One Truth About Pharmacist Recruiters – Exposed
It is frustrating to me to see this happen so much right now that I just had to blog about this today. I am seeing qualified pharmacists get passed up by hiring managers because they have not taken the time to market themselves in their resume tailored to the position they’ve asked me to represent them for.
Here’s one truth about pharmacist recruiters—exposed. I think a misconception pharmacists have about working with recruiters is that recruiters will be able to get you over the hurdle of being just a resume on someone’s desk because they will be able to verbally tell their contact about why you should be considered for a position, so you don’t need to do much to represent yourself well in a resume.
Recruiters can definitely move you in front of the pile of resumes. However, just as with networking, even if a recruiter provides you with the value of a direct connection and markets you to a decision-maker, the hiring manager still wants to see your strengths and responsibilities relevant to the position backed up by your resume. If you choose to highlight other things instead, or gloss over your related pharmacist experience, you can still be passed up even if you are qualified.
For example, there is one hospital that is looking for a pharmacist who has started up an anticoagulation clinic or set up other pharmacy-run clinics. That is a key responsibility they are looking for. I know a pharmacist who has had experience setting up pharmacy-run clinics, but she chose to just highlight in her resume all the anticoagulation clinic experience she’s had, not the experience she’s had in setting up a pharmacy-run clinic. It cost her an interview.
I know another pharmacist who didn’t answer objections upfront about things that a hiring manager could have concerns about within his resume. It was not clear within the resume why he had transitioned positions within a 1.5-2 year period for the last few jobs, all of which were reasonable circumstances. Even though it may be explained to a pharmacy hiring manager by a recruiter, hiring managers are busy and can forget. When the hiring manager gets a chance to look over your resume, he/she passes a judgment based on what they see.
My advice to you is get clear about the responsibilities of the position you’re applying for and take the time to address those specific responsibilities as much as you can. Also meet potential objections upfront someone may have about why you would be a good fit for the position.
Sometimes you can think you’ve addressed this the best as possible without realizing how 1) you have really undersold yourself, 2) you have not crafted your resume to market yourself to give yourself the best chance possible to be invited in for an interview. Whether you tap into my teachings or another expert with my credentials, get a resume critique before you send off your resume/application. Doing it yourself without expert feedback will only get you so far. It will cost you interviews. You have no idea how many times you are getting passed over because of something that you can take control over, if you just took that extra step to get feedback. You deserve the best shot, especially for positions that you are qualified for.
Remember, if you do the same thing you’ve always done, it’s not going to work in this pharmacist job market where you have lots of competition. Take what you’ve learned from this and change what you are doing so you get better results.
Timing is Everything
I was thinking about this the other day– how timing is everything. And how it plays an important role in getting hired for the job you want. If only…. you heard about the job one step before another pharmacist, you would have been the last one to be considered for an interview because that was the cutoff before they stopped accepting applications. If only… you had answered the phone when a recruiter called you about a job opportunity that met your criteria, you would have heard about a position you wanted to be considered for.
I suppose it makes you wonder if, in the end, it was all meant to be. Whether you were truly meant to be to work as a clinical inpatient pharmacist, or you were actually meant to transition into a home infusion pharmacist position….perhaps whatever ended up happening was just fate. At the same time, if you leave everything to chance without doing what you can control, you will leave things on the table.
Getting the pharmacist position you want is in many ways like meeting the significant other of your dreams. If you sit around at home with the right intentions & wait for your dream guy or woman to show up, you will not have as good chances as if you made the effort to be in a situation more conducive to attract the significant other you are looking for.
Getting the job you want is about being at the right place at the right time, and being prepared. If you have the connections without a plan to ace the interview, you have missing pieces to getting hired. If you know how to market yourself in an interview and “talk yourself into a job”, but don’t get invited for interviews, you will fall short of getting offers you deserve. If you want to close in the gap of missing pieces to get interviews & offers faster, look into joining the next session of the “Get the Job” Premium Membership Program. If you prefer to do the same thing you’ve been doing, you can. Just be aware that other pharmacists who decide to take control of their search will have an advantage over you.
