Interested in joining the animal care field or looking to expand in your career? AAZK is pleased to offer our members a variety of resources that will provide further insight into what it means to be in this field. The information on this page is not intended to provide a definitive road map to becoming an animal keeper, but rather to serve as a starting point for those interested, no matter where you are in your journey.

This page includes some examples of Cover Letters, Resumes, and Curriculum Vitae (CV) from colleagues in the animal care profession. All personal and identifying information has been redacted from the example documents. These are meant to serve as guidelines, as information will be dependent on where you are applying for a job and what is needed by the recruiter. For your best chance to be considered for an interview, it is important to be professional, concise, and clear in your information.

To offer the most professional presentation of yourself, proofread everything thoroughly. It also helps to have someone else read your application documents to cross check your spelling and grammar. When applying for a specific position, first explore the organization’s website to understand their institutional mission, goals and values. This research, along with carefully reading the job listing, will help you to customize all your information toward the job description.

Animal Keeping as a Career

Are you interested in learning more about a career as an animal keeper? Great! You’re in the right place. The American Association of Zookeepers is an organization dedicated to furthering the knowledge and expertise of the animal keeping profession, and that begins with learning what it means to be a keeper in the first place.

Continuing Education Programs List

This list is a compilation of programs submitted from the AAZK membership. Programs listed are not endorsed by the American Association of Zookeepers. Although efforts are made to update this list for accuracy, it is only intended to be used as a starting point and members should do their own research into each program of interest.

AAZK Degree Programs List - 2023

Applying for a Career in the Animal Care Field

General Guidelines

Always proofread before finalizing your documents.
Follow instructions. If application asks for a cover letter and you don’t include it, your application may be discarded or will not score high enough to qualify for an interview.
Always save and submit as a PDF (unless specifically requested otherwise).

Cover Letter

This one-page letter should accompany your resume, introducing you and showing your personality as well as expanding on the accomplishments noted in your resume.

Always include the current date, the name and address of the relevant person, and a professional greeting.
An organized cover letter should be is easy to read and should include an introduction, a brief set of examples of your work-based projects and solutions, and a statement of why you would be a good fit for the job and company for which you are applying.

A cover letter should not repeat the information presented in your resume but rather should present to the prospective employer why your experience makes you an ideal candidate for the position. Read the job description thoroughly and highlight key words. Include those key words in the body of your letter.
Your letter should conclude with a thank you, and a standard closing such as warm regards or sincerely, and should include your actual signature.

Cover_Letter_Example_1.pdf

Cover Letter_Example 1

Cover_Letter_Example_2.pdf

Cover Letter_Example 2

Resume

A resume is a document created by an individual with the purpose of seeking employment. A resume is required to accompany most job applications, and highlights an individual’s employment history, skills and accomplishments and qualifies the educational requirement for the position.

Usually 1 (preferred) -2 pages, but this can be dependent on the needs of the potential employer.
Keep the style simple and without a lot of unusual fonts and color.

Resume Components

Contact information
- No photo of you is necessary
- Your full name, phone number, and personal email address (no work email address or unprofessional email with nickname, etc. If using a student email address, make sure you will have the ability to access it after graduation)

Skills Summary
Work History (Company, Title, Date started- Date ended)
Education
Listing Relevant Experience
If you are applying for an animal care position, list your professional animal experience at the top and your education at the bottom.
If you are applying for an education position, list that at the top.
Use of result-based bullet points (If you do this; brief – one sentence)
Don’t note obvious or generic things like animal husbandry, team player, good communicator if you’re applying for a similar job (the recruiter will already know that you had to perform at these categories).
Include what you did and the result – i.e. (result underlined to show examples): trained animal for voluntary blood draw to allow for biannual analysis; improved diabetes management while maintaining high level of training through diet changes for 0.1 gibbon; decreased overdue tasks by creating visual management board.
This is easier in a field where you can use numbers to prove your success (i.e. sales percentages, success rates, etc.) so it may not apply to everything you have done and very bullet point you have, but it is impactful when applicable.

Tailor details to the position you are applying for:
If you are applying for a bird position, for example, highlight experience related to birds in your bullet points.

An older job may become a bigger part of your resume because that experience is more relevant to the position you are applying for.

Resume_Example_1.pdf

Resume_Example 1

Resume_Example_2.pdf

Resume_Example 2

Resume_Example_3.pdf

Resume_Example 3

Resume_Example_4.pdf

Resume_Example 4

Resume_Example_5.pdf

Resume_Example 5

CV or Curriculum Vitae

A Curriculum Vitae or CV is very different from a resume as it presents a full history of your academic achievements and provides an insight to your personal skills as a volunteer, intern or other positions you have held in associations, organizations, and clubs. The length of this document may be variable and is based on years of experience.

A CV is often used for applications for academia, grants and fellowships, or for international (non-U.S.) positions.
A printed copy of your CV should be given to the interviewer at the time of the interview or faxed/emailed ahead in case of phone interview.

CV Components

Contact Information (full name, phone number, permanent address, personal e-mail)
Education should always be listed first on a CV.
- Include the most current first, and list titles of theses/dissertations.
Honors/Awards should be listed with the most recently received first.
- May include scholarships.
Professional Experience is your work history, listed without descriptions.
- May include research.
Extracurricular/Volunteer Experience
Professional Associations and Activities
- Include only current associations
- List relevant positions held with professional organizations (ex: AAZK).
- Activities may include past and present, with the most current listed first, and should highlight academic/research roles.

Publications and Presentations
- Listed in order of publication
- May include submitted/pending publications
- Highlight your name in the listed authorship
- Plan to have printed copies available of every presentation listed
Interests or Other Qualifications
- Interests are your hobbies. They should reflect your personality and skill set.
- Other qualifications need to be verifiable and may include skills such as language fluency and cultural knowledge.

CV_Example_1.pdf

CV_Example 1

CV_Example_2.pdf

CV_Example 2

Personal & Professional References

When actively seeking employment, it is important to identify people who can provide either personal or professional references for you.

A professional reference is someone with whom you have worked, that can provide confirmation of your work skills and performance.
A personal reference is someone who knows you well and can offer details regarding your character, integrity and goals.

It is recommended that you identify three to five references.

Always list your strongest and/or most relevant reference first.
For each reference list their name, job title, company, address, phone number and email.
You may also wish to include a brief reference description to identify their relationship to you.

You may also ask your references to provide a professional letter of recommendation.