Walgreens Hiring Freeze?

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As I wrote in the sky is falling thread, a corporate email was sent to us on Friday afternoon. The email says that there is a "temporary hiring suspension" on all techs, interns and pharmacists. It also said that all offers prior to June 18 will be honored.
 
Mosep said:
As I wrote in the sky is falling thread, a corporate email was sent to us on Friday afternoon. The email says that there is a "temporary hiring suspension" on all techs, interns and pharmacists. It also said that all offers prior to June 18 will be honored.
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This has been going alot longer but it was never official..WAG was under a hiring freeze (at least for corporate positions) back in Oct 09
 
I wonder how long this will go on... I hope not too long.

My fiance's a pharmacist.
 
Thank God: I saw it coming( too much expectation from staff members, MTM mandatory, Immunization, low tech ratio, store managers interference, no lunch, RPh becoming cashiers and drive thru techs). If you love yourself run away very fast from this company. Six years of school is not worth spending here.
 
So if Walgreens have shut its doors.... what other retail options are there for graduating pharmacists?

I mean, is CVS, Target, Walmart hiring?
 
There are jobs in the middle of nowhere. Jobs in larger cities get massive amounts of competition. I applied for a job in Philly and they told me they received over 30 applications for one job.
 
anua said:
Thank God: I saw it coming( too much expectation from staff members, MTM mandatory, Immunization, low tech ratio, store managers interference, no lunch, RPh becoming cashiers and drive thru techs). If you love yourself run away very fast from this company. Six years of school is not worth spending here.
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You could say this about any of the chains. Walgreens and CVS happen top be the worst but all the rest are headed in the same direction.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
There are jobs in the middle of nowhere. Jobs in larger cities get massive amounts of competition. I applied for a job in Philly and they told me they received over 30 applications for one job.
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30 to 1 isnt TERRIBLE.. i think there are generally 15-20:1 apps for intern jobs where i currently work when we post them .. seriously though half of these people cant even write a decent resume. LOL

my rule of thumb is, cut out half of people for writing a **** resume (based on looking over people's resumes that ive seen), maybe another 15% for writing a poorly written or unintelligible email/cover letter, and then maybe 30% of remaining for not being able to interview well.. at least this seems to be what my boss has been doing when we hire new interns, or so he told me. (the interview thing)

and then looking at CVS, who hired 1 out of two applicants for pharmacist jobs in NYC out of their interns.. 2:1 doesnt look too bad really

people on here are smarter and have their **** together much more so (usually) than the pharmacy population in general. so you got that going for you, which is nice.
 
Under certain circumstances, the hiring freeze can be waived.
 
type b pharmD said:
30 to 1 isnt TERRIBLE.. i think there are generally 15-20:1 apps for intern jobs where i currently work when we post them .. seriously though half of these people cant even write a decent resume. LOL

my rule of thumb is, cut out half of people for writing a **** resume (based on looking over people's resumes that ive seen), maybe another 15% for writing a poorly written or unintelligible email/cover letter, and then maybe 30% of remaining for not being able to interview well.. at least this seems to be what my boss has been doing when we hire new interns, or so he told me. (the interview thing)

and then looking at CVS, who hired 1 out of two applicants for pharmacist jobs in NYC out of their interns.. 2:1 doesnt look too bad really

people on here are smarter and have their **** together much more so (usually) than the pharmacy population in general. so you got that going for you, which is nice.
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I wonder if those numbers improve (get worse? I mean more competitive applicants) when dealing with RPh's rather than interns.
 
genesis09 said:
Under certain circumstances, the hiring freeze can be waived.
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Seems like there's a lot of red tape and approvals to jump through before you can get to be an exception based on the letter I just read.
 
type b pharmD said:
30 to 1 isnt TERRIBLE.. i think there are generally 15-20:1 apps for intern jobs where i currently work when we post them .. seriously though half of these people cant even write a decent resume. LOL

my rule of thumb is, cut out half of people for writing a **** resume (based on looking over people's resumes that ive seen), maybe another 15% for writing a poorly written or unintelligible email/cover letter, and then maybe 30% of remaining for not being able to interview well.. at least this seems to be what my boss has been doing when we hire new interns, or so he told me. (the interview thing)

and then looking at CVS, who hired 1 out of two applicants for pharmacist jobs in NYC out of their interns.. 2:1 doesnt look too bad really

people on here are smarter and have their **** together much more so (usually) than the pharmacy population in general. so you got that going for you, which is nice.
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This means that CVS did not hire some of its own interns? 👎
 
Apparently Walgreens is not doing that badly. They're building a completely new store near where my parents live. I guess their rationale is "who cares how we do, but gotta compete with the Rite Aid down the street and put that company out of business".
 