Share your story of being at the right place at the right time when you got the job you wanted. Comment below–I want to hear about them! Inspire other pharmacists to be at the right place at the right time.
Get Off Your Butt & Update Your Resume
I know–it’s painful. Why would you bother to update your resume when you have a job already?
Here are 3 reasons to stay on top of updating your resume, even when you have a job:
1. You may have a sudden change in job situation. Something personal or family-related may come up and you need to move, or reduce your work hours/responsibility.
2. You may be downsized unexpectedly from your pharmacy or pharmaceutical industry job, especially in this economy.
3. When you are ready to make a career move, you don’t remember key responsibilities, pharmacy practice projects, awards/recognition. It may very well be that you’ll be staying in your current pharmacist position for a long time. What you remember about what you did 2 years ago will not be as clear and detail-oriented as what you remember today about what you are currently doing.
How to keep an updated resume:
Anytime you are given a new responsibility, initiated a new project/role, managed other pharmacists, taught pharmacy residents & students, or wrote a publication, write it down.
Be as detailed as possible. Don’t worry if you are verbose in your initial draft; it can always be edited to select relevant skills & experience for what you apply for down the road. For example, if you created a discharge program for a hospital where pharmacists review medications & provide discharge counseling for every patients, write “Developed a patient discharge program involving pharmacy medication review & discharge counseling”. If you manage other pharmacists & techs, start with writing “Managed 4 pharmacists & 3 technicians, filling 700 Rxs/day”.
If you know you are ready for a job change, learn more about secrets you can tap into to get the edge in their job search by updating your resume to stand out from your competition.
If They Like Me, They’ll Hire Me
Is it true? Sure, it plays an important role in a pharmacy hiring manager’s decision, but why should they pick you out of other interested pharmacist applicants?
I was talking to a pharmacist who wanted to be presented for a management position. I suggested that she highlight any leadership experience, including starting/leading clinical programs or previous leadership experiences during work or in pharmacy school (she had attended pharmacy school within the last 5 years), and her response to me was “I want to keep my resume the way it is. If they like me, they’ll hire me. I don’t want to be giving any false impressions about myself.”
I don’t know how else to say it, but please understand that you may not be used to a pharmacist job market that requires you to not only be a pharmacist who has the skills to get the job you want, but to also convey your skills and passion among other competing pharmacists to get the job.
It’s one thing that you know what you are good at–that your patients love the way you connect with them & physicians listen to your therapeutic suggestions because you are sharp clinically & you collaborate well with others.
It’s another thing to show on a resume (the main thing a potential pharmacist employer sees initially) what it is you have that is directly relevant to the pharmacist position they are trying to fill. A good resume’s purpose is not false impressions. A good resume points your strengths out. It is not about being untruthful. It’s about marketing yourself because that is one of the first key impressions someone will have of you.
If you are untruthful, you will be found out during the interview anyway, so that is dangerous territory to be playing in. The point is to think of what the pharmacist employer wants and tailor your resume uniquely to what they are looking for.
Maybe this will help you understand why it’s important. Why don’t we step back from pharmacy & look at a job for a housekeeper. The qualities of a housekeeper an employer or a client (perhaps you) is looking for is 1) someone who cleans the house in an efficient & detail-oriented manner, 2) someone who has experience doing housekeeping.
Candidate #1:
This housekeeper has the skills mentioned above and the experience, but chooses to write on his/her resume:
Housekeeper. Responsibilities are not elaborated on.
Assessment: You are left wondering what responsibilities he/she had as a housekeeper.
Candidate #2:
This housekeeper has the skills mentioned above and experience housekeeping, but chooses to write on his/her resume: “Experience with scanning & copying”, “Running errands for my clients”, Taking quality photo portraits of people”, “Typing 100 WPM”.
Assessment: Experience with scanning & copying is not relevant to the position. Perhaps running errands is somewhat relevant, but not directly relevant. Taking quality photos & typing 100 WPM is not relevant at all.
