A kennel Attendant provides care to animals in animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and animal boarding facilities. The role requires love for animals and experience handling them. The role does not require specific education but a high school diploma is beneficial.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
The interviewer wants to understand your motivation for applying to this role. Share why you are interested. Ensure that in your answer you do not come out as just someone looking for any job.
“I am interested in this role because I see that my skills and experience perfectly match the job description. I see this as an opportunity to grow my skills while fostering the company’s vision and mission. I like the way an adoption program is run here and would love to be part of the process. I also like the vision of the company in terms of taking care of animals. This is one common thing we share when it comes to caring for animals. Through this role, I believe this will be a mutually satisfying relationship.”
2. What Are The Roles Of A Kennel Attendant?
The interviewer wants to know if you understand the roles played by a Kennel Attendant. Share the roles you expect to play.
“In this role, I expect that I will be involved in cleaning cages and dog runs. I also will play with the animals and walk the dogs. I will be involved in feeding them and assessing their other needs. I will also bathe and groom the animals. When I assess an animal as sick, I will follow up on the animal’s treatment and administer medication as required. I will also prepare the workspaces and tools that will be used by my colleagues when treating the animals.”
3. What Are The Qualities That A Kennel Attendant Needs To Be Successful?
To handle animals, you need to have some special qualities. The interviewer wants to know if you are aware of these qualities. Share what you need to be successful in this role.
“This role requires someone patient and persistent. Handling animals requires a lot of patience because you cannot reason with them. The role also needs a persistent person. The animals sometimes may be difficult to handle because they are in a different environment. You will need to be persistent despite the challenges. These are qualities that I have developed in my past roles and I believe will be beneficial in my work in this organization.”
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role? How Did You Manage Them?
This role pauses its unique challenges. The interviewer is looking to know how you rise above the challenges. Share a challenge and how you solved it in the past.
“In my past role, I encountered animals whose history had not been taken when being rescued. During the first few days, it was difficult to handle them. I recommended that we need to profile the animals very well such that anyone going through their files would know what to expect and how to handle them. This was implemented and it made it easier for my colleagues and me to interact easily with the animals rescued.”
5. Describe Your Daily Routine As A Kennel Attendant?
The interviewer is interested to know how you plan your days. Share what you expect to handle every single day.
“I expect that the day starts with cleaning of cages and kennels. Medication is also given to the animals at this time. Then we will proceed to feed all the animals. Once our little friends are well fed, it’s time to take walks and play with the animals. This is also cuddling time for the dogs. After this, the animals are allowed to take naps while the staff takes their lunch. In the afternoon, I will feed the animals their lunch. I expect to fold laundry afterward.”
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience
The interviewer wants to know if you have handled this role before. Share your previous experience and explain how this will assist you in this particular role.
“I have five years of experience as a Kennel Attendant. I have held this role since I was in junior high school. I started as a hobby and a way to earn extra pocket money on a part-time basis. With time, I realized my passion for animals and I have handled the role full-time for 2 years. Through the years of experience, I will perfectly fit in this role because I can hit the ground running therefore saving the company time in terms of training to adjust to the role.”
7. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Is Required For This Role?
To be successful in this role you need to present a specific mindset and strategy. Share how you will handle this role.
“This role requires patience and persistence. You need to have a mindset that does not give up. You need to follow through to achieve results. You need to have a growth mindset that will allow you to grow your skills as time goes by. The role requires flexibility as two animals will not need to be handled the same. You will need to understand the different animal needs and handle them as required. Attention to detail is also required as it will enable you to identify any changes to the animals you handle. This way action can be taken early. These strategies I have developed in my previous roles and I believe they will come in handy in my role here.”
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge That You Foresee In This Job?
As with any role, challenges may arise. Share what you anticipate will be a challenge and your strategy for handling it. Articulate your strategy for handling the challenge well.
“I see this role requires handling orphaned wild animals. I do not have previous experience in this capacity. To counter this challenge, I plan to learn fast how to handle them from my colleagues. I also hope that through my flexibility, I will be able to learn fast and start using that knowledge in handling the animals.”
9. How Do You Stay Motivated In Your Work?
Self-motivation is key in handling this role. The interviewer is interested to know if you can keep your motivation against all odds. Share with the interviewer how you keep yourself motivated.
“I stay motivated by setting daily goals that I pursue. These small goals keep my momentum going. When I accomplish something I go ahead and celebrate however small. I also get motivated by seeing animals rescued and given a haven. I feel that my work is assisting in caring for animals. This keeps me enjoying my work as I can see the contribution it makes to society. I also enjoy that this job gives me a chance to unwind by walking the animals, playing, and cuddling them. This renews my energy and enables me to keep going.”
10. Describe A Time When You Failed In This Role And The Lesson You Learnt?
Failure is paramount. Your ability to rise above failure is what is important. The interviewer is interested to know how you rose above this. Share a failure you have heard and the lessons you learned.
