Veterinary Voices

The skills shortage is real. But it's not why your ad isn't working - the elephant in the room - ep. 278

Two clinics. Same town. Same skills shortage. One's been advertising since-forever. The other has been running a different kind of recruitment programme — and has had multiple suitable applicants within weeks.

Same shortage. Completely different outcomes. In the third episode of The Elephant In The Room, Julie South talks ab...

If you've ever looked at your job ad dashboard and wondered why the views are high and the applications aren't — this episode is about one of the reasons. And it's likely not the one Seek (or other job boards) will tell you about.

In the second episode of The Elephant In The Room, Julie South looks at the gap between believing a job ad and trusting it enough to act on it — and why spending more for more exposure doesn't ...

There's a clinic not too far from you right now that everyone in the profession knows about.

The vets know. The nurses know. The locums know. You can see it in the turnover — always hiring, always starting over. And nobody says publicly why.

In the first episode of a new series — The Elephant In The Room — Julie South talks about the reputation that travels through private chats and late-night conference conversatio...

Most clinics have their most honest conversation about culture when someone's leaving.

The vet or nurse is in their last week, and suddenly — they talk. They say what they loved about the team. They describe what made this clinic different. They name the specific things that kept them there as long as they did.

Honest. Warm. Specific. Exactly the kind of thing that would make the right person read it and think: that sounds like...

You have a great culture. Your team would back that up. So why is it sooooo! hard to find vets and nurses who want to work there?

The answer probably isn't your job ad. It's everything that didn't happen before your job ad ran.

In this fifth episode of What Job Ads Were Never Built To Do, Julie South unpacks the hidden cost of episodic recruitment — the off/on/off, stop/start/stop cycle that most vet clinics have normalised wit...

Your job ad has a requirements list. Must be a team player. Must thrive in a fast-paced environment. Must do one weekend in four. And you're hoping the right vets and nurses will read it, recognise themselves, and apply.

Here's the problem. So does every other clinic's job ad. Word for word, in some cases.

In this fourth episode of What Job Ads Were Never Built To Do, Julie South unpacks why requirements lists don't filter — an...

Your clinic values are genuine. The team really is supportive. You really do care about animal welfare. So why is stating that in your job ad doing absolutely nothing for your recruitment?

In this third episode of What Job Ads Were Never Built To Do, Julie South unpacks why values listed in a job ad are indistinguishable from values listed in every other job ad — and why that makes them wallpaper, however sincerely they're mea...

There's a glowing quote from a team member on your careers site or in your job ad. It's positive, it's genuine — and it's doing almost nothing for your recruitment. This episode explains why, and what actually works instead.

In this second episode of What Job Ads Were Never Built To Do, Julie South unpacks one of the heaviest loads clinics are asking their job ads and careers pages to carry: social proof.

Specifically — t...

If you've ever posted a job ad and wondered why the right vets and nurses aren't applying — this episode is for you.

Something has shifted in how vets and nurses research clinics before they apply. They're not just Googling anymore. They're asking AI. And AI isn't reading your job ad to build its answer. It's reading everything else — third-party platforms, independent reviews, social media posts from your staff, podcast...

"Julie - That’s not how we do things around here.”

It’s one of the most honest responses Julie South hears from clinics when new ideas are introduced.

In this final episode of the Where Vet Clinics Get Stuck with Their Recruitment series, she looks at why this particular response is different from the others.

Because it’s not about time.
Or budget.
Or platform.

It’s about identity.

Knowing who you are...

“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 be...

“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 d...

“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...

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 recep...

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 &m...

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 lo...

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...

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 s...