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.

I also know someone who works in a home infusion setting & wants to move into a hospital setting.  An area hospital pharmacy director says that the he’s heard of the pharmacist & that pharmacist has a bad reputation throughout the area.  It is a shame, because the pharmacist has steady work experience, but will have a harder time getting a job she wants while living in that area.

I don’t actually know the details about their “bad reputation”, but regardless of what the specifics are, the pharmacists’ reputation is negative.  When your reputation is tarnished, whether you know it or not, it will take a lot more for you to smooth out your image, just like what it will take for Tiger to improve his current image.

Impressions count.  I know a lot of you are at ASHP this week.  For those of you going there for residency matches, job hunting, making connections, keep in mind that you are being judged & the importance of that is more than you may realize.

You never know who you may meet next.  Act professional & dress like how you would like to be perceived.  It is easy to just show up in jeans because it’s comfortable, but I encourage you to go beyond that.  With more than 20,000 pharmacists there, if you carry yourself with professionalism & dress business casual, you will be noticed more than someone who shows up in jeans & a sweatshirt. It’s always better to overdress slightly rather than underdress.

To get the most out of it, go in every day with an intention of what outcome you would like from attending each day.  If it’s to have fun, then set that intention.  If it’s to meet pharmacists who can be resources to you to find the job that you want, then set that intention.

Remember, reputation matters.  Impressions count.  Don’t be a Cheetah.