There are a variety of different job roles in the animal care industry and in every one of them you can be sure that no two days are ever the same. This is already a challenge in itself, but if you’re looking for a way to feel continuously challenged and motivated in your animal care role, take a look at the tips below…
Set yourself measurable goals
Having small, measurable goals to work towards on a regular basis can be helpful in keeping you motivated. When deciding on objectives for yourself, they should be challenging but realistic; setting yourself unattainable targets will only dishearten you.
Additionally, you’ll want to define deadlines for each of your goals. Knowing you only have so much time to reach a target gives you a sense of urgency is often motivating. As Parkinson’s Law states: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion”.
Animal care roles vary massively, and within the workplace no two days are the same. With this in mind, your goals could be anything from dealing with an unexpected situation (such as a nervous or aggressive animal) without any help from your manager, to improving your communication skills and being able to answer any queries owners might have.
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Expand your skill set
Feeling like you’ve learnt everything there is to know in your current job role can leave you looking for your next challenge. As well as expanding your animal care knowledge, undertaking a formal qualification can help you to have your skills recognised.
What’s more – recognised qualifications don’t always have to break the bank or take up all of your free time. When studying an apprenticeship your employer will cover your course fees and you’ll get to spend 20% of your contracted working hours studying off the job.
Explore the different options available to you when studying the Level 2 Animal Care and Welfare Assistant Apprenticeship.
Work with different people
Working with people outside the team you work with on a day-to-day basis can give you a completely different outlook on your animal care role and show you perspectives you haven’t seen before. This could involve requesting to shadow a manager for the day, or if you usually only work weekdays, why not see if you can work a weekend once in a while?
Working with other people, especially those in different roles than you can help you to map out your career progression and get an idea of where you want to be in the next few years.
Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone
If you’re looking for a challenge at work, why not see if you can take on a new responsibility? For example you might be able to train up a new member of staff, or assist with an area of work that you wouldn’t usually.
It’s common for people to avoid doing things that are out of their comfort zone if they’re cautious they won’t do a good job. There are always going to be times when you fail at something, but each time you do, you’ll learn from it. So, if you know where you want to go in your animal care career, you need to be willing to put in a lot of hard work and step outside your comfort zone to get there.
