--- title: No Experience Required? My First Job in Veterinary Medicine description: Learn from Beth Ann Fretz who applied for her first veterinary job with no experience and ended up finding her passion for the field. image: https://blog.atdove.org/hubfs/CSR%20TTK%20Cover-4.jpg --- [![atdove2021_WordMark_RGB](https://blog.atdove.org/hs-fs/hubfs/atdove2021_WordMark_RGB.png?width=1800&height=660&name=atdove2021_WordMark_RGB.png "atdove2021_WordMark_RGB")](http://www.atdove.org) Open main menu Close main menu [Veterinary Professional Development](https://blog.atdove.org/tag/veterinary-professional-development) # No Experience Required? My First Job in Veterinary Medicine ![Beth Ann Fretz](https://blog.atdove.org/hs-fs/hubfs/480x480px%20(9).png?width=45&name=480x480px%20(9).png) [Beth Ann Fretz](https://blog.atdove.org/author/beth-ann-fretz) [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.atdove.org/my-first-job-in-veterinary-medicine) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.atdove.org/my-first-job-in-veterinary-medicine) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.atdove.org/my-first-job-in-veterinary-medicine) ![veterinary receptionist](https://blog.atdove.org/hubfs/CSR%20TTK%20Cover-4.jpg) As my college graduation was nearing, I knew I needed to look for a job. At the time, I was considering graduate school to pursue a career in human medicine, but I didn’t feel ready to go to more school. I decided to take a year to figure out what I wanted to do. Most of my family works in the medical field, so I always assumed I would end up working in healthcare too. While I was searching for jobs during my last few months of classes, I found out that DoveLewis was hiring Client Service Representatives. I did my research and decided that my prior job experience in customer service and human medicine would apply well in the veterinary field. I previously worked as a Resident Assistant, then at a medical office, and became a registered Emergency Medical Technician in college. My work experience - working with people + reception + emergency medicine combined - would lend well to the CSR role. ![Hospital_wide shot of ER Floor_technicians and assistants](https://blog.atdove.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Hospital_wide%20shot%20of%20ER%20Floor_technicians%20and%20assistants.jpg?width=500&height=333&name=Hospital_wide%20shot%20of%20ER%20Floor_technicians%20and%20assistants.jpg) I had a great experience interviewing; I was so impressed with my tour of DoveLewis and quickly decided that I really wanted the job. As I progressed through the interview process, I had my fingers crossed waiting to hear about a job offer but** I was worried that my lack of veterinary experience would lessen my chances. **The job description asked for one year of experience working in the veterinary field, so I was very cautious with my expectations. In the end, I was offered the CSR position and immediately accepted the job. Now that I had the job I spent so much time working to attain, I knew that the next order of business would be to learn as much as I could about working in the veterinary field. Personally, I think that starting without any prior veterinary experience was an advantage for me. Entering a brand new field with an eagerness to learn is what really helped me strive to do my best at all times. Since I knew I had so much to learn, I had a lot of motivation to catch up on everything that I needed to know so that I could be a successful CSR. Having this attitude during my training is what helped me to learn quickly. ![explaining check-in form](https://www.atdove.org/sites/default/files/explaining%20paperwork.jpg) After being hired as a Client Service Representative without prior veterinary experience, I don’t think it’s necessary to have a veterinary background to be a successful CSR. **Having applicable experience to the job you’re applying for is important, but that experience can come from a lot of different places**. While there are some skills that come naturally and others learned, I think a lot of what we do as CSRs revolves around understanding client care and having a love of animals.   ![Beth Ann Fretz](https://blog.atdove.org/hs-fs/hubfs/480x480px%20(9).png?width=150&name=480x480px%20(9).png) #### Beth Ann Fretz DoveLewis Senior Executive Assistant and Project Manager ### Leave a Comment ## Related Articles [![veterinarian in hospital](https://blog.atdove.org/hubfs/DVM_Photos-10.jpg)](https://blog.atdove.org/focus-on-wellbeing) [Veterinary Professional Development](https://blog.atdove.org/tag/veterinary-professional-development) ### [Focusing on Your Well-being](https://blog.atdove.org/focus-on-wellbeing) We may be beginning to feel like we have more questions than answers. It is not unusual to experience a wide range of thoughts, feelings, and reactions.[Some of these...](https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/fearsanxiety-coronavirus.pdf) ![Debrah Lee, LCSW](https://blog.atdove.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Headshots/Square%20Crop/Debrah%20Lee.jpg?width=45&name=Debrah%20Lee.jpg) [Debrah Lee, LCSW](https://blog.atdove.org/author/debrah-lee-lcsw) [Read More](https://blog.atdove.org/focus-on-wellbeing) [![veterinary client service representative](https://blog.atdove.org/hubfs/CSR_checking%20in%20patient_veterinary%20receptionist.jpeg)](https://blog.atdove.org/recap-of-my-veterinary-marketing-internship) ### [Trying Different Hats: A Recap of My Marketing Internship](https://blog.atdove.org/recap-of-my-veterinary-marketing-internship) ##### *Client Liaison Rabecca Hoskins-Williams spent a few weeks in the DoveLewis Marketing department. Here are a few memorable learning moments she gained from her experience!* ![Rabecca Hoskins-Williams](https://blog.atdove.org/hs-fs/hubfs/279px-Rabecca_Hoskins_Williams.jpg?width=45&name=279px-Rabecca_Hoskins_Williams.jpg) [Rabecca Hoskins-Williams](https://blog.atdove.org/author/rabecca-hoskins-williams) [Read More](https://blog.atdove.org/recap-of-my-veterinary-marketing-internship) #### Our Mission ## We are leaders in the veterinary education profession, but we’re not keeping our knowledge to ourselves. 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