30 questions to ask a clinic before you take the job

How to use these questions

You will not ask all 31. Pick the two from each group that matter most to you and ask them in the order the groups run here: pay first, because a clinic that will not talk about money has answered everything else already. Write the answers down. The clinic that gives you numbers (dollars of CE, days of PTO, techs per doctor, months on the clawback) is the clinic that has thought about its team. The one that gives you adjectives has not.

Each job page on VetTeamJobs shows which of these an employer stated in the posting and which it did not. Treat a "not stated" row as the question to ask first.

1. Pay and raises

Only 69% of the 7,515 clinic postings on our board state a wage. The rest expect you to ask. A clinic that will not name a number in the first conversation is telling you how the next five years of pay conversations will go.

1. 1. What is the hourly rate for this position, and what is the range for someone with my experience?

   What the answer tells you. A number, or a range with a reason, means the clinic has a pay scale. "It depends" or "we will discuss that later" usually means pay is set offer by offer, which favors whoever negotiates hardest, not whoever works best.

2. 2. Where does that rate sit against the state median for the role?

   What the answer tells you. Clinics that know the BLS figure for their state have thought about competitiveness. Ones that do not can be shown it; the job page on VetTeamJobs puts the listed range on the state ladder for exactly this conversation.

3. 3. When is the first review, and how are raises decided?

   What the answer tells you. A date (90 days, one year) and a method (skills checklist, credential, cost of living) are a pay path. "Annually, based on performance" with no criteria usually means raises depend on how the year went for the owner.

4. 4. Is there a shift differential for nights, weekends or holidays, and how much?

   What the answer tells you. A dollar amount per hour is a real policy. A percentage is fine. "We try to be fair" means no differential exists yet.

5. 5. Do credentialed techs earn a different rate from uncredentialed staff doing similar work?

   What the answer tells you. A clear gap says the credential is valued. No gap, in a state with title protection, is a sign you will be utilized like an assistant and paid like one.

6. 6. How is overtime handled, and how often does it happen?

   What the answer tells you. Hourly staff are owed overtime by law; the real question is whether the schedule is built to avoid it or relies on it. "Rarely" with a number behind it is good. "We are a team, we stay until it is done" is a warning.

2. Schedule and on-call

Schedule flexibility is one of the six things AAHA found keeps clinical staff in a job. A schedule question is a boundary question in disguise.

1. 7. What are the actual shifts for this role, and how far ahead is the schedule posted?

   What the answer tells you. Two weeks or more of notice is a managed clinic. Schedules posted days ahead mean your life is the variable.

2. 8. How many weekends a month, and how are holidays divided?

   What the answer tells you. A rotation with a number is a policy. "We share them" with no number means the newest hire takes the most.

3. 9. Is there on-call, and how is it paid?

   What the answer tells you. On-call that pays a standby rate plus call-in pay is a job. Unpaid on-call is a second job with no paycheck.

4. 10. Will I be contacted outside my shift, and what counts as an emergency?

   What the answer tells you. Hesitation, or "only if it is an emergency" with no definition, is a preview of your evenings.

5. 11. Are overnight or swing shifts part of this role now or in the future?

   What the answer tells you. Emergency and 24-hour hospitals should answer this plainly. A general practice that says "sometimes" is describing turnover it has not solved.

3. Staffing and ratio

Understaffing is the complaint behind most burnout stories. The ratio is a number the manager either knows or does not want to say.

1. 12. How many technicians and assistants are on the floor per doctor on a typical day?

   What the answer tells you. Two techs or assistants per doctor is a common general-practice target; one is thin; three or more usually means a specialty or emergency setting. The point is that they can answer at all.

2. 13. What happens when someone calls out sick?

   What the answer tells you. "We have a relief list" or "we block appointments" are plans. "We make it work" means you work it.

3. 14. How many appointments does a doctor see in a day, and who decides when the book is full?

   What the answer tells you. A clinic that overbooks to hit revenue targets burns out good teams. A cap set by the medical team is the healthiest answer.

4. 15. How many techs, assistants and CSRs left in the last 12 months, and why?