I work as a tech at walgreens. Here in the district I work at in Texas Hours are being cut fast and in chunks in on a weekly basis. i went from 32-38 hours a week down to 12. Hour district has had a hiring freeze since back in like feb. I dont understand walgreens policy. In my city alone they have built new stores all over the place but keep cutting hours? I dont see why they just put more man power in the stores they have now instead of building new store.
 
jumpmandrumma said:
I work as a tech at walgreens. Here in the district I work at in Texas Hours are being cut fast and in chunks in on a weekly basis. i went from 32-38 hours a week down to 12. Hour district has had a hiring freeze since back in like feb. I dont understand walgreens policy. In my city alone they have built new stores all over the place but keep cutting hours? I dont see why they just put more man power in the stores they have now instead of building new store.
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Strategy.
 
bacillus1 said:
Apparently Walgreens is not doing that badly. They're building a completely new store near where my parents live. I guess their rationale is "who cares how we do, but gotta compete with the Rite Aid down the street and put that company out of business".
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That's a pretty horrible business strategy in the long run. Eventually competition will use disruptive innovation to make you big and irrelevant. Not to mention broke.
 
womp said:
That's a pretty horrible business strategy in the long run. Eventually competition will use disruptive innovation to make you big and irrelevant. Not to mention broke.
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Walgreen's goal is to put that RA location out of business even if it will hurt their profits short-term. Once that RA store goes down, they will take over the business at that area and start reaping profits long-term. Poach your enemy's resources so they can wither. It's an interesting concept in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.
 
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I doubt Wags is looking at short term loss to put RA out of business. I tend to think the goal is to capture the marketshare where they can and then buy out RA when appropriate.

Wag's real competition is CVS.

That being said, I'll be looking for a retail pharmacist in Northern Cal..M-F 9-6 job.
 
Its Z said:
I doubt Wags is looking at short term loss to put RA out of business. I tend to think the goal is to capture the marketshare where they can and then buy out RA when appropriate.

Wag's real competition is CVS.

That being said, I'll be looking for a retail pharmacist in Northern Cal..M-F 9-6 job.
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How Northern?
 
You wouldn't be interested. Are you licensed in CA?
 
Well, there could be 2 jobs... 1 oncology clinic job and a retail job.. same location but 2 different employers. The retail job won't be opening up for a bit but the oncology job is open now I think. Closest D&B is 70 miles away.
 
Its Z said:
Well, there could be 2 jobs... 1 oncology clinic job and a retail job.. same location but 2 different employers. The retail job won't be opening up for a bit but the oncology job is open now I think. Closest D&B is 70 miles away.
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Meh.

I think I'm going to get my Ohio License. You don't have to take a test. You just send them the fee and go see the board in person. That's it.

Not being licensed in a state with need is a huge obstacle.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Meh.

I think I'm going to get my Ohio License. You don't have to take a test. You just send them the fee and go see the board in person. That's it.

Not being licensed in a state with need is a huge obstacle.
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I'm sure you've thought about this already, but in case you hadn't the va only requires you be licensed in one state to work at any of their facilities to the best of my knowledge.
 
WVUPharm2007:

As far as our profession goes, I consider Ohio to be the benighted land.

If there is system flaw that just so happens to strike while you're working, you may be stripped of your livelihood, have your reputation wrecked, and be sent to prison.

I will never work in Ohio.

Be careful.
 
torchbearer said:
WVUPharm2007:

As far as our profession goes, I consider Ohio to be the benighted land.

If there is system flaw that just so happens to strike while you're working, you may be stripped of your livelihood, have your reputation wrecked, and be sent to prison.

I will never work in Ohio.

Be careful.
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This is true. Though the guy didn't fight it in court. His lawyer should be ashamed.
 
Its Z, what part of Northern CA for the positions?
 
hi! new here and looking for a job in southern california... few different wags district managers said they aren't hiring in So cal at this time and to check in a few months...

fyi: currently a walgreens pharmacist in a different state and i am licensed in cali.. very frustrating that i can't transfer.. have to start the whole process again.. like benefits.. vacation.. ugh!.. have applied to retail and hospitals.. no luck 🙁
 
La Roux said:
hi! new here and looking for a job in southern california... few different wags district managers said they aren't hiring in So cal at this time and to check in a few months...

fyi: currently a walgreens pharmacist in a different state and i am licensed in cali.. very frustrating that i can't transfer.. have to start the whole process again.. like benefits.. vacation.. ugh!.. have applied to retail and hospitals.. no luck 🙁
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Have you used up all your vacation or special days? If not just use 1 a month to stay in the system and maintain your benefits until you can find an opening. Also, I found this information in regards to a bridge in service at Walgreens.

"Interruption in Service - Less Than One Year
If you leave Walgreens for a period of one to 30 calendar days, your time away is not considered to be a break in service and you will retain your previous date of hire if your Manager or Department Director approves your interruption in service.
If you leave Walgreens for a period of 31 to 365 calendar days, your District Manager or Department Director and the Director of Employee Services must approve your interruption in service before you can retain your previous date of hire. In this case, the Bridge in Service Form (PDF) must be submitted after at least 90 days of service following rehire to the Employee Services Department."
 
