Life is not as complicated as it seems to be. ZOO is just another place of work, and you can easily start working with the animals. I will show you four effective ways of getting a job in the ZOO. Before doing it, however, let me to be a little philosophical:
If you truly love animals, you should not apply for a job in ZOO. You should not even visit it, becasue with each of your visits you support the enslavement of animals.
No animal enjoys living in cage, posing for tourists. Animals love to run free and enjoy the nature–just like you do. They want to choose where to go and what to do, they want to choose their partner and when they want to have children. There are no wild animals in the zoo–just caged slaves.
If you still want to work there, however, let me proceed to the guide…
Check the job board of a city magistrate, set Google Alerts
Most ZOOs in the world are governed by the cities where they are located. And the cities would not advertise jobs on commercial job boards, such as Monster or Top Jobs. They will post them on their own website, in local newspapers, or on a bulletin board next to the town hall.
A job offer may be advertised also on the bulletin board in the zoo, in the entrance area. These places do not get loads of traffic, and unless you know where to look, you may not even find out about the job opening.
You cal also set daily Google Alert for the following keyword: “job in [name of the ZOO]”. This way you should be informed about new job openings as soon as they appear online. Following the Facebook page of the ZOO is also obvious…
* May also interest you: Zookeeper interview questions.
Befriend someone in the ZOO
The easiest way to get a job in the ZOO is personal recommendation. A typical enslaving facility for animals won’t advertise many jobs. What is more, people tend to keep these jobs for years on end.
So when a position becomes available, the existing employees may go and tell their friends first, before the job is even publicly advertised. This explains why it is often almost impossible to find any job openings in a local ZOO.
Go to the ZOO, spend time looking around, and talk to people who hang around and feed the animals. Try to make connection and once this connection has been made (not in the first meeting), tell them about your desire to work with the animals.
Once you do this, it’s just about feeding the connection, keeping it alive, and waiting for a day when you will reap reward for your efforts, in a form of a new job contract.
Needless the say, the higher you get, the more powerful the connection. Befriending a director of a ZOO is better than making connection with the walkways sweeper. This might be your first job after all…
* Special Tip: You can also download an exclusive summary of this article in a simple, one page long PDF, and return to it anytime later (even when offline):
Apply for internship through the University
Another way of getting into the detention facility for animals is through internship program at the University. Veterinary faculties or faculties where you can study Biology or Zoology often cooperate with the ZOO. They would send a few students each year for internship (sometimes paid other times not).
It is not the same like having a real job, but it allows you to understand the place, to make some connections, and, when the right time comes, to apply for a full time job–maybe even at the end of your internship term.
Obviously this method has one drawback–you have to study at the Uni first…
Go in and ask, lower your expectations
The most direct way is simply walking in the administrate building, knocking on the door of the zoo director, and offering your labor. And perhaps also something more.
If you make a good impression, if your body language is right, if you come up with some great interview answers, you may as well succeed.
The most important thing is to lower your expectations. For sure you can start with asking about full time job opportunities. If they are not available, however (and most likely they won’t be available) ask about part time positions. If that’s also not possible, offer your services as a volunteer.
Say that you are ready to sweep the dust, clean the cages, or simply work as a cashier. Show that you are willing to sacrifice your free time for your dream.
Once you prove your skills as volunteer, they may offer you a real job in this place of animal torture…
May also interest you:
- Get a job with no experience – If you have no previous working experience, you can still land a decent job. You just have to know how to turn your disadvantage (lack of experience) to an advantage in an interview.
- How to write a great job application – Learn how to stand out with your application, and secure an invitation for an interview.
