New Grad Job Search Questions

[Noward]

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Hello, I've been lurking on the forum for a while and am all too aware of the difficult job market for pharmacy right now. I am in a saturated state in New England, and cannot move but am willing to work in immediate states. I am only licensed in one atm, however. I am seeking advice on how to get noticed/offered interviews as a new grad.

I am on week 3 of my job search which I know isn't crazy long, but am applying for everything I am qualified for and some things that I'm not exactly qualified for. I've primarily been applying online. I've had no luck yet - only two essential "rejections" from two jobs I wasn't qualified for anyway.

I am perfectly fine working retail even though I feel most suited for a hospital position. I have 3 years of hospital intern experience, great references, diverse APPE experiences, and am adaptive/have the right skills to do well in many settings. However, I made the critical mistake of not being much of a networker. I'm consistently told that my work is great, I am smart, blah blah.... but no one has a position open.

More about retail in my area.... I heard nothing back from the 5-6 staff positions and part time positions applied to at CVS. I'm assuming I didn't fail the virtual job tryout, but who knows! I am fine floating as a new grad, but how do I get contact info for DMs? Their application process online does not give this info. Walgreens doesn't even have pharmacist listings, only tech, grad intern, and manager. I also applied to Walmart but did not get a response.

And yes, I was the ~40-50% of those who applied but did not get a residency.

tldr: I am a new grad who has the skills to be a good pharmacist and am looking for honest advice on navigating the pharmacist job market. I know it sucks out there but I'm not here to debate whether I should've gone to PA school etc.

 

[Abby Atwood]

I started applying for jobs in April (I didn't match either). Last week, one of the places I applied to sent me an email asking if I was still looking for a position. Job hunts are discouraging, but people not getting back to you right away doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have a good application.

 

[Noward]

I appreciate the sentiment!
Looking more more thoughts/advice if possible. I have tried to tailor my CV to suit particular positions as well.

 

[Lnsean]

Hello, I've been lurking on the forum for a while and am all too aware of the difficult job market for pharmacy right now. I am in a saturated state in New England, and cannot move but am willing to work in immediate states. I am only licensed in one atm, however. I am seeking advice on how to get noticed/offered interviews as a new grad.

I am on week 3 of my job search which I know isn't crazy long, but am applying for everything I am qualified for and some things that I'm not exactly qualified for. I've primarily been applying online. I've had no luck yet - only two essential "rejections" from two jobs I wasn't qualified for anyway.

I am perfectly fine working retail even though I feel most suited for a hospital position. I have 3 years of hospital intern experience, great references, diverse APPE experiences, and am adaptive/have the right skills to do well in many settings. However, I made the critical mistake of not being much of a networker. I'm consistently told that my work is great, I am smart, blah blah.... but no one has a position open.

More about retail in my area.... I heard nothing back from the 5-6 staff positions and part time positions applied to at CVS. I'm assuming I didn't fail the virtual job tryout, but who knows! I am fine floating as a new grad, but how do I get contact info for DMs? Their application process online does not give this info. Walgreens doesn't even have pharmacist listings, only tech, grad intern, and manager. I also applied to Walmart but did not get a response.

And yes, I was the ~40-50% of those who applied but did not get a residency.

tldr: I am a new grad who has the skills to be a good pharmacist and am looking for honest advice on navigating the pharmacist job market. I know it sucks out there but I'm not here to debate whether I should've gone to PA school etc.

I mean I'm just going to repeat the sentiment. It is tough as hell right now and only getting worst. Your timing is also bad since WAGS, CVS, Rite Aid, Wallyworld are probably conducting interviews with their interns right now. At least that is true for Walgreens in my area. My DM does not have time to look at applications from outside of the company unless there's an unexpected turnover and these days...there's not much. I know a couple people that graduated 2016 and still don't have a full time gig...tri-state area.

Continue to apply to whatever post you find. I'd call one of the stores and just ask for the DM's emails and shoot the DM an email...you may be lucky that one of their rphs just quit and he's looking for someone new.

As for whether you should have gone PA route---that's a no brainer. Most PAs command 100-120k right now straight out of school. They also get bonuses and primary care / EM ain't going anyway or being replaced by automation and technology.

 

[sdh02]

I don't know much about NE but I feel like this year is worst year possible especially if you are in tri-state area. I have 3 years of hospital experience with no retail experience and I can already see myself getting a retail job in suburban area, assuming I even get a job offer as an outside applicant lol. I was always told that retail is always there for you but I don't even know if that's true anymore lol...

 

[Noward]

I mean I'm just going to repeat the sentiment. It is tough as hell right now and only getting worst. Your timing is also bad since WAGS, CVS, Rite Aid, Wallyworld are probably conducting interviews with their interns right now. At least that is true for Walgreens in my area. My DM does not have time to look at applications from outside of the company unless there's an unexpected turnover and these days...there's not much. I know a couple people that graduated 2016 and still don't have a full time gig...tri-state area.

Continue to apply to whatever post you find. I'd call one of the stores and just ask for the DM's emails and shoot the DM an email...you may be lucky that one of their rphs just quit and he's looking for someone new.

As for whether you should have gone PA route---that's a no brainer. Most PAs command 100-120k right now straight out of school. They also get bonuses and primary care / EM ain't going anyway or being replaced by automation and technology.

That's a good point about the intern interviews right now, which I thought about but can't really help now.
I remember hating the cold-calls when I was on rotation, but I see why people are doing it now. I'll just have to.

(I was saying I'm not here to debate it because every thread on here seems to devolve into that, and it doesn't help me so I don't care to argue about it. Good thoughts though)

 

[Sine Cura]

These days do not assume "retail is always there for you." Retail is already bad enough with terrible pharmacists all over. "They" aren't going to look at outside apps except for bad situations

For FT, the hierarchy of preference may be as follows (excluding transfers): proven quality interns > mediocre interns > desperate new grads for crap stores > external retail pharmacists if they are desperate to fill a PIC role, usually for crap stores, and these are usually previous PIC too >>>>>>>>>>>> anyone else outside retail.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Check our our site at PharmacyWeek. We have 13k+ jobs for Pharmacists and Techs. I can tell you though that the NE is by far the worst part of the country. Followed by the SE. The hottest job market is in the West, from UT over.

 

[bmathew1991]

I am in my fourth year of pharmacy school and attended interview with Walgreens. Its bee three weeks and still haven't heard back from them. Does anyone know how long does it usually take to get a response back from them.