How do I transition from CVS to another pharmacy?

[SnickerDoodlez]

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Hi all,

I have been with CVS for a long time every since I was in undergrad ( total around 7 years with cvs including internship all throughout pharm school) currently a P4. There are interviews coming up with potential future employers. My question is how do I express my interest to working for them without them thinking im a diehard cvs fanboy since my resume shows that I have been with them all my pharmacy career? I am worried that I will be deemed as someone who's loyal to this company and end up not having any other offers because of it...Thanks

 

[maria1oh]

You don't even need to explain why you want to leave CVS. The other recruiters have already heard all the stories.

 

[SnickerDoodlez]

Well my concern is not so much that I don't like cvs. I want to know if anyone's in similar situation and how they expressed their interest to expand their retail knowledge to other retail chains. I feel like once employers see my resume with 7 yr experience at CVS. they not going to consider me as a candidate because they gonna think I am for sure working for cvs after graduation..and i would never bad mouth my current employer lol

 

[Wheresmyaricept]

Well my concern is not so much that I don't like cvs. I want to know if anyone's in similar situation and how they expressed their interest to expand their retail knowledge to other retail chains. I feel like once employers see my resume with 7 yr experience at CVS. they not going to consider me as a candidate because they gonna think I am for sure working for cvs after graduation..and i would never bad mouth my current employer lol

Idk where you got that logic from. If that was the case, then no one would be able to move on to a different job because they've worked at their current company a long time.

You know what 7 years at the same company says? 7 years experience in the field. That'll put you ahead of your peers because only a handful have more than a year or two of experience.

If they ask why you're interviewing with them just give the typical bs answer of wanting to expand your horizons and not limit your opportunities.

 

[pillpharmer14]

When I was trying to leave CVS I used patient safety as my main motivation. "While I have enjoyed working for CVS, I have concerns over patient safety when practicing in that environment based on certain aspects of their workflow."

I found that to be bullet proof. It's pretty hard to counter that with any sort of allegations of disloyalty. It also doesn't make you sound lazy or like you're running from poor performance metrics. It also was a good Segway for me into some good "I caught a dangerous mistake" type of stories if they ask you for examples.

 

[tlh908]

Everybody wants out of this chain, no explanation is needed. I was a 10+ year veteran, even managing a 24 hour store. I was never asked the reason why I left the company in any interview. I just made sure to never talk bad about the place to a potential employer since I didn't want to come across as a complainer. I just said I was looking to advance my career and looking for better opportunities. If you have the chance to leave then do it. You will be much happier and there are tremendous opportunities out there.

 

[SnickerDoodlez]

Thank you all for the suggestions. How would I go about explaining staying with them for so long though, my main reason behind sticking with them all these years was because i didn't want to give up all that years worth of seniority with the company. Is that a valid answer? or does that come off sounding money hungry?

 

[farmadiazepine]

To transition from CVS to any other pharmacy, first forget everything you know. Forget absolutely everything you were taught at CVS.

If people ask why you wanted to leave, they already know the answer, they just want to see what you say, how you will respond.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

You should just stay. It's too hard to explain.

 

[samven582]

When I was trying to leave CVS I used patient safety as my main motivation. "While I have enjoyed working for CVS, I have concerns over patient safety when practicing in that environment based on certain aspects of their workflow."

I found that to be bullet proof. It's pretty hard to counter that with any sort of allegations of disloyalty. It also doesn't make you sound lazy or like you're running from poor performance metrics. It also was a good Segway for me into some good "I caught a dangerous mistake" type of stories if they ask you for examples.

Can you elaborate? I like your answer so far

 

[tlh908]

There are places to get hair cuts that are cheap and offer new grads a place to get started. The new grads get a low paying job while being able to establish themselves and develop clientele. Eventually the move on to higher paying and more rewarding careers. This is what the pharmacy world is like - the chains are great to get established and learn the trade. But after a while you realize there are better and more rewarding opportunities. So you move on, no one is going to question why you want career growth. Plenty of people will question why you stay at the same chain and become stagnant. Really the chains are the same job every day, just type as fast as you can!

 

[Apotheker2015]

Hi all,

I have been with CVS for a long time every since I was in undergrad ( total around 7 years with cvs including internship all throughout pharm school) currently a P4. There are interviews coming up with potential future employers. My question is how do I express my interest to working for them without them thinking im a diehard cvs fanboy since my resume shows that I have been with them all my pharmacy career? I am worried that I will be deemed as someone who's loyal to this company and end up not having any other offers because of it...Thanks

@SnickerDoodlez
I would say do your homework and research the culture, mission and purpose of those other retailers you are considering. In addition, I would research how much a pharmacist can stretch his/her license at those companies; e.g., pharmacists at Walgreens have the opportunity to do MTM. CVS pharmacists do not get to do that. That's just one example.

As others have said, everyone knows the horror CVS stories. You won't even have to get into that. In fact, stay away from giving specifics. Just line up your career goals with the company's mission and culture. You would be surprised how many candidates show up to interviews without even bothering to look at the company's website.

Hope this helps.

 

[MyRealNameIs]

Thank you all for the suggestions. How would I go about explaining staying with them for so long though, my main reason behind sticking with them all these years was because i didn't want to give up all that years worth of seniority with the company. Is that a valid answer? or does that come off sounding money hungry?

No, that really isn't a great answer.
I would personally say that I met some great people working there and it was hard to break off the bonds that I formed with them.

 

[SnickerDoodlez]

thank you all for the response. Overall the potential emploers didn't really ask me about why I wanted to interview other companies, rather they wanted to know what I've learned working in retail setting. 🙂