Pharmacy Headhunters?

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dgroulx

dgroulx

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  1. Pharmacist
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The CVS job offers were mailed this month. They are offering $49.50 per hour and a $8,000 signing bonus if you sign on before November 1st, which is when the Walgreens job offers get mailed out to students.

I'm thinking about sending my CV out to some headhunters and testing the water before making a committment. I'm not planning on doing a residency. Does anyone know of any good pharmacy headhunters? They can be Florida based or nationwide.
 
Just curious... how do the sign on bonuses work? Do they give it to you at the beginning of the year, or after the first year of working?
 
Headhunters usually charge 20% of pharmacist annual salary... so around 20K.
Many employers frown on dealing with headhunters..and would rather hire the employee without them.

In return, headhunters won't refer you to those companies who's not willing to pay the fee. And good companies really don't have to use headhunters to find a pharmacist.

It can limit your search.

Headhunters can be useful when moving out of state. And they are good about trying to maximize the benefits.
 
jaberwocky said:
Just curious... how do the sign on bonuses work? Do they give it to you at the beginning of the year, or after the first year of working?
Click to expand...

You get it up front. I'm sure you have to pay it back if you don't work the full year. I'm not really sure.
 
ZpackSux said:
Eh... since I do the hiring of pharmacists, I frown upon them..along with our HR director and CEO.
Click to expand...

So where do you post your jobs? There is never anything in the Tampa newspaper and I want to work in an area that is north of Tampa, anyway. I've found listings on web sites, but those postings mainly seem like headhunters. Should I just mail my CV to every place in the area where I would like to work?
 
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSee...L=AL;QS=sid_unknown;SS=NO;TITL=0;JQT=RAD&sd=2


Careerbuilder has a load of jobs in Tampa area. You can check each employer's website...or simply walk into a chain pharmacy(if that's where you want to work) and ask the pharmacist for the recruiter's info. I believe most big retail pharmacies have regional recruiters.

I haven't had to really advertise for jobs anywhere other than our hospital's website. But I prefer referrals from friends or other pharmacists. It's worked so far.
 
What exactly are headhunters?
 
What's this about CVS/Walgreens mailing out job offers to students? Is this only to select students? Students who have interned or worked there before? Select areas only? What's the story?
 
dgroulx said:
So where do you post your jobs? There is never anything in the Tampa newspaper and I want to work in an area that is north of Tampa, anyway. I've found listings on web sites, but those postings mainly seem like headhunters. Should I just mail my CV to every place in the area where I would like to work?
Click to expand...
Are you wanting to go outside of retail? If so, think about going to this years ASHP convention. Your school should also be holding a career day sometime soon...
 
Pharmguy07 said:
What's this about CVS/Walgreens mailing out job offers to students? Is this only to select students? Students who have interned or worked there before? Select areas only? What's the story?
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They mail them out to their interns. You have to be on their current payroll. If you interned there a couple of years ago, you won't get the letter.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I'm gonna ***** myself out until May 2009 when Sarah graduates. I don't care who it is, just pay me and I'll be fine. Then when she DOES graduate, I'll be sure to be sick of that job where I can triumphantly firebomb and skip town.
Click to expand...


My wife's name is Sarah.
 
Caverject said:
Are you wanting to go outside of retail? If so, think about going to this years ASHP convention. Your school should also be holding a career day sometime soon...
Click to expand...

Career day is in February. I was pretty sure I was going retail with Wags. But, one of my friends from school found out that a hospital just hired a new pharmacist at 91k per year. That's getting close to retail, about $12k less per year. I was at a rotation at that same hospital and they asked me if I wanted to work there and I said no. It's a bit of a drive for me. None of the hospitals where I live are hiring, though. I mainly want something close. Also, my knee isn't healed yet from surgery. What if I need the other knee done in a year? I'll need a sit-down job and I'm not sure I'll be able to do retail. For retail, Wags is only 8-hour days which appeals to me and my knees. When you turn 50 years old your body starts to fall apart.

Where's the ASHP convention going to be?
 
Pharmguy07 said:
What's this about CVS/Walgreens mailing out job offers to students? Is this only to select students? Students who have interned or worked there before? Select areas only? What's the story?
Click to expand...

It is for interns. I believe the $8000 is for one year of service as a pharmacist. The pay rate will be different depending on area. In arizona it is about $51 dollars/hour.

I think if you don't sign by Nov 1st and they still need more pharmacists they will still give you the $8000. The letter says if you don't sign by Nov1st it goes down to $4000 and after feb 1st it is nothing. THat is just dependent on the staffing situation. I find it hard to believe that if they still need pharmacists in certain areas after Feb that they won't offer some sort of sign on bonus.

