Is it too late for me to get a retail position for July/Aug 2020

Started by meoxmix
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This is entirely untrue. A good PIC of a successful pharmacy has shown themselves to be incredible business managers, managers of people, and resilient beyond belief. This is a great skill set to have and something to be proud of.

Now - I may agree that the weasel fill in rph who does everything to avoid accountability may be worthless.. but that is about as far as I would go

One of the greatest challenges I have ever taken on in my life was to build a successful retail pharmacy.
I do think that if you started up your own independent pharmacy that you'd be developing a heck of a lot more transferrable business skills than if you were a staff, floater or even PIC of a major retail chain. For the latter, you are simply a cog in the wheel that only sees part of the picture and will never get the opportunity to solve meaningful problems. What is the split between independent vs chain/grocery store pharmacists though? 10% vs 90%?
 
I don't really understand why there is so much emphasis on the resume.

I'm talking about the actual skills needed to excel in the job.

But since you have such a disparaging view of our profession and peers, I'll take what you say with a grain of salt.

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You don't get a chance to "demonstrate" those skills you're talking about if you don't even get a chance to interview because your resume is screened out by HR. The emphasis on the resume is a practical one.
 
You don't get a chance to "demonstrate" those skills you're talking about if you don't even get a chance to interview because your resume is screened out by HR. The emphasis on the resume is a practical one.
More like traditional rather than practical. Why waste time applying everywhere, being a resume in a stack of applications when you can go straight to the source?

I guess it depends on the what the hiring manager values.

In the last 2 years, I've recommended 5 pharmacists to reach out directly to a DM for interviews before officially applying online. They were all hired and now work for my company.

Getting straight to the gatekeeper is a valid strategy if the candidate has the qualifications and uses the proper etiquette to get there.

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If you don't have any connections within the chain, how do you sell yourself in person to the DM? Do you show up at the corporate office unannounced and say you're visiting? Call every store in the district and ask if he's visiting? I imagine that would make him avoid you altogether.
If you have no connections, then start building some. Networking 101. Nothing comes for free.

It takes effort to build rapport and relationships.

Being able to convey your intentions genuinely, demonstrate value as a professional, and network are all soft skills that will get you an interview at any company.

I never said it was easy. But it is effective. If you haven't genuinely tried it, don't knock it.

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It`s so easy to say continue networking and present yourself as enthusiastic superb candidate, but it`s so hard to do it when all you really want is just a job out of that employer.

Pharmacists are willing to work hard, but employers don`t give **** about it. Rightfully so.

Employers are probably tired of the hundreds or thousands of pharmacists throwing themselves at the employer, sucking up, trying to prove themselves, etc. for the chance to get hired. Employers can only provide so many jobs in an ultra saturated market.
 
Networking and selling yourself are skills anyone can learn and improve that directly correlate with your career success.

The basis for networking and selling yourself should be to serve others, not yourself.

That's the problem with 99% of people out there. Acting purely for self-gain, and then being frustrated with the system when they don't get the desired outcomes.

Just wanting the job doesn't help anyone but yourself. What are you actually going to do on the job? The same thing everyone else does?

Lots of speculation about what employers want, but as pharmacists we're also "employers." Do you want a zombie tech that just wants a job to clock in and out of? Or, someone that acts on a personal mission and with purpose?

All the cynics will say, anyone can be anything in an interview, but I still will give favor to someone that cares enough to sell themselves over someone that doesn't.

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Hello! I will be graduating this year. I have applied to Walgreens, Shoprite, RiteAid, and CVS online. I was unable to attend the on-campus interviews as I was focusing on MidYear. I have not received any call backs or emails. Is there something else I am supposed to do? I had worked at CVS for 2 years, but had quit. I do not have direct access to a dm nor know how to.

Thank you for your help!
Hey looks like you are new here. Have you seen this:

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There are simply no pharmacist jobs for many of the new grads. I would get a EBT food stamp card and apply for section 8 all while getting a non-pharmacy job as you continue to send out pharmacist resumes / CV. I have probably applied to over 200 phramacist jobs with 2 interviews but no luck. Right now i'm working as a Walmart-Stocker-Pharmacist and a Youtube-Pharmacist. The tone of your post seems like you were expecting to work as a pharmacist after school. Well times have changed friend. Congrats on almost getting the degree through.
 
I am in Pennsylvania, but willing to work in Delaware or New Jersey. I am willing to relocate anywhere in those 3 states. Beggars can't be choosers.

You realize NJ is the worst state in the nation for pharmacist employment right? PA and Delaware aren't much better. You need to relocate to rural WV, rural Alabama, rural Missippi. Say good by to your family, gf, wife, friends if you want to get a pharmacist job in 2020. That is the sad reality. The longer the gap in your resume the harder it will be for you to get a job as a pharmacist. You seem very picky. Very picky people may never work as a pharmacist.
 
Meh a beggar who needs to take care of family. Maybe I can bring them with me to another state but most likely not.
You will have to take them with you to another state or you will not be working as a pharmacist ever. It sounds like you don't want to move far away. Just get a normal job like me and keep applying for real pharmacist jobs on the side. IF you're lucky in 5 years you might have a real pharmacist job.
 
