im a 5th year pharmD student. i have minimal experience working in a cvs for about a year as a tech. i sent my resume in to 5+ pharmacy chains and haven't heard back from any. why is it so difficult for me to find a job? do pharmacies not want to hire 5th year students? any recommendations? any help much appreciated.
Well - I know that some places require you to apply through a computer application, so if you are sending resumes in the mail they may just throw them in the trash can. I would suggest actually physically going into a couple of places where you would be interested in working, ask to speak to the pharmacist, and tell them that you would like to know what their preferred method is for applications. This might also gain you some more information, like "well, my store isn't hiring, but I know that this other store in the district is" - stuff like that. But, DON'T do this at a potentially busy time of day - try going on early on a Sat. or Sunday, or late in the evening - sometime when the staff is likely to be less busy. And, don't show up in jeans towing along your boyfriend (yes, this actually happened in my pharmacy.) I'm not saying you need to walk in in a suit like you were going to interview, but just look decent.
You also need to have a good answer ready when they ask you why you didn't continue working with CVS. If I was interviewing you, that would be the first area I'd talk about, and I would have a lot of questions - what store was it, what were your experiences there, etc.
And then, there are the basics - does your resume/cover letter have any typos or problems? Problems like these make me think that the applicant might not have the attention to detail that you need in a pharmacy.
This is a good time of year to be looking - if you get too close to summer, then all the stores get flooded with applicants.
One last thought - doesn't your school have some sort of listing for intern jobs??
