Can't find an internship

[samisab786]

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I'm going to be a P3 in the fall. I have been looking for internships for TWO years without luck. I have tried CVS, Rite-Aid stores (no hear-back), almost four hospitals, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and Target-no luck. I just got an intern license for a neighboring state because I'm having such a hard time (3 intern licenses in total). I am applying to two hospitals and the CVS in the other state in the meantime (fingers-crossed I guess). Almost everybody in my class and the years below me have internships.I have spoken to a lot of students, and they haven't had to go through the long or difficult processes I am facing at the moment. I am worried because I have such little experience at this point(only completed my IPPE hours-stated this in my resume/applications).

I just want to know how critical it is that I don't have an internship right now. I have spoken to some pharmacists/graduate students who say I don't have to worry but then I have many other students/pharmacists who say I should be working right now. I am constantly hearing about pharmacy becoming saturated and I am worried that my lack of experience will put me behind many others for job considerations. I have a decent GPA and participate in several extra-curricular activities, and I can't really emphasize enough how hard I am trying to find an internship.

Any insight is appreciated.

 

[Elle928]

I was in the same boat. I only worked during breaks, but when I came home for winter break, I was told that all the stores in my area didnt have hours, and I would have to wait for an opening. Same situation this summer, so I started applying to any and all pharmacy jobs I could find ( hospital, retail, managed care, etc). I didnt hear anything back.

What worked for me, and your best bet, is to actually call the pharmacies. As far as I know, its much easier to get intern/ tech jobs in retail. Try calling pharmacies near you, or go in and ask to speak to the pharmacy manager.

I know alot of people who say you dont need to work during school, but with the way the market is, I would think that it would be extremely difficult to find a job once you graduate, especially when you will be competing against other graduates with experience. *Most* places will hire their interns as pharmacists. Its also nice to get experience so that you can figure out what you want to do once you graduate.

 

[samisab786]

I was in the same boat. I only worked during breaks, but when I came home for winter break, I was told that all the stores in my area didnt have hours, and I would have to wait for an opening. Same situation this summer, so I started applying to any and all pharmacy jobs I could find ( hospital, retail, managed care, etc). I didnt hear anything back.

What worked for me, and your best bet, is to actually call the pharmacies. As far as I know, its much easier to get intern/ tech jobs in retail. Try calling pharmacies near you, or go in and ask to speak to the pharmacy manager.

I know alot of people who say you dont need to work during school, but with the way the market is, I would think that it would be extremely difficult to find a job once you graduate, especially when you will be competing against other graduates with experience. *Most* places will hire their interns as pharmacists. Its also nice to get experience so that you can figure out what you want to do once you graduate.

Thanks! I was wondering what pharmacies you applied to where you can get a job through contact with independent store managers? CVS has this long process which doesn't depend on the pharmacy manager. I know one manager b/c he worked at one of my IPPEs, but he said it all goes through the district intern manager who I have spoken with and have had an interview with a long time ago. They told me they hire based on graduating class, and there were no seats left for my year. It's weird, because I know two people in my year hired after that, so even though I had a follow-up with them, they still told me they had no seats. I've tried Rite-Aid (who also needs me to go through a district intern manager-never got back to me), Walgreens (who say they have a hiring freeze), Wal-Mart (also had to go through a district intern-never got back), and Target (overstaffed).

 

[Its Z]

You have to work and get experience.

Before the explosion of new PharmD programs, I believe there were approximately 28,000 PharmD students/interns. Give or take a few.

Now we have over 50,000 pharmacy interns. And the our industry did not prepare to accommodate increasing intern numbers. Hospitals certainly did not allocate for increasing intern numbers. Retail has...but not enough to accommodate all PharmD students.

This is a serious issue facing our profession. Everyone is talking about no pharmacy jobs. I think the lack of intern jobs is more detrimental to our profession.

 

[Lubeckd]

Yeah it is bad right now, a lot of my friends can't find intern jobs unless they were techs before. I manage to get one in retail by networking.

