The veterinary students surveyed knew exactly what they wanted. They just didn't trust that employers actually meant it when they said they'd provide it.

At the 2026 AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference, Dr. Ryan Gibson, a veterinary neurologist and assistant clinical professor at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, shared informal survey findings from 54 veterinary students. The results, as reported by AVMA News, were consistent: mentorship mattered more than anything else. But students were clear about what mentorship actually means. "As much as they want mentorship, our veterinary students also recognize that some people are using it as a flashy buzzword," Dr. Gibson said.

When it came to specifics, 42 of the 54 respondents named structured mentorship and onboarding, with comments like "mentorship opportunity without throwing new grads to the wind." After mentorship, 28 respondents prioritized team culture and a respectful workplace. Skill development and growth came third, cited by 21 students.

The Buzzword Problem Is Real, and It's Costing Practices

If "mentorship" has become a cliché in vet med job postings, it's because too many practices use it without defining it. Students have seen enough postings to know the difference between a hospital that has thought through onboarding and one that uses "mentorship" as filler.

Dr. Wendy Hauser, founder of Peak Veterinary Consulting in Parker, Colorado, offered a practical fix after hearing the survey results: drop the vague language and get specific. Instead of "work-life balance," write "flexible scheduling with two weekends off per month." Instead of "collaborative team culture," write "3.5 support staff per DVM." Specificity signals credibility. Generalities signal that the practice hasn't thought it through.

This matters for recruiting. It matters even more for retention. New graduates who arrive expecting genuine mentorship and find a sink-or-swim environment are the ones who leave at the 18-month mark.

The Values Gap That's Shaping Every Hiring Conversation

Dr. Gibson also presented findings from "Hiring Managers vs. Gen Z Priorities: The Values Gap in Today's Workforce", a white paper from Becoming You Labs. The data is striking: hiring managers rank achievement, scope of learning, and "workcentrism" as their top three priorities, accounting for 75% of what they look for. Only 2% of Generation Z shared all three values in their top five.

Gen Z instead prioritizes self-care and wellbeing, helping others, and authentic voice and expression.

The practical implication is what Dr. Gibson called an "arms race" among employers: organizations with resources and brand recognition compete hard for the 2% of Gen Z candidates whose values align with traditional employer expectations. Everyone else needs a different strategy.

For vet practices, that strategy isn't about lowering standards. It's about understanding that the new grad who wants flexibility, meaning, and authentic expression isn't bringing a poor work ethic. They're bringing different values, and those values can be channeled into excellent clinical practice with the right structure around them. A 12-week onboarding program with built-in mentorship, like the one debuted by Lakefield Veterinary Group in December, is exactly the kind of infrastructure that bridges the values gap rather than fighting it.

What This Means for Hiring and Retention Right Now

The survey findings point toward a few concrete changes:

  • Rewrite job postings with specifics. Swap "mentorship" for details about what the first 90 days actually look like. Swap "supportive team" for staffing ratios or schedule structures.
  • Build a defined onboarding program before you hire. New grads are deciding whether to stay during their first year. What happens in that year is not accidental.
  • Stop competing for the 2%. The 98% of Gen Z candidates whose values don't align with a traditional workcentrist profile are not broken. Structure your hiring and onboarding to meet them where they are.
  • Connect mentorship to clinical development, not just culture. Students want to grow as clinicians. Mentorship that focuses on skill-building, not just check-ins, is what they're actually asking for.

The Practices That Retain New Grads Are Building What Others Assume Already Exists

Structured mentorship, specific job descriptions, intentional onboarding: none of this is complicated. But it does require thinking through the new-grad experience before they arrive, not while they're already out the door. The practices that do this work upfront are the ones new graduates talk about.

Rally by Hound helps veterinary teams build the development structures and culture that new graduates actually stay for.