“We’ve tried social media. It didn’t work.”

It’s something Julie South hears often from clinics that have already put time and effort into posting, sharing, and trying to build some form of presence online.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, she continues the Where Vet Clinics Get Stuck series by looking at why social media so often disappoints — even when clinics are doing what they’ve been told to do.

Posting regularly.
Shari...

“We’ll just update our careers page.”

It’s a common response when recruitment isn’t working.

It feels like progress.
It’s visible.
It can be done in an afternoon.

BUT! A careers page sits inside a website built for a completely different audience.

Pet owners.

Not vets or nurses who are trying to decide whether your clinic is worth the risk of leaving where they are now.

That’s a different decision.

They’re not looking for polished...

“But isn’t this just employer branding, Julie…?”

It’s a question that comes up when clinics start looking beyond job ads and into how they’re seen as a place to work.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South answers that question directly.

Because while employer brand marketing and what she’s describing can sound similar, they’re designed for different situations.

Employer brand marketing comes from large organisations — built...

Front Desk, Full Team: Stacey Deacon on How Energy Vets Works Day to Day

Stacey Deacon didn’t train as a veterinary nurse.

She’s a dedicated receptionist — and part of a reception team that sits at the centre of how Energy Vets runs day to day.

In this final episode of the Energy Vets REAL+STORY series, Stacey shares what working on the front desk actually looks like inside a busy mixed practice in Taranaki.

The reception team works ac...

When veterinary clinics start looking at changing how they approach recruitment, certain phrases come up in conversation.

They’re usually said under pressure.

And they often stop things before they really get going.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South continues the Where Vet Clinics Get Stuck series by looking at one of the most common:

“We don’t have time for this.”

For clinics already stretched — covering vacancies, jugg...

Leadership, Succession, and Coming Home: Kylie Lindsay on Growing People at Energy Vets

Kylie Lindsay began her journey with Energy Vets answering after-hours phones. More than twenty years later, she’s Clinic Services Manager, shareholder, and now a director of the Taranaki practice.

In this second half of Julie South’s conversation with Kylie, the focus shifts to leadership and the kind of veterinarian Energy Vets is looking for as...

From Client to Clinic Leader: Kylie Lindsay on Energy Vets’ Growth and Team Culture

Kylie Lindsay didn’t originally join Energy Vets as a staff member — she joined as a client.

Growing up in rural Inglewood with horses and other animals, the clinic (then Inglewood Veterinary Services) cared for the animals on her family’s lifestyle block. One day, while a vet was visiting one of her horses, Kylie asked whether there might be any work...

When veterinary clinics begin recognising the reactive recruitment cycle, certain phrases often start appearing.

They sound practical — but they’re often the cycle defending itself.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South begins a new series exploring the objections that surface when clinics start considering a different way to approach recruitment.

The first phrase she hears most often is:

“Julie, we need someone now — not i...

Head Vet Nurse Nicky Smith on Team Support, Community, and Life in Taranaki

In this REAL+STORY episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South speaks with Nicky Smith, Head Vet Nurse at Energy Vets in Taranaki.

Nicky has worked in veterinary clinics in New Zealand and overseas, including time living in Auckland and abroad. But when the time came to settle and raise her family, she made the deliberate decision to return to Taranaki — the pl...

By month five of job advertising, most vet clinics and their teams are exhausted.

Posting everywhere didn’t work. Rewriting didn’t work. Spending more didn’t work.

But the vacancy hasn’t just stayed a vacancy — it’s started affecting the people who are still there.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South explores what happens when a role has been open for four to six months and the pressure inside the clinic starts to build.

...

Energy Vets, Taranaki | Starting Out as a New Grad

In this REAL+STORY episode, Julie South speaks with Dr Sieara Claytor, a 2025 graduate working in her very first full-time veterinary role at Energy Vets in Taranaki.

Sieara moved from the United States to study in Australia and has now started her career in rural New Zealand. Six months in, she’s already managing emergencies, assisting in surgeries beyond routine desex...

By month four of advertising, most vet clinics and their teams are exhausted.

Posting everywhere didn’t work.   Rewriting didn’t work.   Spending more didn’t work.

So you start trying random things.

A Facebook post.  Asking your team to share.  Updating your careers page.  Boosting something for $50… maybe $100.

Because something has to (read: needs to!) stick.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South unpacks what really happen...

Energy Vets, Taranaki | Why Alana Came Back

In this REAL+STORY episode, Julie South speaks with vet nurse Alana Howard about why she returned to Energy Vets after starting her nursing career there 20 years ago and then spending years working in Australia.

Alana talks about what made coming back feel like the right decision — not just professionally, but personally. She compares different clinic environments and explains...

Why Spending More on Job Ads Doesn’t Work

By month three of advertising, most vet clinics assume the problem is reach.

Not enough applications?   Then not enough visibility.
Not enough visibility?  Spend more.

Premium placement.
Featured listings.
Boosted posts.
Maybe even a recruitment agency.

But the real problem isn’t reach.
It’s recognition.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South unpacks what actually...

Energy Vets, Taranaki | Growing a Career That Grows With You 

In this REAL+STORY episode, Julie South speaks with Dr Michelle Gosling about what it looks like to build a long-term veterinary career in one place — and why she never felt the need to leave Energy Vets after joining as a new graduate in 2013.

Michelle reflects on her journey from new grad to senior large animal vet, working parent, farm services manager and, most recentl...

When a job ad doesn’t deliver suitable applicants, most clinics assume the problem is the wording.

So they rewrite it.
Add more detail.
Highlight mentoring.
Emphasise work-life balance.
Polish the benefits.

And wait.

In this episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South explores what’s really happening in month two of the recruitment cycle—when “posting everywhere” hasn’t worked, and rewriting feels like the logical next s...

Energy Vets | What Makes the Job Work Long-Term (Part 2)

Settling into a role is one thing.
Staying in it — sustainably — is another.

In this episode, Julie South continues her conversation with Dr Sam Armstrong, a mixed animal vet at Energy Vets in Taranaki, looking at what work feels like once the initial settling-in period has passed.

Sam talks candidly about after-hours, workload, seasonal pressure points, and how the structur...

This episode begins a new series looking at why the familiar recruitment playbook keeps failing veterinary clinics. Julie South starts with the first and most common response to a vacancy: posting job ads everywhere and hoping one platform will finally deliver a different outcome.

Using current data from across Australia and New Zealand, Julie explains how rotating job boards and increasing spend doesn’t change what vets and nurses ...