Experience to land an intern position

[1ive2die]

I will be a P1 this upcoming September and I was wondering what sort of experience will help me land a pharmacy intern position. Although I have my BSc, I only have some retail, some volunteer pharmacy experience and some pharma industry experience. Although that might sound pretty decent, I've had a hell of a time even getting a summer job this year so I'm pretty sure getting an intern position will be much harder.

Is there any particular type of experience I should try to get on my resume? Join clubs/network maybe? I'd really like to volunteer and perhaps work my way into an intern position but I really can't afford to work for free. Any suggestions?

 

[Bkobe7]

It's a tight market. You will be competing against 50 other students for 1-3 spots in any one company. A beefy resume will only take you so far. Work on interviewing skills and start forming connections. Offering to shadow/volunteer at a hospital pharmacy and hope they hire you after a few months actually is one of your more viable options.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Nobody wants to hire someone just for the summer. They want to hire someone for the long term. If you are looking to do a stint at a pharmacy for a summer, then you're not gonna find a job. If you are willing to work in the summer, then work every weekend for them during school, places will hire you. That's the reality, at least where I work.

The biggest hassle is having to always train people, so why would a company want to keep retraining every summer when they can train someone once and have them for the long term.

It seems like you have enough experience. For me, I never worked before I got a pharmacy job. All that was needed was for me to be in pharmacy school, smile, and not be an idiot when interviewing. That's all it took to get the job. There never was any volunteering or research or whatever.

If your looking to work in a hospital, then ignore what I said lol, I only have advice for working retail homie

 

[xiphoid2010]

Nobody wants to hire someone just for the summer. They want to hire someone for the long term. If you are looking to do a stint at a pharmacy for a summer, then you're not gonna find a job. If you are willing to work in the summer, then work every weekend for them during school, places will hire you. That's the reality, at least where I work.

The biggest hassle is having to always train people, so why would a company want to keep retraining every summer when they can train someone once and have them for the long term.

It seems like you have enough experience. For me, I never worked before I got a pharmacy job. All that was needed was for me to be in pharmacy school, smile, and not be an idiot when interviewing. That's all it took to get the job. There never was any volunteering or research or whatever.

If your looking to work in a hospital, then ignore what I said lol, I only have advice for working retail homie

Hospital is the same way, they want year long interns. You need to be willing to committ to at least a full shift per week. Especially weekend coverage.

 

[1ive2die]

Hospital is the same way, they want year long interns. You need to be willing to committ to at least a full shift per week. Especially weekend coverage.

Committing long term is not an issue. I plan to work a fair number of hours during pharm school anyways. I would jump at any position during the school year. The issue is too few spots and too many applicants, so that's why I'm asking how I can position myself to be competitive for the few spots that I apply for.

 

[sakigt]

Nobody wants to hire someone just for the summer. They want to hire someone for the long term. If you are looking to do a stint at a pharmacy for a summer, then you're not gonna find a job. If you are willing to work in the summer, then work every weekend for them during school, places will hire you. That's the reality, at least where I work.

The biggest hassle is having to always train people, so why would a company want to keep retraining every summer when they can train someone once and have them for the long term.

It seems like you have enough experience. For me, I never worked before I got a pharmacy job. All that was needed was for me to be in pharmacy school, smile, and not be an idiot when interviewing. That's all it took to get the job. There never was any volunteering or research or whatever.

If your looking to work in a hospital, then ignore what I said lol, I only have advice for working retail homie

This.

I hear classmates all the time say they cant find work. But they cant work during the school year. Uhhh....

 

[willrocks]

Comments above regarding the deterioration of the intern market are overblown. I would say 95/110 kids in my class had a spot somewhere by the end of P1. You do have to make an effort to find something. I would also say that, contrary to many other posts on these boards, your school does matter in your local job market. I am in a highly saturated NE major metropolitan city and can definitely say that our school has a better reputation and our students get better jobs, both as interns and upon licensure. Keep at it. I recommend physically walking into places and introducing yourself, then following up with emails. Worked for me, I had four hospital internships to choose from after about two months of looking.

 

[willrocks]

There are also plenty of students at my hospital that work every third weekend or only during the summer. They will accomodate you. Just be persistant.