veterinary-specific figure. Across all roles, the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant, and campaigns with apply rates over 35 percent ran $1.61. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Should I hire a veterinary assistant with no experience?
Yes, if they have hands-on animal experience from a kennel, shelter, grooming salon or farm and you plan the training. BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical for the occupation, so on-the-job training is the normal route into the role.
Need assistants who can start this month?
Boostpoint Attract runs your veterinary assistant ads on Facebook and Instagram with the creative made for you, and Boostpoint Connect texts every applicant the moment they apply so you can book shadow shifts fast. See pricing or book a demo.
Book a DemoSources: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 and May 2025 median annual wage (veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, SOC 31-9096); NAVTA, Approved Veterinary Assistant program; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 29 September 2026.