P4 interview day today, question about Walgreens

[TianjinNVhai]

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So my interview with the Walgreens district manager went very well today (at least I think so). At the end of the interview, he told me to make sure go online to apply for the graduate intern positions in the regions I mentioned I was interested work in. He also explained a little bit how the process works when you are hired as a graduate intern before you are trained to become a pharmacist.
Now, I'm wondering, is that a sign? Am I looking at an offer in my future or is it just a part of his normal routine as an interviewer? Thank you all in advance 🙂

 

[sdh0202]

Walgreens told me same thing to me last year and they also told me to get licensed in PA/NJ/DE since there are no full-time jobs available and asked if I was open to work as a per diem lol.

 

[TianjinNVhai]

Walgreens told me same thing to me last year and they also told me to get licensed in PA/NJ/DE since there are no full-time jobs available and asked if I was open to work as a per diem lol.

To be honest, I am OK with a per diem offer at the moment, what i fear the most is graduating with no offers on my hand.

 

[owlbright]

To be honest, I am OK with a per diem offer at the moment, what i fear the most is graduating with no offers on my hand.

Are you a P4 intern with Walgreens? My DM conversed well with me last week and asked me to keep doing what I've been doing with PDC improvement project. He simply mentioned there are no currently positions available but he will contact me first when the graduation day approaches. There are currently eight interns here in the district and nobody so far have been hired yet.

 

[Timbo]

To be honest, I am OK with a per diem offer at the moment, what i fear the most is graduating with no offers on my hand.

Please don't take offense but I'm just curious... Before applying to pharmacy school four years ago, were you open to the fact that you may only be able to work per diem upon graduating for an indefinite amount of time? Or did you not research the job market trends well enough? I'm trying to get a feel of current pre pharm and pharmacy student's perception of the job market.

 

[sozetone]

Please don't take offense but I'm just curious... Before applying to pharmacy school four years ago, were you open to the fact that you may only be able to work per diem upon graduating for an indefinite amount of time? Or did you not research the job market trends well enough? I'm trying to get a feel of current pre pharm and pharmacy student's perception of the job market.

You wont get an answer to this question. trust me,

 

[Lnsean]

To be honest, I am OK with a per diem offer at the moment, what i fear the most is graduating with no offers on my hand.

Why would you go to school for 6-8 years to come out and be okay with working per diem. This profession is full of betas. I don't get it. Maybe you come from a rich family or something.

The DM is giving his usual koolaid talk....do not believe anything until you see an offer in writing.

 

[sdh0202]

Why would you go to school for 6-8 years to come out and be okay with working per diem. This profession is full of betas. I don't get it. Maybe you come from a rich family or something.

The DM is giving his usual koolaid talk....do not believe anything until you see an offer in writing.

When they asked me if I was willing to work as a per diem on my interview day, I laughed and said "No, I have a financial obligation"
Instead of looking for a job in concentrated market, I found a full time position 1.5 hours away from the city.

 

[mentos]

To be honest, I am OK with a per diem offer at the moment, what i fear the most is graduating with no offers on my hand.

This is why they lowered the starting wage to $51/hr or whatever BS and cut hours.

 

[UCSF2021]

This is why they lowered the starting wage to $51/hr or whatever BS and cut hours.

It is worse in some areas. In my area starting is now $48

 

[UCSF2021]

It is worse in some areas. In my area starting is now $48

For Walgreens

 

[UCSF2021]

Walgreens is the worst pharmacy chain out there now

 

[Timbo]

It is worse in some areas. In my area starting is now $48

What area is this?

 

[Hels2007]

Walgreens is the worst pharmacy chain out there now

From what I hear, CVS is still worse, though Walgreens has been trying their darnedest to dethrone them!

 

[sozetone]

I'm a manager at WM and it is becoming the next CVS or WG. They are all crooked and rotten to the bone. Use them for quick cash, save and get out....

