Pharmacists – Worst Time to Apply for a Job

Posted by Chen Yen, PharmD on May 20, 2010 · 1 Comment 

I am often asked when the worst time is to apply for a pharmacist job.  Let me start with the best time frames.

The best time frame to apply for a job is typically when companies are ready to hire and make decisions.  When are they?  Mid-to late spring is one good time frame.  Also, traditionally, there is movement of hiring decision-making before existing budgets will close out at the end of a fiscal year.  End of December and end of September are the most common end dates of a company’s fiscal year.  Sometimes pharmacies hire because they are coming to the end of their fiscal year, and have some money in their budget left over that they need to spend or lose.  Hiring can pick up a few months leading to that, because companies have a sense of their remaining budget for the year.

Even if companies are ready to spend, expect the process to take longer during holidays like Thanksgiving & Christmas towards the end of the year.   Hiring managers and pharmacy directors  may be out of the office during that time, and not as ready to make decisions.

Over the past year and a half, many pharmacies (big & small) have held on to their hiring money because of an uncertain economy.  Last year, fall and winter were slow time frames for hiring pharmacists despite traditionally being a time frame with increased hiring.  Some pharmacies ran out of money early, or were worried due to uncertainty of the future.  Fortunately, I have noticed more companies feeling a bit more encouraged with what lays ahead, and are willing to now go ahead and spend those dollars on hiring.  But read my article on the recent pharmacist job market if you haven’t yet.  It doesn’t mean that you can expect to get hired like before.

For positions that don’t require as much experience, summer months can be the worst time to apply, because new pharmacy grads flood the market then, so you will have more competition than usual for those types of positions.  For clinical specialist positions, specialists can expect to apply along with new pharmacy residents also.  This may or may not be a huge disadvantage, depending on the level of experience you carry and where you are interested in going.

Late summertime traditionally is a slower time period when hires happen.

For temp opportunities, summer months can be good because permanent employees are going on vacation during that time.  Of course, if you are willing to where no one else is willing to go, ie: Alaska in the dead of winter, the road can be paved for you.

The reality of it is that there is usually some kind of hiring of pharmacists going on in the country.  Even when it’s the worst time to apply, as long as you are prepared with your job search strategy (most pharmacists have no idea what this is about—hint, it’s not about applying everywhere online that you can find), know how to get your application noticed & write a resume that stands out, and have confidence to ace the interview from your competition…you can get the job you want.

Stay tuned for the answer to a commonly asked question:  “When is it too early to apply for a job?” (ie, 3 mo before I want to make a change?)  Get the next article in your inbox.  Click here to get the RSS Feed.  What does that mean?  Get new pharmacist job market updates and answers to job search & workplace changes as I post these relevant articles on the blog.

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Timing is Everything

Posted by Chen Yen, PharmD on April 14, 2010 · 1 Comment 

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.

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Throw Out Resolutions – They Don’t Work

Posted by Chen Yen, PharmD on January 10, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

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:

Register Now

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!

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