 

[xiphoid2010]

Just another reason to think twice about going a COP located near a saturated/low population area. Ohio is now saturated by 7 pharmacy schools. Thank God ours had the entire 700,000+ people metro/central Ohio to itself, so retail internship openings were easy to come by. Can't imagine what it would be like if located in a small town and squeezed by couple of near by COPs.

 

[Elle928]

Thanks! I was wondering what pharmacies you applied to where you can get a job through contact with independent store managers? CVS has this long process which doesn't depend on the pharmacy manager. I know one manager b/c he worked at one of my IPPEs, but he said it all goes through the district intern manager who I have spoken with and have had an interview with a long time ago. They told me they hire based on graduating class, and there were no seats left for my year. It's weird, because I know two people in my year hired after that, so even though I had a follow-up with them, they still told me they had no seats. I've tried Rite-Aid (who also needs me to go through a district intern manager-never got back to me), Walgreens (who say they have a hiring freeze), Wal-Mart (also had to go through a district intern-never got back), and Target (overstaffed).

I got the job at CVS. I called, asked for the pharmacy manager, and basically told them that I was an incoming P3, and asked if they were hiring any techs or interns. The manager told me that the store did need help, and got my contact number. I had to call back a few times ( be persistant!) but eventually, he started the process.
Im not sure which school you are at, but at my school the career center/advisors/ faculty in general are extremely helpful in helping students find a job. All of my advisors not only teach , but also work in hospital pharmacies and are more than willing to hook us up with internships. I have a few friends who have gotten jobs that way.
If you dont mind me asking, which state/metropolitan area are you in?

 

[samisab786]

Just another reason to think twice about going a COP located near a saturated/low population area. Ohio is now saturated by 7 pharmacy schools. Thank God ours had the entire 700,000+ people metro/central Ohio to itself, so retail internship openings were easy to come by. Can't imagine what it would be like if located in a small town and squeezed by couple of near by COPs.

The nearest other COP to my school is >60 miles away though 😕

 

[samisab786]

I got the job at CVS. I called, asked for the pharmacy manager, and basically told them that I was an incoming P3, and asked if they were hiring any techs or interns. The manager told me that the store did need help, and got my contact number. I had to call back a few times ( be persistant!) but eventually, he started the process.
Im not sure which school you are at, but at my school the career center/advisors/ faculty in general are extremely helpful in helping students find a job. All of my advisors not only teach , but also work in hospital pharmacies and are more than willing to hook us up with internships. I have a few friends who have gotten jobs that way.
If you dont mind me asking, which state/metropolitan area are you in?

I'm in Rhode Island.
Yeah, I started out trying CVS nearest to my house, they told me to call the intern manager, who I heard everybody I knew got jobs through, I called him maybe 3 or 4 times and he told me to get in touch with him after winter break...when I finally came back out of state from winter break, somebody else replaced his job. I called the lady/e-mailed her 5 times and they kinda got annoyed at me and told me to be "patient" (-__-), finally had an interview that March and they were concerned that I had no previous experience as I didn't do my IPPE at that time (which made not much sense to me 'cause a lot of incoming P1s got jobs), anyway, I e-mailed them twice asking what the conclusion was and they said that they found more qualified applicants to fill their positions, even when I completed my IPPE later that year. I have since then gotten to know a CVS manager who works for another store close to my house and he knows my situation and told me he'll do what he can to help but he told me the hiring process isn't through him and is based on the decision of the aforementioned people. I just got a Mass license b/c I live 20 mins away from Mass so my only option right now is to keep my fingers crossed Mass will be kinder to me lol. It's just been a bit of discouraging after so many rejections. I am willing to contact the RI district manager again as the P4s are now all graduated and many P3s have also left their positions b/c of rotations. Don't know how that will go, but it helps knowing that other incoming P3s have found positions. Thank you 🙂.

 

[gmuskie]

Have you talked to your classmates? Usually the people working know when their stores are looking and are willing to get you in the door.