 

[Rxaunt]

I just quit working for Walgreens as a floater after one year because I was able to get a position full time with someone else in my hometown. I had decent hours salaried at 36 a week and I almost always had opportunities for more hours if I wanted them, honestly I didn't I needed the time off to decompress. Hours though depend on where you work I live in the midwest and there are only 2 pharmacy schools in my state, so not as saturated as some areas so a floater position would mean something completely different depending on where you live. I got my job offer closer to graduation. I interviewed for Walgreens at the school interview day and didn't hear very much from that but about a month before graduation my whole class got a generated email from Walgreens on instructions on how to apply. The day after I applied I was asked for a phone interview from a DM, the day after the interview I had an offer. So that is about all I know about the hiring process. I will say depending on the store I was treated like crap. Some stores were fine and the store manager and all the techs were awesome and really nice to you. Other stores the second you walked through the door the manager was rude and the techs wouldn't talk to you unless they had to and you counted the hours until you could run out of there. So just be prepared. Also even if you never worked for Walgreens before the training is pretty crappy. They have you as a grad-intern until the second you have your license, so I think I was there as a grad-intern for 3 weeks, and then Bam you are a pharmacist on your own at a store for the first time with, if you are lucky, about 2 hour overlap. So if they tell you they are going to do a great job of training you and making sure you are ready to be on your own etc, that is a lie so just know that going in. I was there for a little over a year, and although I was told I was a great float and certainly not a slacker, there are still things I couldn't tell you how to do on their system even though as the pharmacist I probably should have known how to do. Not trying to necessarily scare you away from Walgreens just telling you do not expect them to train you well you will know the basics of the system when you start on your own but that is about it.

 

[sozetone]

I just quit working for Walgreens as a floater after one year because I was able to get a position full time with someone else in my hometown. I had decent hours salaried at 36 a week and I almost always had opportunities for more hours if I wanted them, honestly I didn't I needed the time off to decompress. Hours though depend on where you work I live in the midwest and there are only 2 pharmacy schools in my state, so not as saturated as some areas so a floater position would mean something completely different depending on where you live. I got my job offer closer to graduation. I interviewed for Walgreens at the school interview day and didn't hear very much from that but about a month before graduation my whole class got a generated email from Walgreens on instructions on how to apply. The day after I applied I was asked for a phone interview from a DM, the day after the interview I had an offer. So that is about all I know about the hiring process. I will say depending on the store I was treated like crap. Some stores were fine and the store manager and all the techs were awesome and really nice to you. Other stores the second you walked through the door the manager was rude and the techs wouldn't talk to you unless they had to and you counted the hours until you could run out of there. So just be prepared. Also even if you never worked for Walgreens before the training is pretty crappy. They have you as a grad-intern until the second you have your license, so I think I was there as a grad-intern for 3 weeks, and then Bam you are a pharmacist on your own at a store for the first time with, if you are lucky, about 2 hour overlap. So if they tell you they are going to do a great job of training you and making sure you are ready to be on your own etc, that is a lie so just know that going in. I was there for a little over a year, and although I was told I was a great float and certainly not a slacker, there are still things I couldn't tell you how to do on their system even though as the pharmacist I probably should have known how to do. Not trying to necessarily scare you away from Walgreens just telling you do not expect them to train you well you will know the basics of the system when you start on your own but that is about it.

Bro, I drove out to CO from FL about 2 years ago for a manager spot. I knew things were headed this way and wanted to cash in on 70/hr ya know? and so far i have saved nearly every penny. That said, they were supposed to train me in Denver right for 2 weeks. Instead i got shuffled through some store that was too busy to give me the time of day. Then i drove out to my store knowing almost zero...I learned quickly and restored this old ghetto store for them. The first thing they did was start to restructure. Awesome! Now they almost seem like they dont care or remember what this store was and can again be like if not run properly. Before i quit and have all the cash i need. I plan on hiring the worst help, or even leaving them severely backed up and short staffed. LOL...I'll tell my DM to "take ownership" as he would tell me.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

So my interview with the Walgreens district manager went very well today (at least I think so). At the end of the interview, he told me to make sure go online to apply for the graduate intern positions in the regions I mentioned I was interested work in. He also explained a little bit how the process works when you are hired as a graduate intern before you are trained to become a pharmacist.
Now, I'm wondering, is that a sign? Am I looking at an offer in my future or is it just a part of his normal routine as an interviewer? Thank you all in advance 🙂

Hard to say... sounds like a generic DM to me. A typical sycophantic DM that will lie through teeth until they have to get rid of you... haha

If they do offer you a position, take it but also try to find another job somewhere else besides CVS and Wag. Two worst places you can work for...

 

[UCSF2021]

From what I hear, CVS is still worse, though Walgreens has been trying their darnedest to dethrone them!

Wags doesn't even do raises anymore.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

Wags doesn't even do raises anymore.

CVS will find weirdest ways not to give raises.