If anyone knows what Walgreens is planning on offering their interns... please let me know.

According to CVS their hourly pay will be higher than Walgreens but it is based on a 44 hour work week and overtime after that is only $6/hour more when Walgreens pays time and a half.

Does anyone know what Walgreen's vacation is? For CVS it is 2 weeks then after 4 years it is 3 weeks...

I believe the bonus is paid right after you sign... So it would be better to sign early and get most of the tax back now while your not making much money, instead of next year when you will make over 50,000 dollars.
 
ASHP was suppose to be in New Orleans. But moved to Anaheim.
 
museabuse said:
It is for interns. I believe the $8000 is for one year of service as a pharmacist. The pay rate will be different depending on area. In arizona it is about $51 dollars/hour.

I think if you don't sign by Nov 1st and they still need more pharmacists they will still give you the $8000. The letter says if you don't sign by Nov1st it goes down to $4000 and after feb 1st it is nothing. THat is just dependent on the staffing situation. I find it hard to believe that if they still need pharmacists in certain areas after Feb that they won't offer some sort of sign on bonus.

If anyone knows what Walgreens is planning on offering their interns... please let me know.

According to CVS their hourly pay will be higher than Walgreens but it is based on a 44 hour work week and overtime after that is only $6/hour more when Walgreens pays time and a half.

Does anyone know what Walgreen's vacation is? For CVS it is 2 weeks then after 4 years it is 3 weeks...

I believe the bonus is paid right after you sign... So it would be better to sign early and get most of the tax back now while your not making much money, instead of next year when you will make over 50,000 dollars.
Click to expand...
You should check into the VA or MacDill Air Force Base. I think the benefits offset the wage difference.

Don't forget, "8 Hour Days" don't always litterally translate into 8 hour days. You may want to look into getting a retail job with Publix. The newer stores are notoriously slow which will allow for you to sit down when you need to.
 
Headhunters will waste a lot of your time. Don't bother with them. Someone else mentioned that they limit themselves to employers who will fork out $$ for their services- absolutely true. They try to get you to commit to work with them exclusively...which rules out a lot of opportunities.

They also pester the crap out of you with crummy jobs in undesirable locales eventhough they know damn well that you what you are interested in.

Monster.com is load of crap also, for pharmacists. Employers have to pay like 400 bucks to subscribe. Most don't, so you end up getting deluged with head hunter idiots but no real job offers.

I found a job through ACCP- a good resource for clinical jobs. ASHP is good also. For retail jobs, just walk in and ask for the DM's contact info.
 
I've actually had a headhunter insist I work with him only.
I said I'll think about it. Then I received another solicitation from a different headhunter only to find out it was the first guy pretending to be someone different to test me out.
 
ZpackSux said:
I've actually had a headhunter insist I work with him only.
I said I'll think about it. Then I received another solicitation from a different headhunter only to find out it was the first guy pretending to be someone different to test me out.
Click to expand...

Hahaha that's awesome.
 
Over the years I've had headhunters call frequently. I've never used one to find a job....they're always calling to see if I'm interested in their jobs.

A few subtle questions normally identifies who has hired them. In each case I know of - the job &/or employer is awful.

I'd stay away from them, but I have no idea how they would work out if you are using them for yourself.

If want to move to a different part of the country...join that state's ASHP or APhA chapter & also join the county chapter. Sometimes...there are resources there for job listings.
 
sorry if i missed it, tired from a long day and naive, but what is a headhunter? they find jobs for you? what is involved and why would you use them?
 
alwaystired said:
sorry if i missed it, tired from a long day and naive, but what is a headhunter? they find jobs for you? what is involved and why would you use them?
Click to expand...

A headhunter is a recruiter. They are used both ways - sometimes hired by an employer to find an individual to fill a position & sometimes hired by an individual to find a position.

When a headhunter makes "cold calls" to pharmacies asking pharmacists if they are interested in a job, they will be very vague. They will want to meet you, see your resume or CV & show it to the firm which is using them to see if you fit what they want.

If you are a highly desired individual....say are a professor or very specialized clinically or in industry...sometimes you might use a headhunter to find a position available in other parts of the country to which you might want to relocate. You may want to further your career & feel you need to make a move, or you may just want to move for personal reasons. However...these individuals are usually well known within their circles & are able to talk amongst themselves professionally, so can bypass the headhunter thing just by putting the word out they want to change jobs.

