Veterinary Voices
Veterinary Voices is for veterinary clinic owners who want to hire Their Kind of People—and want vets and nurses to recognise them as Their Kind of Clinic. For years, hiring gave you two options: run a job ad or don’t. Veterinary Voices is about the third: staying visible through culture stories, so the right people already know your clinic before you’re recruiting. Hosted by Julie South, each episode unpacks how clinics close the Decision Gap: the space between a job advert and a job application, where vets and nurses decide for themselves whether you’re Their Kind of Clinic. If you want your “great culture” to be something vets and nurses recognise instead of something you claim, this is your show.
FOR VET CLINIC OWNERS AND PRACTICE MANAGERS
TURN REAL CULTURE INTO *RECRUITMENT EVIDENCE*
Veterinary Voices helps vet clinic owners turn real experiences from inside their teams into credible recruitment evidence—so vets and nurses can recognise Their Kind of Clinic during their own due diligence.
Play Latest EpisodeNew to Veterinary Voices?
274
June 1, 2026
You Have a Great Culture. So Why Is It So Hard to Hire? ep 274
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 without ever questioning. The ad goes up. The ad comes down. The cli
270
May 4, 2026
What AI Says About Your Clinic When Vets and Nurses Search for You - 270
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 episodes featuring your team. This is AEO — Ask Engine Optimisation. And...
271
May 11, 2026
Testimonials vs Reviews: Why One Works and One Doesn't - ep. 271
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 — the difference between a testimonial and a review. They look similar. The...
284
Aug. 10, 2026
The Message vs The Moment: Why 'Small, Hardworking, Friendly Team' Doesn't Work - 284
The R in REAL+CULTURE+STORY: Why "Great Team" Job Ads Don't Work One letter. One question every vet clinic job ad needs to answer: is what you're claiming real, or is it just window dressing? In episode one of a new series, Julie South starts unpacking the REAL+CULTURE+STORY Framework — the 16-letter framework behind every Culture Story Centre her team builds — one letter at a time. Episode notes This episode covers: Why vague job ad claims — "collaborative and values-led," "small, hardworkin...
287
Aug. 31, 2026
Your Clinic Says “Respect.” What Happens When a Client Starts Shouting? - ep 287
A client begins shouting at someone on reception. A colleague steps between them, and the clinic leader backs the team by respectfully ending the client–clinic relationship. The value on the wall may say “respect”—but what happens in that moment reveals whether the clinic truly lives it. In episode four of the REAL•CULTURE•STORY series, Julie South unpacks the L — Lived Values. Previously in this series: Real Stories → veterinaryvoices.com/284 Everyday Evidence → veterinaryvoices.com/285 Actua
Latest Episodes
287
Aug. 31, 2026
Your Clinic Says “Respect.” What Happens When a Client Starts Shouting? - ep 287
A client begins shouting at someone on reception. A colleague steps between them, and the clinic leader backs the team by respectfully ending the client–clinic relationship. The value on the wall may say “respect”—but what happens in that moment reveals whether the clinic truly lives it. In episode four of the REAL•CULTURE•STORY series, Julie South unpacks the L — Lived Values. Previously in this series: Real Stories → veterinaryvoices.com/284 Everyday Evidence → veterinaryvoices.com/285 Actua
286
Aug. 24, 2026
Your Job Ad Says 'Supportive Team.' But Who Are They? - ep 286
Your Job Ad Says "Supportive Team." But Who Are They? A new grad dreading her first large bitch spay asks a senior vet to be on hand. The senior vet watches quietly, steps in only when it gets tricky, then trusts her to finish the surgery herself. Nobody wrote that moment into a job ad. But it's exactly the kind of proof that turns "supportive team" from a claim into something a vet or nurse can believe. In episode three of the REAL+CULTURE+STORY series, Julie South unpacks the A — Actual Pe...
285
Aug. 17, 2026
The Cake Problem: Why Your Best Recruitment Evidence Is the Stuff You Never Think to Mention - ep 285
"The Cake Problem": Why Your Best Recruitment Evidence Is the Stuff You Never Think to Mention Every Thursday, one vet bakes a cake for the Large Animal team meeting. Nobody asked her to. It's not in her job description. And it's exactly the kind of thing that never makes it into a job ad — even though it's the realest proof of "great team culture" a clinic will ever have. In episode two of the REAL+CULTURE+STORY series, Julie South unpacks the E — Everyday Evidence. Episode notes This episod...
284
Aug. 10, 2026
The Message vs The Moment: Why 'Small, Hardworking, Friendly Team' Doesn't Work - 284
The R in REAL+CULTURE+STORY: Why "Great Team" Job Ads Don't Work One letter. One question every vet clinic job ad needs to answer: is what you're claiming real, or is it just window dressing? In episode one of a new series, Julie South starts unpacking the REAL+CULTURE+STORY Framework — the 16-letter framework behind every Culture Story Centre her team builds — one letter at a time. Episode notes This episode covers: Why vague job ad claims — "collaborative and values-led," "small, hardworkin...
283
Aug. 3, 2026
What Every "Vet Clinic Job Ad" Elephant Has In Common - ep 283
What Every "Vet Clinic Job Ad" Elephant Has In Common Eight weeks. Seven elephants. One pattern. In the series finale of The Elephant In The Room, Julie South brings it all together — and names the single thing every elephant in this series had in common. Plus something you absolutely need to know before the next series begins. Episode notes This episode recaps all seven elephants from the series: The clinic with a reputation it hasn't found a way to publicly undo — and prove it's come a long...
282
July 27, 2026
Corporate or independent — does your job ad say? - ep. 282
Everyone in veterinary has an opinion about corporate versus independent ownership. Strong ones, in both directions. But almost nobody says which one they are in the job ad. In the seventh episode of The Elephant In The Room, Julie South looks at the question that sits in the back of every vet and nurse's mind when they're reading a job ad — and gives you one practical check that takes about thirty seconds. Episode notes Research VetStaff undertook with Unitec Te Pukenga in 2023 found that own
281
July 20, 2026
The New Grad Experience — What's Promised vs What's Real - 281
Some vets and nurses leave the profession far too soon. You probably know of at least one yourself. In this sixth episode of The Elephant In The Room series, Julie South looks at what happens when a new grad arrives at a clinic and the support that was promised turns out to look very different in practice — and asks one question that every new grad and every clinic owner should be able to answer. Episode notes Many vet clinics advertise a mentoring programme for new graduates — and mean it. B...
280
July 13, 2026
Competitive Remuneration - two job ad words that say nothing - 280
What's the single most important thing vets and nurses need to see in a job ad? Research says it's pay. By a country mile. And yet most vet clinic job ads say the same two words: competitive remuneration. In the fifth episode of The Elephant In The Room series, Julie South looks at why clinics won't put salary ranges in their ads — and why that decision is costing them more applications than they realise. Episode notes In 2023, VetStaff — New Zealand's only specialist veterinary recruitment a...
Recent Blog Posts
Sept. 3, 2026
L Is for LIVED VALUES: What Happens When a Client Starts Shouting?
Most veterinary clinics have values. Respect. Support. Compassion. Teamwork. Wellbeing. They may appear on the clinic website, in the team handbook or on the lunchroom wall. But to a vet or nurse considering their next career move, those words ar…
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Castro
RSS Feed
iHeartRadio