 

[Deja]

It is worse in some areas. In my area starting is now $48

Really? why would people still go to pharmacy school for this? so many other careers out there with less schooling and earn about the same with more growth potential

 

[Timbo]

Really? why would people still go to pharmacy school for this? so many other careers out there with less schooling and earn about the same with more growth potential

Because people "passionate"

 

[TianjinNVhai]

Hard to say... sounds like a generic DM to me. A typical sycophantic DM that will lie through teeth until they have to get rid of you... haha

If they do offer you a position, take it but also try to find another job somewhere else besides CVS and Wag. Two worst places you can work for...

That was my plan! I definitely won't say no to any kind of offer but I will keep looking until something decent becomes available.Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[PharmacyGirlClass2018]

How is the floater with no specified hours like? I just got my licence and got a job offer from Walgreens as a floater far away from where i live. I am very excited but very worried too because i am not sure how much hours i would get.

 

[Rxaunt]

That would all depend on your area and how many market floats they have. I would say if you are prn with no specific hours i wouldnt guarantee you getting many hours a week. I was offered a job with 36 hours a week in my market but they were short on floats due to structure changes and hour changes in previous two years in my area that caused them to lose a bunch of staff and floats, or that was the rumor anyway. So i almost always got all my hours with extra shifts available to sign up for plus just about everytime i had a day off i would get an email or a text asking me to come in. Also they tend to push you as far away as they can possibly send you, i think the furthest they sent me was about 3 hours from home. Yes they will give you a hotel if needed but if they are scheduling the hotels for you check after you get the confirmation each time to make sure that it actually makes sense. For example i was scheduled the night before a morning shift but not the night after with a 12 hour shift and i had to get that corrected more than once. Its not a huge deal to do most of the time it just is good to check everytime. You will also be given schedules that make no sense sometimes. I wasn't a huge fan of the float life but some people love it.

 

[sozetone]

Really? why would people still go to pharmacy school for this? so many other careers out there with less schooling and earn about the same with more growth potential

Because in 2003 they were giving us a new lexus to work for them! i could never have known......but this new generation has a chance to escape....i just think we need to wain until 2020 or so.....when the pain really sets in....the start of the downward spiral is 2018....

 

[PharmacyGirlClass2018]

That would all depend on your area and how many market floats they have. I would say if you are prn with no specific hours i wouldnt guarantee you getting many hours a week. I was offered a job with 36 hours a week in my market but they were short on floats due to structure changes and hour changes in previous two years in my area that caused them to lose a bunch of staff and floats, or that was the rumor anyway. So i almost always got all my hours with extra shifts available to sign up for plus just about everytime i had a day off i would get an email or a text asking me to come in. Also they tend to push you as far away as they can possibly send you, i think the furthest they sent me was about 3 hours from home. Yes they will give you a hotel if needed but if they are scheduling the hotels for you check after you get the confirmation each time to make sure that it actually makes sense. For example i was scheduled the night before a morning shift but not the night after with a 12 hour shift and i had to get that corrected more than once. Its not a huge deal to do most of the time it just is good to check everytime. You will also be given schedules that make no sense sometimes. I wasn't a huge fan of the float life but some people love it.

Thank you for the information. Hope the areas that they assign me need floaters so they will assign me enough hours to earn a decent salary

 

[Timbo]

Thank you for the information. Hope the areas that they assign me need floaters so they will assign me enough hours to earn a decent salary

I hope you get enough hours too - it is really rough out there and is only going to get worse with so many new grads every year. Just wondering, when you started pharmacy school, were you well aware of the job saturation and decided to take a risk anyway? Or did you not research the job market well enough and thought you would easily be able to find a full time position? Just trying to get a feel of what pre-pharm and pharmacy student’s perception of the job market.

 

[PharmacyGirlClass2018]

I hope you get enough hours too - it is really rough out there and is only going to get worse with so many new grads every year. Just wondering, when you started pharmacy school, were you well aware of the job saturation and decided to take a risk anyway? Or did you not research the job market well enough and thought you would easily be able to find a full time position? Just trying to get a feel of what pre-pharm and pharmacy student’s perception of the job market.

when i st

I hope you get enough hours too - it is really rough out there and is only going to get worse with so many new grads every year. Just wondering, when you started pharmacy school, were you well aware of the job saturation and decided to take a risk anyway? Or did you not research the job market well enough and thought you would easily be able to find a full time position? Just trying to get a feel of what pre-pharm and pharmacy student’s perception of the job market.

When I started pharmacy school the job market was still okay. Plus pharmacy school was very competitive at that time and was very small classroom like 60-70 students. It was very hard to get accepted and there were not as many pharmacy schools as right now.