It is rarely done for a staff pharmacist position. Altho there is a shortage of us, a headhunter won't make pharmacists more available & they are expensive & unreliable as Zpack mentioned.

Hope that clarifies a bit....
 
yes thank you. but do they really charge? i am taking that a sarcasm, but hard to tell over the net
 
alwaystired said:
yes thank you. but do they really charge? i am taking that a sarcasm, but hard to tell over the net
Click to expand...


Sorry - not sarcastic! Yes they really charge - that is how they make their living.

They are used mostly by employers, not usually pharmacists - for that reason & the fact that most pharmacists don't need to use a headhunter. If you are looking for a staff retail position....you locate the dm or head person of the pharmacy. If you are looking for a staff hospital, you apply to the hospital & make contact with the dop or someone you may know in the dept & use those resources.

Employers use them because they can't fill crummy positions - in my area, we are called all the time for "closed door" positions & hospital positions in hospitals which are "known" as difficult employers.

Think of a headhunter in the context of filling a ceo position for a large corporation or a ceo looking to find a different position. It is a way to search the market without letting the market know you are looking.
 
alwaystired said:
yes thank you. but do they really charge? i am taking that a sarcasm, but hard to tell over the net
Click to expand...


Sorry - not sarcastic! Yes they really charge - that is how they make their living.

They are used mostly by employers, not usually pharmacists - for that reason & the fact that most pharmacists don't need to use a headhunter. If you are looking for a staff retail position....you locate the dm or head person of the pharmacy. If you are looking for a staff hospital, you apply to the hospital & make contact with the dop or someone you may know in the dept & use those resources.

Employers use them because they can't fill crummy positions - in my area, we are called all the time for "closed door" positions & hospital positions in hospitals which are "known" as difficult employers.

Think of a headhunter in the context of filling a ceo position for a large corporation or a ceo looking to find a different position. It is a way to search the market without letting the market know you are looking.
 
sorry for the double post - I'm using a computer which is not my own🙁
 
My CV has 25 years of IT experience on it. I was considering looking for an IT pharmacist position. My husband always used a headhunter for IT positions, so I wasn't sure if I should do the same. I have not found any listings for IT pharmacy, though several preceptors have told me that I should pursue it as it is an up and coming field.

When I go to hospital web sites, I see pharmacy positions and IT positions but not one combining the two. I guess I just need to sell myself to a pharmacy director.
 
IT headhunting was a booming industry, but no longer. Many of those guys have turned to healthcare recruiting.

A self standing institution rarely needs an IT pharmacist. It's usually a hospital system who utilizes an IT pharmacist..like VA, or a hospital system with multiple locations. Even then, most of Pharmacy IT task is done by IT or Pharmacy technicians.

It also helps to fully understand hospital pharmacy operation in order to participate in pharmacy IT. Then again, many times it doesn't require a full time IT pharmacist. Our pharmacy IT is maintained by the corporate and we have an IT tech and one pharmacy tech who manage our system in house.
 
ZpackSux said:
It also helps to fully understand hospital pharmacy operation in order to participate in pharmacy IT. Then again, many times it doesn't require a full time IT pharmacist. Our pharmacy IT is maintained by the corporate and we have an IT tech and one pharmacy tech who manage our system in house.
Click to expand...

One of my rotations had a full time clinical pharmacist & one full time tech doing IT. They had to design many custom reports, keep the Pyxis machines all networked, fix computers, update software, do some data mining, etc. I guess it isn't that common of a job then.
 
You'd be a great resource for Pyxis or First Data Bank or some other corporation along those lines.

However, no - of all the hospitals I'm aware of in the area, none employ an IT pharmacist.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I'm gonna ***** myself out until May 2009 when Sarah graduates. I don't care who it is, just pay me and I'll be fine. Then when she DOES graduate, I'll be sure to be sick of that job where I can triumphantly firebomb and skip town.
Click to expand...


Must... resist... immaturity.... but... above... post.... so.... easy to....be... childish... with... :meanie:

We get plenty of headhunters calling WAGs at work... and it's always amusing watching my pharmacist who's been w/ WAGs for 39 years ask them if they can top what he has now in terms of pay, vacation time and how much he has accumulated in profit sharing... Usually, all I hear is *click*
 
dgroulx said:
When I go to hospital web sites, I see pharmacy positions and IT positions but not one combining the two. I guess I just need to sell myself to a pharmacy director.
Click to expand...

...the positions do exist. Here's one, albeit in Flagstaff, Arizona:
 
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