Opening line on the phone --job search

[gaba101]

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what's a good opening line that asks whether or not they have any job openings and or are willing to consider you? the "Hi, my name is John Doe and I'm a 1st year student pharmacist at U of ____. I'm highly interested in working for your pharmacy and I'd like to you know if you are currently hiring" i think is a poor question that gets a very fast "no" from a busy pharmacy director who doesn't wish to deal with students. Like in patient counseling where we want to avoid yes/no questions, how do ask a good open-ended question to your potential employer over the phone that is sitll to the point?

 

[Epic]

"Hey..Y'all hirin??" should work...

 

[PharmDstudent]

I thought you wanted to work at two different community pharmacy settings, not inpatient.

The hospital should have an HR department or job openings listed online. Check those resources out before you call.
I had actually worked with the HR lady previously. We were friends and I was qualified for the position, so it all worked out (until they couldn't provide an intern position after I got into pharmacy school).

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

what's a good opening line that asks whether or not they have any job openings and or are willing to consider you? the "Hi, my name is John Doe and I'm a 1st year student pharmacist at U of ____. I'm highly interested in working for your pharmacy and I'd like to you know if you are currently hiring" i think is a poor question that gets a very fast "no" from a busy pharmacy director who doesn't wish to deal with students. Like in patient counseling where we want to avoid yes/no questions, how do ask a good open-ended question to your potential employer over the phone that is sitll to the point?

If they say no, follow up with can I leave my contact information if you guys have a spot opening up soon; or something similar.

 

[eelo]

what's a good opening line that asks whether or not they have any job openings and or are willing to consider you? the "Hi, my name is John Doe and I'm a 1st year student pharmacist at U of ____. I'm highly interested in working for your pharmacy and I'd like to you know if you are currently hiring" i think is a poor question that gets a very fast "no" from a busy pharmacy director who doesn't wish to deal with students. Like in patient counseling where we want to avoid yes/no questions, how do ask a good open-ended question to your potential employer over the phone that is sitll to the point?

Why are you doing a job search on the phone? That wouldn't impress me as someone who is truly interested in the position.

 

[KUMoose]

As a general rule, I'd be more impressed with face to face communication then phone communication for jobs. That being said, if you're looking to work in a hospital/home health/etc it seems they either recruit through existing students or a website, so calling them might not be your best bet.

If you want to work in a retail store (your post is slightly ambiguous), bust out the walking shoes.

 

[gaba101]

eelo, kumoose--the ambiguity is due to the fact that this is a SHARED account with a few students.

I'm interested in in-patient pharmacy.

 

[psychoandy]

I will tell you right now if you call a hospital 9 times outta 10 you will get nowhere fast...getting connected to the inpatient pharmacy, finding the DoP/manager/whoever does hiring, and having them answer the phone is hard enough. But even if you go there (if you can find it, most are in the dungeon) they probably wouldnt want to see you, or the DoP is busy at a P&T meeting or golfing or something.

It basically comes down to applying online (most hospitals i looked at have online job listings) or knowing someone who's already works there.

As far as retail goes, around my part every big corporate pharmacy has an intern coordinator-like management person who sets up internships and tries to convince students/new graduates to work for them now/in the future. Get an email, talk to them.

If you *really* want to call and ask if they have openings, I would just call up whatever tech/student/lackey is triaging calls and ask them if they have openings and how one would go about getting hired...don't actually speak to anyone in charge just yet.

Or, finally, you could see if anyone in your school of pharmacy has a career coordinator faculty person who knows everyone and can help you score a job, which is probably the easiest option.