Keep It Casual

The Age

Saturday August 9, 2008

Josh Jennings

An interest in animal care is what compels many people to seek work with the RSPCA, but animal care jobs with the organisation range from cleaning out pens for boarding cats to socialising animals. RSPCA Victoria human resources manager Bronwyn McIntyre says employment opportunities emerge throughout the year.

"We have anywhere between 80and 100 casual employees across the organisation at most stages of the year, and we recruit for casuals at different times of the year depending on our work needs," Ms McIntyre says. "Wehave some seasonal work but we have some areas of the organisation where we have an ongoing need for casuals as well."

Ms McIntyre says a specific planning stage is happening in August and September in preparation for some bulk recruitment through spring and summer. Casual vacancies appear on the RSPCA website for a range of jobs including vet nurses, animal attendants and customer service representatives, and there are steps that applicants can take to give themselves the best chance of gaining employment.

"It's important to tailor your application for the role you're going for. Because we have such a varied group of roles that fall under the casual employment category, make sure you read the ad and the position description carefully, and tailor your response to the needs of the role. And obviously, we're keen to hear why it is that you want to work for RSPCA as well." -- JOSH JENNINGS