   What the answer tells you. Most practices will not have this memorized, which is itself telling. A clinic that can say "two, one moved and one went to school" has been paying attention.

4. Credential use and CE

In the NAVTA 2024 survey, 36 percent of techs felt fully utilized and 48 percent saw little difference between credentialed and uncredentialed duties. Utilization is where satisfaction comes from, and CE is how you keep moving.

1. 16. Which tasks here are done only by credentialed techs?

   What the answer tells you. Anesthesia monitoring, dental cleanings, catheter placement and lab work on a named list says the clinic uses its techs. "Everyone does everything" says it does not.

2. 17. What is the CE allowance in dollars, and how many paid days go with it?

   What the answer tells you. A specific dollar amount and paid days are a real benefit. "We support CE" with no number often means the budget does not exist.

3. 18. Does the clinic pay for license renewal, VTNE fees or a VTS pursuit?

   What the answer tells you. Covering renewal is common; supporting a VTS is a sign of a clinic that wants to keep senior techs.

4. 19. Who trains new hires, and for how long?

   What the answer tells you. A named trainer and a timeline (two weeks, 30 days) is an onboarding plan. "You will shadow for a bit" is not.

5. PTO and benefits

Nine percent of techs in the NAVTA 2024 survey got no PTO at all. "We offer benefits" and "we cover 80 percent of your premium" are two very different offers.

1. 20. How many PTO days a year, how do they accrue, and is sick time separate?

   What the answer tells you. Days in a number, accrual from day one, and separate sick time is the full answer. A single pooled bucket that starts after a year is the thin one.

2. 21. What share of the health premium does the clinic pay, and for dependents?

   What the answer tells you. Ask for the percentage and the monthly dollar cost to you. The difference between 50 and 80 percent of a premium is thousands of dollars a year.

3. 22. Is there a retirement plan with a match, and when does it vest?

   What the answer tells you. A match with a short vesting schedule is money. A plan with no match is just a payroll deduction.

4. 23. What is the pet care discount, and does it cover the full family of animals?

   What the answer tells you. This is the benefit techs use most. A percentage and a limit are the useful answer.

5. 24. Are scrubs, badges and equipment provided?

   What the answer tells you. Small, but it tells you whether the clinic budgets for its staff.

6. Sign-on and non-compete

A sign-on bonus with a clawback is a loan. A non-compete can decide where you work next. Both belong in writing before you accept.

1. 25. Is there a sign-on bonus, and what happens if I leave within a year?

   What the answer tells you. A clawback schedule (repay all within 12 months, half within 24) is common. Make sure it is prorated and in the offer letter.

2. 26. Is there a non-compete or non-solicit, and what is its radius and length?

   What the answer tells you. Ask for the document. A 10-mile, one-year non-compete can shut you out of every clinic you can commute to. Some states limit or ban them for hourly staff.

3. 27. Is the bonus paid up front or in installments?

   What the answer tells you. Installments tied to tenure are a retention tool; nothing wrong with that, but the headline number is not what arrives in month one.

7. Culture and turnover

Appreciation ranked second among the reasons people leave in AAHA's retention survey, right behind pay. These questions are about whether the clinic protects its team.

1. 28. Has the clinic ever ended a relationship with a client who mistreated staff?

   What the answer tells you. A yes with a story means your safety matters here. A pause means the client is always right.

2. 29. How does the team raise problems, and can you give an example of one that got fixed?

   What the answer tells you. A concrete example is the only real answer. Process words without one are decoration.

3. 30. Why is this position open?

   What the answer tells you. Growth, a move or school are normal. A role that has turned over three times in two years has a problem the posting will not mention.

4. 31. Can I do a working interview, and is it paid?

   What the answer tells you. A paid working interview is standard in the niche and the best way to see the ratio, the book and the mood for yourself. Unpaid working interviews are a red flag and, in many states, illegal.

What to get in writing

Before you accept: the hourly rate and any differential, the first review date, PTO and sick days, the CE allowance, the premium share in dollars, any sign-on bonus with its clawback schedule, and the full text of any non-compete. An offer letter that has all of it is normal. One that has only the rate is a draft, and you can say so.