Candidate #2:
This housekeeper also has the skills and experience housekeeping, but chooses to write on their resume: “Cleaning 4 houses/day that are 5000 sq ft average size and retaining clients for 3+ years”, “Receiving high compliments from clients (references are available) and consistent referrals”
Assessment: This person seems to 1) clean the house in an efficient & detail-oriented manner, 2) someone who has experience doing housekeeping. This person also has references to back it up.
Who would you choose to interview?
Get your foot in the door first. Once you are interviewing, they will get a better sense of your personality and whether they like you. Keep in mind that you are still highlighting what you have that is directly relevant to the position even when you are interviewing, but at that point they will definitely take into consideration more of your personality fit. When you are at the resume stage, what you point out is all they have to go by. Get your foot in the door first. For other tips useful in your job search, check out the 5 Biggest Mistakes Candidates Make in a Job Search.
Throw Out Resolutions – They Don’t Work
Are you feeling stuck, or wondering what you got yourself into by living the life you are living now? Or maybe you know exactly what you want, but you’re having internal conflicts about how to get where you want to go?
Seeing pharmacists feel stuck is one of the main reasons why I went from working as a pharmacist in ambulatory care clinics on Native American reservations to helping pharmacists find the right jobs for them. I was tired of seeing pharmacists feel stuck in what they were doing & feeling like they need to settle.
Seeing pharmacists lose their passion was frustrating to me. A job is just a part of your life, but the way you approach your job can reflect how you approach life. Many pharmacists I’ve seen who’ve lost zest in their jobs have also lost zest in their dreams for their life.
This is the year for you to take the big leap.
Here’s a secret to how you may be sabotaging yourself & not achieving what you want to achieve, even though you’ve put forth the effort: Conflicting desires. Even if you are clear about what you want, sometimes you are not achieving what you want to achieve because of internal conflicts that you may not realize about. I know this very well myself-–on the surface, I felt I was clear, but during times when I struggled and wasn’t as successful as I could be, it was because I had an internal conflict.
On the surface, you tell yourself that you plan on spending more time with your family and will not stay late from work anymore. But you keep picking up shifts when your boss asks you to, so you can make more money. Or, you may have set the resolution of being financially set when you retire and that you plan to invest $500 every month, but you don’t spend your time figuring out what to do with that money you invest; instead you buy new clothes or a new car.
You need to overcome your internal conflicts in order to achieve what you want to achieve. Sounds simple? If you aren’t achieving what you are wanting to achieve, chances are that you have not overcome them or they are masked. Stop writing resolutions that don’t work. Start with the secrets I’m going to teach you.
Join me in my FREE “Throw Out Resolutions & Live Your Purpose in 2010” Teleseminar to start out the New Year. It is completely my gift to you.
“Throw Out Resolutions & Live Your Purpose in 2010”
The program is over, but you may access the FREE replay instantly:
Give yourself the gift of this 1-hr teleseminar:
· Learn how to achieve what you want to achieve without setting resolutions that don’t work
· Re-connect with your higher purpose
· Release what isn’t supporting you
· Discover 3 ways to overcome internal conflicts related to the gap between where you are & where you want to go without feeling pressured
Come away with clarity & a plan to live your purpose in 2010 like you never have before! Register Now! You will get the call-in details when you register.
You will also receive a bonus gift, “90-Days to a New You” accountability e-course. We are in this together. As you leap into the next level of your passion, or re-discover your passion, I am also going to take that leap with you, stepping into the next level of my passion.
Look forward to connecting with you on the call and seeing you re-ignite your passion and create a plan to live it.
To 2010 & new beginnings!
I Hate Pulling Other People’s Weight
Have you ever worked in a pharmacy where you felt like you had to pull other people’s weight? That other pharmacists didn’t have the same view as you regarding workflow?
I was just having a conversation with a pharmacist who is experiencing this: prescriptions piling up to be handed out while another pharmacist he works with seems to prioritize differently & may spend more time reviewing patient records than noticing that prescriptions are piling up to be handed out. And that this person doesn’t necessarily do it intentionally, but is perhaps one-track minded & unaware when he gets deep into reviewing patient records.