 

[Timbo]

when i st


When I started pharmacy school the job market was still okay. Plus pharmacy school was very competitive at that time and was very small classroom like 60-70 students. It was very hard to get accepted and there were not as many pharmacy schools as right now.

Fair enough. I’m assuming you started in 2014. Warning signs were already there (An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie) but it seemed 2014 showed a slight uptick in demand:supply. When I graduated a few years ago, relocation was necessary for most of us but companies still offered high salaries, guaranteed hours, and even sign on bonuses. Is that still going on for most of your classmates?

 

[Rxaunt]

Not the otginally poster but i graduated 2017 only like one person in my class was offered a sign on bonus that i knew about but they also chose to work in a not necessarily desired area as and as it was a manager position. I would say about 70-80% of my class had a job or a residency at graduation. Of those about 50-60% were residencies. Of the rest i think one had a fulltime hospital job but he had worked at that hospital all through school and they were obsessed with him. Another one had a part time hospital and par part time floater position with walgreens. The rest were retail and about 90% of those were floats for walgreens like i was. There wer a few CVS but not many and a few independent or a local grocery chain
I worked a year as a float for walgreens and then i was offered a new position with the grocery chain. I was lucky though i had an old manager that was looking out for me and told me about the opening or i would still be there.

 

[Momus]

Not the otginally poster but i graduated 2017 only like one person in my class was offered a sign on bonus that i knew about but they also chose to work in a not necessarily desired area as and as it was a manager position. I would say about 70-80% of my class had a job or a residency at graduation. Of those about 50-60% were residencies. Of the rest i think one had a fulltime hospital job but he had worked at that hospital all through school and they were obsessed with him. Another one had a part time hospital and par part time floater position with walgreens. The rest were retail and about 90% of those were floats for walgreens like i was. There wer a few CVS but not many and a few independent or a local grocery chain
I worked a year as a float for walgreens and then i was offered a new position with the grocery chain. I was lucky though i had an old manager that was looking out for me and told me about the opening or i would still be there.

Lucky will be the right word from now on. It used to be guaranteed a full time position anywhere you want with 10-15k/yr sign on bonus and unlimited OTs.

 

[PharmacyGirlClass2018]

Fair enough. I’m assuming you started in 2014. Warning signs were already there (An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie) but it seemed 2014 showed a slight uptick in demand:supply. When I graduated a few years ago, relocation was necessary for most of us but companies still offered high salaries, guaranteed hours, and even sign on bonuses. Is that still going on for most of your classmates?

I dont hear much about bonus but i heard

Fair enough. I’m assuming you started in 2014. Warning signs were already there (An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie) but it seemed 2014 showed a slight uptick in demand:supply. When I graduated a few years ago, relocation was necessary for most of us but companies still offered high salaries, guaranteed hours, and even sign on bonuses. Is that still going on for most of your classmates?

I dont know much about others but from the ones that i am still talking to. It looks like most newly grads would either going for residency or took a job at retails as floaters regardless

 

[projektreverb]

I dont hear much about bonus but i heard

I dont know much about others but from the ones that i am still talking to. It looks like most newly grads would either going for residency or took a job at retails as floaters regardless

I’m a 2018 grad as well. I went down the residency path by pure luck. The only place I was considering signing on as a backup if residency failed was a place in ND or SD that was offering a decent full time salary with a 10k sign on bonus I think.

Most of my classmates are either floaters, residents (10%) or unemployed at graduation (~20%). I knew a like 5-10 of them wanted to go to California, good luck with that guys! I kept in touch with some of them, and they took their tests in late September and October. Meanwhile I’ve been licensed since early September and my coresies have been since late August. One the Cali people is probably going to go to Nor Cal. The other took a prn job at his old hospital in SoCal.

As for me, even though I did a community residency, I’m probably going to end up going thru with the floater offer I got, as I doubt anything better will pop up.

Warning to the wise applicant for Fall 2019 lol

 

[Apotheker2015]

Please don't take offense but I'm just curious... Before applying to pharmacy school four years ago, were you open to the fact that you may only be able to work per diem upon graduating for an indefinite amount of time? Or did you not research the job market trends well enough? I'm trying to get a feel of current pre pharm and pharmacy student's perception of the job market.

How does you comment add any value?

 

[Timbo]

How does you comment add any value?

I'm just trying to get an idea of what people's perceptions are before applying to pharmacy school. I run into a lot of techs and college students considering pharmacy school or even pharmacy interns and would like to do my best to give them the best information regarding pharmacist job outlook I can.