Episodes

Your clinic says it values learning. Then a new grad asks a senior vet for help and gets a sigh, an eye roll and: “Didn’t they teach you that at vet school?”
What management does next shows that new grad—and everyone watching—which standards your clinic genuinely protects and which behaviours it’s prepared to let slide.
Episode 290 is the seventh episode in the 16-part REAL•CULTURE•STORY series. This week, Julie South returns to L for LIVED VALUES, this time within the CULTURE—or understood—part...

Almost every veterinary clinic says, “We work as a team.” But that tells vets and nurses almost diddly squat about how the team actually works.
What they need to understand is what happens when someone asks for help, disagrees, challenges a decision or finds themselves left holding the fort.
Episode 289 is the sixth episode in the 16-part REAL•CULTURE•STORY series. This week, Julie South explores U for UNDERSTANDING: how culture stories help vets and nurses outside your clinic understand the peo...

A vet or nurse may begin researching your clinic months before you advertise a vacancy. They’re not necessarily ready to apply—but they may already be deciding whether yours is a clinic worth remembering.
If the answers they need are scattered across job ads, client-facing webpages and old social posts, they may simply move on before finding a reason to keep your clinic on their watchlist.
In episode five of the REAL•CULTURE•STORY series, Julie South unpacks the first letter in CULTURE: C — Clar...

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...

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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

If you're responsible for hiring at your vet clinic, do you have dread words? Words you know you have to include in the job ad, but the moment you type them you can already feel the applications not coming? This episode is about two of those words: after-hours. In the fourth episode of The Elephant In The Room, Julie South looks at why "shared across the team" tells a vet or nurse almost nothing — and why the clinics that have genuinely solved after-hours are sitting on something worth saying...

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 about the difference between a ceiling and a floor — and which one y...

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 close that gap. It just means more people landing on the wrong side of it...

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 conversations, but never makes it into the one place it might actually do some good. And ...

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 my kind of place. And the job ad? It might still be running. Stil...

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...

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 — and why vanilla clinics get vanilla applications.

When every clinic l...

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 meant.

The problem isn't your values. It's the tool you're using to carr...

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...

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...

"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 as a clinic — how you operate, what you stand for — is a strength. It’s the foundation of a ...

“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. Sharing updates. Trying to show a bit of team life. Because the issu...

“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 claims. They’re trying to work out: What’s the team really lik...