How do you find your vet locum job?
Veterinary Locum Jobs UK
Ok you have done your research, you know you can register with the RCVS or you are already registered, you are either in the UK or coming to the UK shortly, how do you find your veterinary locum Job? There are a number of ways:
1. You can register with one of the established conventional veterinary locum agencies, there are quite a number of them in the UK. How they operate is to find work placements and then act as a go between between you and the prospective employers. They charge a fee for this service which is paid by the employers but a good veterinary locum agency will work for their money, they will have in depth knowledge of the practices needing locums and will assess and match the available locums to the practices concerned. This way both you the locum and the practices concerned are more likely to be happy at the end of the period of employment.
I for example was told more than once that certain locums were available but would not suit me for whatever reason and I have no doubt that it works the other way round as well that locums are told that certain practices would be unsuitable for them as well. Another example of a poor locum placement would be to put a new graduate in a sole charge situation or where there is a high workload. It pays to be with a veterinary locum agency who researches the current employment situation and will advise you in depth. You may find that some of the agencies will advise you on other matters such as your tax situation, what to charge, accommodation etc. and will liaise between the locums and the employers to resolve any disputes which may occur.
So how do you find a good veterinary locum agency, well we have a listing of veterinary locum agencies on this site, see the link on your left thats a good start. You can run a Google search thats a very good way as well, use the search box on the top this site as it has been optimised for specific searches. Search on ” veterinary locum agencies UK ” or ” vet locum agencies UK “. I would say though that the best way to find a good agency would be by word of mouth or personal recommendation.
2. There are some web sites available now where you can leave your details and vets wishing to employ locums can list their details also. Most likely this works well in most cases but it is up to each party to to interview each other probably via E-mail or on the phone so you will never really be sure of the situation until the period of employment starts. Also you will have no one to turn to for general advice or help in the very rare situations where major problems arise. Like not being paid for example ….
3. There are adverts in some publications such as The Veterinary Record and The Veterinary Times both for vet practices seeking locums and locums seeking employment. Again in most cases these jobs will work out fine but beware of the same potential snags that I have listed in section 2. These publications also run adverts for veterinary locum agencies as well.
Tip: The best way to find a good veterinary locum agency is by word of mouth.
admin @ May 21, 2008