“In a past role, we had rescued a dog and I was not very experienced in handling animals. I handled the dog the same way as the others. Unknown to me the dog was wild and during playtime, he did not quite understand it was a game and ended up hurting me. From this, I learned that it is good to first learn how the animal responds to various things before treating it the same as the rest. This has enabled me to handle animals differently every time I encounter a new one.”
11. Why Do You Feel You Are The Most Suited For This Role?
This role will attract several candidates and the interviewer wants to know why they should pick you. Share what differentiates you from the rest of the candidates.
“Based on the job description shared, I am a perfect fit for the role. My skills and experience make me the best candidate for this role. With my five years of experience in this role, I have developed skills that help me handle animals well and make them feel at home. I am also flexible with a hunger to learn. In my previous role, I have been able to cultivate my patience which is a key trait in handling animals. I am a great team player too and this will enable me to interact well with my colleagues to achieve the vision and mission of the organization.”
12. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement.
What are you proud of in your work or personal life? The interviewer is seeking an answer to this question. Share what has made you proud of your journey so far.
“In my previous role, I was tasked with watching how animals react with potential customers wanting to adopt them. This was to ensure we make a great match. In the case of a wrong match, the clients would eventually return the animal and seek to be matched with a different one. Through interacting with the animals, I was able to determine if they were happy with a particular person. I perfected this skill such that the shelter enjoyed zero returns. This made me earn a nickname of a dog matcher. This motivated me as the management recognized my skills.”
13. Have You Ever Given Difficult Feedback As A Kennel Attendant? How Did It Go?
This role may require giving hard information at some point. The interviewer is interested to know if you have done this and what the outcome was. Share this keeping in mind the job role.
“In my previous role matching dogs to potential adoptive parents, I encountered a lady who was interested in adopting a dog. The lady was enthusiastic about getting a dog but no animal seemed to be her perfect match. Each animal she picked could not warm up to her. She got heartbroken when I shared the news with her that the first dog did not like her. When it went on it became increasingly difficult to break the news to her. In the end, I advised that there was no perfect match for her. She was disappointed but understood that I was doing it in the best interests of both the animal and her.”
14. What Have You Done In The Past Year That Has Improved Your Skills As A Kennel Attendant?
Continuous development is good for every role. The interviewer is interested to know if you are committed to improving your skills in this role. Share what you have done that has improved your skills in the past year.
“During the summer I took a course in animal behavior. The course was very insightful in terms of how animals are handled. Despite having experience handling animals, I was able to learn a lot in terms of animal behavior. This course has enabled me to look at my work differently. I can handle different animals with ease because of the skills I learned.”
15. How Do You Handle Conflict In Animals In Your Work?
At times, the dogs may fight and may need the intervention of a human to stop the fight. The interviewer wants to know if you have experienced this and what would you do. Share your strategy in such a situation.
“In such a situation, I stay calm and separate the animals. This may happen when walking the animals or during playtime. Once I have identified the animals that keep fighting, I ensure that they are handled by different people. This way they do not get a chance to interact and fight. This strategy has worked well so far.”
16. In Your Work, How Do You Handle A Distressed Animal?
An animal may get distressed in the course of your work. How do you ensure it calms down? Share your strategy with the interviewer.
“In the course of my workday, when I realize that an animal is distressed, I try to calm him or her down. Most of the time it just entails taking the animal back to its cage and allowing it to rest. In the cases where the does not work, I may consider a walk. If all these strategies fail, I refer the case to the veterinary officers because the animal could be sick and in need of medication.”
17. In Case Of An Emergency, How Do You Evacuate The Animals?
An emergency may occur and evacuation needs to be done fast. How would you handle such a situation? Share your strategy and how you will ensure every animal is taken to safety.
“In my previous role, all dogs and cats were microchipped and wearing tags. In the case of an emergency, we would open all cages so that they are free to go out. We would put all of them in the car and transport them to a nearby emergency shelter that we had identified. The tags would enable us to be sure all animals have been evacuated.”
18. If An Animal Had Difficulty Walking How Would You Transport Him?
This situation may arise. The interviewer wants to assess your creativity. Share your strategy in such a case.
“When an animal can’t walk, I may carry him around if it is within the facility. I will wrap him in a blanket and then carry him. In cases where a long distance is to be covered, the animal can be transported in a car. In the case of an injury, it is safe to strap the animal in a stretcher while going to seek medical attention.”
19. Are You Willing To Work Extra Hours If Need Be?
This role may require working extra hours from time to time. The interviewer is interested to know if you are flexible enough and can be relied upon when need be.
“Yes, I am willing. I understand the demands of the role. I also know that some periods it may get busier and I would be willing to put in extra hours to ensure operations go on smoothly.”
20. Do You Own An Animal?
This question may not relate to the interview. The interviewer wants to know if you have any animals. It may be an indication of your passion for animals but will not disqualify you if you say no.
“Yes, I do. I have one dog and two cats. When I am not working, I enjoy taking care of them. I enjoy cuddling my cats after a long day at work.”
Conclusion
This role does not require much elaborate education and therefore may attract many candidates. To stand out from the crowd ensure that you are well prepared for the interview. You should also share your enthusiasm for the role.