I have observed this myself while practicing in a pharmacy, noticing pharmacists have different viewpoints about what is acceptable workflow priority and speed. I have seen pharmacy staff become frustrated with each other at varying levels. It comes from the belief that a particular priority is the right one & in being upset that someone else isn’t matching up to how you feel priorities should lie.
With my experience in practice, this is a conclusion that I’ve come to–that just like a spouse or a family member, you have no control over what someone else perceives & chooses to do. What you do have control over is influencing someone. As a leader too, you also don’t ever really have control over anyone; you can inspire others to do as you request & there may be consequences to them perhaps not meeting your expectations, but no person can be controlled.
What you do have control over is stepping up & encourage others. You have the ability to use your leadership skills even if you are not the designated leader, by asking them to help you out where you feel the workflow priorities are, if they appear oblivious. Do the best that you can in your role and in your encouragement of others; then let go of the rest. Otherwise, it can only create frustration in you.
If it is to the point where you feel that another pharmacist’s workflow priorities are impacting your workflow substantially, approach your pharmacy director or direct manager and have a conversation about how they feel the workflow priorities are to be.
Pharmacy managers, consider setting clear cut workflow priorities that are both verbally expressed to the whole group and written, so it becomes a standard and there are no questions about what expectations are for everyone.
What is your advice when you’ve encountered this situation? What has worked or hasn’t worked for you?
Is it Aptitude or Attitude that Counts in an Interview?
Aptitude gets you in the door. Your resume is the place to show off your aptitude. Are you a pharmacist with relevant experience for the role that they are looking for? Do you appear to consistently be an overachiever who is loyal (and likely to be a good investment for the company, rather than a job hopper?)
During the interview, you will clarify your aptitude so that a potential pharmacy employer feels confident about your capabilities related to the job. Your employer is also looking for the right attitude.
I have seen pharmacists who may have been borderline in consideration when it comes to experience, but they were able to stand out from others in a resume and sell themselves so well in an interview that they get the job. The pharmacy director or hiring manager appreciates the attitude and enthusiasm of the pharmacist, finds it to be a good fit, and wants to offer him/her the job. That is how important crafting your resume to stand out & acing the interview is.
Be cautious about being overconfident without being able to back it up; it won’t do you much good. Saying that “I can learn quickly” is trite to the point that you might as well have not said it at all. However, if you back it up by examples & tie it in to the specific responsibilities of the job, it makes you stand out. Example: “My recent pharmacy manager asked me to start a pharmacy-run smoking cessation program. Although I didn’t have the experience, I participated in intensive training & created a program that helped 121 patients quit smoking in 6 months; X % of the patients continued to be non-smokers after 12 months.” See the difference?
This is something that my students in the Get the Edge program have practiced to get the edge over the competition during the application & interview process.
What do you think–is it aptitude or attitude? Share your thoughts or your own experience where aptitude or attitude seemed to have counted more—comment below.
What does Tiger Woods have to do with getting an interview for a pharmacist position?
Tiger Woods gets paid $100 million every year to endorse products, because having his name associated with products helps make billions in sales.
His image is no longer the same to those companies. The media now refers to him as “Cheetah”, rather than “Tiger”. It is still possible for him to make a lot of money from endorsements, but they will have to alter the way they promote Tiger Woods’s image with the products. His picture perfect image is no longer the same. I’m sure that when Tiger was not being a “better person and the husband and father that my family deserves”, he wasn’t thinking about the implications of his image if the media got on to him.
Even if you don’t care about Tiger Woods & his image, one lesson to learn from how the media is having a field day about it is to realize that everyone will judge whether you like it or not.
This is the same when you are wanting to get an interview for a pharmacist job you want.
Reputation matters. Impressions count.
Reputation matters. It’s amazing how fast word travels in the pharmacy world. I know someone who applied for a hospital position a few months ago. Someone at the hospital knew him & told the pharmacy director that he’s a bad apple. Now, just because someone doesn’t like you doesn’t mean you won’t get a job, but if someone known and trusted by a pharmacy director shares negative comments about you, those first impressions will hurt you, compared to the first impressions from someone else who doesn’t come with that information tied to them. Read more