 

[samisab786]

Have you talked to your classmates? Usually the people working know when their stores are looking and are willing to get you in the door.

Yes. I have asked at least three of my friends. One of them works for Rite-Aid, but the job he told me about is for people who are already working at Rite-Aid and transferring stores ( I still called the district intern, but she never got back to me, so I am looking at individual stores in the meantime). Otherwise, my friends in CVS can't do much. It doesn't depend if the store has space or not, I found out that they can accept/reject you based on the number of intern seats they have kept according to graduating class. So although my friends have kept a look-out for openings, and although there is one at the store nearest to my house after inquiring the pharmacist/manager who works there (about a million times), it all depends on the intern manager and people involved with the district. I got rejected after my interview with the district intern manager. He and whoever works with him told me that they found "more qualified" applicants. I don't know what that means since at the end of the day we're all pharmacy students (I don't think they asked me for my GPA or much about my extra-curriculars, except if I have done IPPE before, though compared to my classmates, I think I have a fair GPA, fair number of extra-curriculars etc.) Anyway, I e-mailed the lady again and asked her why I am constantly being told there is "no room" and I don't have the "qualifications" when the store nearest to me says they have space and she told me that whole graduating-class spiel. The frustrating thing is that there are people who have gotten jobs now in my graduating class when I have gone through this whole process as early as a year and a half ago. I am re-applying and will have to interview all over again. The application also asks if I'll be available "spring/summertime". I'm going to be a P3 which means I'll have rotations starting in the summer. Idk what their deal is but I told them I'm available for now so that we can sort all that out later. Dunno if what I'm doing is wrong or right. Most people in my class tell me their process was nowhere near as complicating as mine. I guess I just had the luck of applying at a bad time.

 

[mustang sally]

I saw this type of situation a little bit in my own class, but it seems to be coming more common with each year. Usually the students who get left out in the cold are the ones who didn't have pharmacy experience prior to school (and you can't get any because no one will hire you, right?).

Anyway, I don't have any words of wisdom for you other than to keep on keeping on. I think you did the right thing by trying to go out of state but it seems a little late for that now (unless you can get something ASAP for the summer). The other oft-repeated advice that I've seen on here is to volunteer somewhere in hopes of getting a job. If you can volunteer in a pharmacy, it would be better than nothing.

 

[samisab786]

I saw this type of situation a little bit in my own class, but it seems to be coming more common with each year. Usually the students who get left out in the cold are the ones who didn't have pharmacy experience prior to school (and you can't get any because no one will hire you, right?).

Anyway, I don't have any words of wisdom for you other than to keep on keeping on. I think you did the right thing by trying to go out of state but it seems a little late for that now (unless you can get something ASAP for the summer). The other oft-repeated advice that I've seen on here is to volunteer somewhere in hopes of getting a job. If you can volunteer in a pharmacy, it would be better than nothing.

yup 🙁. I tried to get a job in the state I am in right now for the summer (CVS again and Target as well since I did my IPPE there), there was an opening in the store nearby. The lady was much nicer to me than the other intern managers I have spoken to, but unfortunately they didn't hire me b/c of the fact that I am only in this state temporarily (until school begins again). So yeah, I'm kind of running out of options. I was thinking I may just stop by my IPPE preceptor to say hello, she was nice and always welcoming, I wonder if she can just let me "shadow" or something if that's all I am left with. Thanks for the suggestions 😳

 

[ACE Rx]

I saw this type of situation a little bit in my own class, but it seems to be coming more common with each year. Usually the students who get left out in the cold are the ones who didn't have pharmacy experience prior to school (and you can't get any because no one will hire you, right?).

Anyway, I don't have any words of wisdom for you other than to keep on keeping on. I think you did the right thing by trying to go out of state but it seems a little late for that now (unless you can get something ASAP for the summer). The other oft-repeated advice that I've seen on here is to volunteer somewhere in hopes of getting a job. If you can volunteer in a pharmacy, it would be better than nothing.