This is only the start. I personally know two other Youtube-Pharmacists. Maybe Amazon will come through and crush CVS and WAGS.

I don't see how Amazon can actually have an impact in pharmacy though... Unless they get a hold of PBMs or be able to change laws. People hate mail order already. People hate Amazon and its service. haha. I don't see groceries closing due to Amazon. Amazon created more competition but it hasn't killed any major cooperation.
 
Lots of speculation about what employers want, but as pharmacists we're also "employers." Do you want a zombie tech that just wants a job to clock in and out of? Or, someone that acts on a personal mission and with purpose?
I want a tech who is quick and knows what they are doing. I don't give a **** about what their personal mission, purpose and other speshul snowflake fluff are.

I also get a TON of vendor pitches. And there is nothing more annoying than someone trying to convince me that product X is the best thing since sliced bread when I have zero use for that product. If they were pitching themselves instead of a product and I was not hiring, I would feel exactly the same.
 
I don't see how Amazon can actually have an impact in pharmacy though... Unless they get a hold of PBMs or be able to change laws. People hate mail order already. People hate Amazon and its service. haha. I don't see groceries closing due to Amazon. Amazon created more competition but it hasn't killed any major cooperation.
Amazon has a lot of cash and they can take a loss if needed to crush the competition. I think they dont even make a huge profit in their ecommerce division. correct me if i am wrong but I believe a lot of their profit is in cloud technology with aws.
 
I want a tech who is quick and knows what they are doing. I don't give a **** about what their personal mission, purpose and other speshul snowflake fluff are.

I also get a TON of vendor pitches. And there is nothing more annoying than someone trying to convince me that product X is the best thing since sliced bread when I have zero use for that product. If they were pitching themselves instead of a product and I was not hiring, I would feel exactly the same.

That's the difference between leaders: what characteristics they value when hiring

I choose purpose-driven, growth-oriented achievers for my teammates.

That way, there are always leaders working even in my absence.

That way, they can make decisions independently, innovate, and consistently win without extrinsic "motivation"

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Typing Test is CRUCIAL for the interview, please use the generated test given after submitting your resume. This will increase your chance of an interview. This is for a FULL TIME position with a pay of $35 per hour Pharmacist.

just saw this ad lol and this is socal too jesus
 
Midyear is a vacation disguised as a convention where people pay a lot of money for a few CE credits. Starry eyed students who want to do residencies or fellowships hope to land one but only a small fraction actually do. Big wigs sit behind tables and talk to the students as if they have tons of positions available. The students spend weeks making a dumb poster that no one cares about. When you're done with the convention part, you get to hang out at Disney or Vegas though so that part's fun.

I was at Midyear 2011 in New Orleans. Got pickpocketed at a bar in the French Quarter. Went to the casino the next day and turned $100 into $2100 at the poker tables.
 
Typing Test is CRUCIAL for the interview, please use the generated test given after submitting your resume. This will increase your chance of an interview. This is for a FULL TIME position with a pay of $35 per hour Pharmacist.

just saw this ad lol and this is socal too jesus

Hm. I've worked with pharmacists who typed with their two index fingers at about 10 words per minute before. I wish I hadn't have worked with them.
 
Hello! I will be graduating this year. I have applied to Walgreens, Shoprite, RiteAid, and CVS online. I was unable to attend the on-campus interviews as I was focusing on MidYear. I have not received any call backs or emails. Is there something else I am supposed to do? I had worked at CVS for 2 years, but had quit. I do not have direct access to a dm nor know how to.

Thank you for your help!

You should have attended the on-campus interviews when you had the chance. You were one step away from getting a job offer. What were you thinking???
 
Typing Test is CRUCIAL for the interview, please use the generated test given after submitting your resume. This will increase your chance of an interview. This is for a FULL TIME position with a pay of $35 per hour Pharmacist.

just saw this ad lol and this is socal too jesus
Where do you find this post?
 
Hm. I've worked with pharmacists who typed with their two index fingers at about 10 words per minute before. I wish I hadn't have worked with them.
This infuriated me as a student!! Having preceptors who could only type with 2 fingers and were making 6 figures a year, yet here I was paying to be there.
 
You realize NJ is the worst state in the nation for pharmacist employment right? PA and Delaware aren't much better. You need to relocate to rural WV, rural Alabama, rural Missippi. Say good by to your family, gf, wife, friends if you want to get a pharmacist job in 2020. That is the sad reality. The longer the gap in your resume the harder it will be for you to get a job as a pharmacist. You seem very picky. Very picky people may never work as a pharmacist.

+1 for NJ being the worst state for employment. I don't think Delaware is any better. PA actually sounds like the best choice already out of these three.
 
+1 for NJ being the worst state for employment. I don't think Delaware is any better. PA actually sounds like the best choice already out of these three.
I think DE is better than PA. All there are horrible though. WV is good, Montana, Alabama, Louisiana all good.