Weed Out the Wrong Fit – 7 Reference Questions You Never Thought to Ask (Updated July 2013)


Pharmacy directors/hiring managers: do your reference questions help weed out the wrong fit, or do you not pay much attention to them especially if you like the candidate? References are a goldmine not only for determining fit, but also for how to bring out the best in a new hire once he/she starts.

When my company asks reference questions to pharmacy directors about candidates who’ve worked under their supervision, we often get pharmacy directors making comments like “these are good questions—I’m writing some of your questions down to ask during reference checks!”

Since quite a few of you have asked me for this, I’ve decided to  let you in on a few of my secrets about asking the right reference questions to weed out the wrong fit:

  • What kind of a role do you think is best suited for his/her personality and skills?”
  • What pace (ie, slow or fast-paced, size of pharmacy) of a pharmacy would he/she thrive best in?”
  • “What is one thing you wish he/she would have done differently when working for you?” (this insightful question was one suggested to me by my mentor Melanie Benson Strick)
  • How would you rate XXX among all the pharmacists you’ve ever worked with: top tier, above average, good, below average?  And why? (I learned a form of this question from one of our IHS pharmacy director clients)
  • Bonus questions to ask:

    Ask creative questions to gain valuable insight on how to work best with your new prospective hire:

    • What advice do you have for someone who would be managing him/her?”
    • What untapped talents do you think XXX has and is waiting to be expressed?”

      *The 7th best reference check question will be selected from your submissions below & posted here.
      Post below and receive your gift of the top 20 Interview Questions to Ask.

    Also, ask proficiency-related questions if it’s important. And don’t just stop at asking them to rate proficiency level. Go a step beyond to get clarification about their proficiency level.  Ask them to describe what the pharmacist is capable of doing.  For example, don’t just stop with asking your reference for whether someone is just proficient/good/average/poor using a computer system.

    I made the mistake recently about this & it blew up in my face. What was answered by the reference was not representative of the person’s actual experience. Imagine how awful I felt misrepresenting a pharmacist’s experience to a hiring manager (especially when hiring managers usually love us for our honesty).

    The key is learning from each mistake and always improving your process.  It will make you eagle-eyed with assessing the wrong fit and prevent you from headaches down the road.

    Now that you’ve learned a few of my favorite reference questions to ask, share 1-2 of the most useful reference check questions you have used in the past in the comments below. Post a comment below (when you type in your email, it will remain private and will not show up on the blog) and you will receive a gift of the “Top 20 Questions to Ask in an Interview, so you hire the best pharmacist.”

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    About Chen Yen, PharmD

    Comments

    One Response to “Weed Out the Wrong Fit – 7 Reference Questions You Never Thought to Ask (Updated July 2013)”
    1. Carmen Clelland says:

      Describe how you prioritize your primary work and other assigments.

      Describe how you adapt to changes and challenges that present to you during a normal working day.