I can definitely agree with this statement. A substantial number of people in my class that did not have pharmacy experience prior to pharmacy school could not or had a lot of trouble finding internships as well. I don't think volunteer hours in a pharmacy counted, unfortunately.

 

[hye345]

I can definitely agree with this statement. A substantial number of people in my class that did not have pharmacy experience prior to pharmacy school could not or had a lot of trouble finding internships as well. I don't think volunteer hours in a pharmacy counted, unfortunately.

Damn, bad news for me... I don't even have any volunteering under my belt (though it wasn't from lack of trying), and I start P1 in the fall

 

[mustang sally]

Damn, bad news for me... I don't even have any volunteering under my belt (though it wasn't from lack of trying), and I start P1 in the fall

Start early and work hard to find a job. Even if you're not officially considered an intern in your state yet, look for a tech job. It's not impossible to find a job without experience, but you'll want to get a jump on all of the other P1s.

 

[ACE Rx]

Start early and work hard to find a job. Even if you're not officially considered an intern in your state yet, look for a tech job. It's not impossible to find a job without experience, but you'll want to get a jump on all of the other P1s.

Definitely look for a tech job before you officially become an intern. There's definitely a shortage of techs in my area. 🙂

 

[hye345]

Definitely look for a tech job before you officially become an intern. There's definitely a shortage of techs in my area. 🙂

I envy you lol. I'm from Southern California, where there's a glut of techs, and prior experience in a pharmacy is a de-facto requirement for working as one. I've been licensed and certified as a Ca tech since May of 2011, but I still haven't been able to find any work.

At any rate, I'm currently working at Target (not in pharmacy department though). I asked to be transferred to a location closer to my school (since its out of state), and possibly to a pharmacy student intern position, if there were any available. Hopefully something works out.

 

[30Percent]

A lot of my classmates (including myself) got internships from our school's career fair. I would take yours seriously and prepare.

 

[samisab786]

do you think making a LinkedIn Profile would be helpful?

 

[30Percent]

I'm sure it'll help, but not sure how much. I don't think intern recruiters search LinkedIn for applicants.

 

[psychoandy]

you better start cold calling...i would definitely check out independents, LTAC pharmacy, compounding, etc. plenty in the boston suburbs if you're willing to commute.

where do you go to school? it may be smarter to stay there and intern during the summer if you can't get a job at home.

 

[samisab786]

you better start cold calling...i would definitely check out independents, LTAC pharmacy, compounding, etc. plenty in the boston suburbs if you're willing to commute.

where do you go to school? it may be smarter to stay there and intern during the summer if you can't get a job at home.

This is basically what I have been doing for the past two years...called everywhere I know. My mom lives in California, which is the only reason why I go here; had I had a job in Rhode Island/Mass, I would definitely stay there in the summer (and in interviews, I try not to mention that I live in another state half the time since I can work my way around it). I go to school in Rhode Island and live there as well and Boston is not really that close to me, especially during school days I would be looking at a 1 hour 15 minute commute, if you are talking Waltham/Framingham/Lexington/Wellesley, that's even farther. However, working is Mass is realistic if I work in Fall River, Dartmouth or Swansea.

Even though I have been job hunting since P1 year, it's becoming even trickier now that I am a P3...they know that I am going to have 1 year left, plus rotations, so a hospital I called told me they are hesitant to hire me based on my year in pharmacy school. On my list of calls/e-mails to make are mostly pharmacies I have called before hoping they have positions now as well as some more new pharmacies I can think of while re-applying to CVS (which is a mix of phone calls and e-mails). Plus, I have visited several stores in person. There are a few independents where I live, but when I talked to them before they seemed to be staffed as necessary, however, since it will be a new year I will call them again. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[owlegrad]

A lot of my classmates (including myself) got internships from our school's career fair. I would take yours seriously and prepare.

I got my CVS job at a job fair. 👍

 

[meister]

Now we have over 50,000 pharmacy interns.

Are there really that many...