DYSF777 said:
Have you used up all your vacation or special days? If not just use 1 a month to stay in the system and maintain your benefits until you can find an opening. Also, I found this information in regards to a bridge in service at Walgreens.
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Never ever leave a job unless you have another job lined up. Only then take a break between jobs... not look for a job while having quit the job and while using up your vacation.
 
It's all ok.

I was looking through Indeed.com and it looks like another major retailer is getting into the pharmacy game:

358croh.png
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
This is true. Though the guy didn't fight it in court. His lawyer should be ashamed.
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Probably because he could not afford to fight it in court...lawyers are really expensive and the guy did not have a steady income after losing his job.
I remember listening to a guy from some pharmacy organization that helps treats pharmacists addicted to alcohol/drugs. He went through a court fight to get his license back after abusing drugs/alcohol and spent over $80,000 in legal/court costs. He said there was no way he could have afforded it if it was not for his supporting wife.
 
mickfan13 said:
This means that CVS did not hire some of its own interns? 👎
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Yes - that is correct. I had multiple classmates who were active CVS interns in their p4 year but did not receive an offer.
 
Hey guys. So I may not be a student doctor, but I've worked for this company for almost two years now as a photo tech, and have been impacted by this hiring freeze in a pretty unique manner. (And am still trying to figure out how to mend the situation.) I'm a student in PA, meaning for fall and spring semester I live on campus. I'm supposed to 'remain in the system.' However, when I went to return for winter break this year, I was told of the many budget cuts the company had been dispersing, and how our store caught on to one of them. Perfectly reasonable, but I wasn't about to give up my job. So periodically I would stop back to check in. Turns out there was in fact an opening in photo, and the new manager assured me that he would be bringing me back within the week. Until I called two days later to find that there had been a 'hiring freeze.' Which I figured shouldn't do me any harm because I had already been an employee for such a period of time. It was explained to me that I would be issued as a 'rehire' and that was why the new management was unable to disregard the hiring freeze, despite the fact that they needed to fill the space. I've been looking into this for a little while this morning, and as much as people speak poorly of the company - I enjoy my job at Walgreens. I've tried the other stores in my area (oh there's only about four, haha....) and have gotten the same answer from each of them that the hiring freeze has their hands tied. I really have no idea what to do here.
 
This thread was originally from 2010...So as of today, Walgreen's is still on a hiring freeze?
 
etlacou said:
Hey guys. So I may not be a student doctor, but I've worked for this company for almost two years now as a photo tech, and have been impacted by this hiring freeze in a pretty unique manner. (And am still trying to figure out how to mend the situation.) I'm a student in PA, meaning for fall and spring semester I live on campus. I'm supposed to 'remain in the system.' However, when I went to return for winter break this year, I was told of the many budget cuts the company had been dispersing, and how our store caught on to one of them. Perfectly reasonable, but I wasn't about to give up my job. So periodically I would stop back to check in. Turns out there was in fact an opening in photo, and the new manager assured me that he would be bringing me back within the week. Until I called two days later to find that there had been a 'hiring freeze.' Which I figured shouldn't do me any harm because I had already been an employee for such a period of time. It was explained to me that I would be issued as a 'rehire' and that was why the new
management was unable to disregard the hiring freeze, despite the fact that they needed to fill the space. I've been looking into this for a little while this morning, and as much as people speak poorly of the company - I enjoy my job at Walgreens. I've tried
the other stores in my area (oh there's only about four, haha....) and have gotten the same answer from each of them that the hiring freeze has their hands tied. I really have no idea what to do here.
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Thats awesome!!! You revive a thread that is a year and a half old to tell us there is still a hiring freeze in the photo department. Darn it! I was hoping to be the Photo PIC someday. I guess that will have to wait!
 
BrownSugar83 said:
This thread was originally from 2010...So as of today, Walgreen's is still on a hiring freeze?
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From the sounds of the photo booth guy, yes. However, I know a few people who became interns for Wags in the past year after Rite Aid laid off half of their interns. I suppose that's different from hiring pharmacists though, since pharmacists are higher paid, generally full time with benefits, etc and interns are much cheaper and only take a fraction of the hours.

Still, losing a decent chunk of volume from Express Scripts probably is not a signal for an increase in hiring.
 
There hasn't been a continual hiring freeze since this thread was originally posted, but they did reinstate it this month due to the ESI garbage.
 
I was at a Walgreens about 3 hours ago (paid way too much for milk) and I overheard some lady ask the photo guy if they were hiring. He replied that all of Walgreens has a hiring freeze at the moment.

haha... I couldn't help but think of this thread and smile...
 
I think the issue with express scripts will be resolved within the next few months. Big PBM contracts are usually awarded in the spring so express scripts would want to resolve this soon.
 
SWSF said:
I think the issue with express scripts will be resolved within the next few months. Big PBM contracts are usually awarded in the spring so express scripts would want to resolve this soon.
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What does that mean?
 
A friend was recently hired as a part time pharmacist for Wags in southern california. Of course, this is a 2nd job so she's only looking for a handful of shifts per month.
 
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