Technical Job Requirements for Industry
By Debra Nickelson, D.V.M.
The previous article lists job requirements that involve soft skills and how your clinical examples translate to those skills. Here are some more technical job requirements and how your education and skills would meet them. You meet more job requirements that you think, so expand your thinking and believe in yourself.
| Job Requirement | What that Means | Clinical Examples |
| Technology management | Keep current on technological developments, use technology to achieve results, secure systems | Practice management software, laboratory equipment, herd management systems |
| Financial management | Prepare budgets, oversee procurement and contracts, monitor expenses, consider cost benefit for setting priorities | Practice management, inventory, supply company contracts, budgets for clients |
| Accountability | Hold self and others accountable for SMART objectives, set priorities, delegate work, accept responsibility for mistakes | Practice management, average client transaction, production levels, standard operating procedures, regulatory compliance |
| Human capital management | Build and manage workforce according to organizational goals, needs and budget, recruit, select, train, appraise employees, act on performance challenges | Practice management, train and evaluate employees, hire, fire, set raises and bonus decisions |
| Entrepreneurship | Identify new opportunities for organization, develop or improve products and services, take calculated risks for organizational goals | Practice management, new services, new equipment, practice growth, client outreach |
| Strategic thinking | Formulate objectives and priorities, implement plans consistent with organizational goals, capitalize on opportunities and manage risks | Practice management, business plans, herd improvement plans, exit strategies |
| Problem solving | Identify and analyze problems, consider accuracy of information, generate and evaluate solutions, make recommendations | Practice management, client interactions, diagnosis, treatment, follow up plans, herd evaluations |
| Creativity and innovation | Develop insights into situations, encourage new ideas and innovations, design and implement new programs and processes | Practice management, client communication, education, and compliance, new programs |
Again, do you see a pattern? All these more technical skills involve practice management and you do that every day, with your co-workers, employees and clients. So when you are asked in an interview, “Tell me about a program you initiated and how it worked out,” you can give an example of how you and the team started a new service for the practice, how you advertised that to clients, what was the response and how much actual or percent of growth resulted for the practice. Again, behavioral interviewing.
- What was the opportunity
- What you did
- What were the results
Good luck and let us know how we can help!