After ASHP Midyear – Business Cards in the Drawer?
Are your business cards still in your drawer after ASHP Midyear or other pharmacy conference? If so, read Part I of this article on what to do right away before they become clutter in your drawer. Don’t miss out on some of the most long-lasting benefits of attending a pharmacy conference that most pharmacists overlook.
(In pharmacy school, I remember hearing that it’s not what you know, but who you know. Looking back, I find this to be so true and wish I recognized this earlier. I’d like to take it a step further and say “It’s not what you know, but the relationships you grow to help each other.” You get catapulted faster in the direction you want by having the support around you vs. doing it alone.)
If you are a pharmacy director who has an assistant, you can have your assistant take over pieces of what to do immediately after the pharmacy conference in Week One. Here are two more quick things to do before Week Two:
- Week One– Never under-estimate the value of a handwritten card or postcard. Following an event like ASHP Midyear Meeting, email inboxes can be backed up with emails from being away from the conference. They can blend right in with yours and get lost in the shuffle. Choose at least a few key contacts and mail a thoughtfully written thank you note that expresses how you enjoyed meeting them and that you look forward to helping them/working with them soon or down the road. Wish them the best, and let them know that you will stay in touch.Taking this extra step is memorable, simply because it is not often done and you will stand out. Come from the perspective of connecting and giving, rather than asking for anything in the note. It is a gesture of appreciation and/or helping. Try to send as many notes as possible in the weeks following the conference.BONUS “No-Procrastination” Tip: To make things as easy as possible, before you attend another pharmacy conference, bring blank cards or postcards and stamps with you to the conference. Write your handwritten note in your hotel room or on the plane ride home.
In this week, pick up the phone and call your top 3 priority connections. These are connections whom you either really hit it off with personally and want to grow that connection, or whom you can mutually benefit professionally in an immediate way. For example, your expertise or a connection you have aligns with something that your new pharmacist friend needs right now.
You may be nodding your head because you understand the benefits of taking action right away. If it’s not simple and easy, I guarantee you will not do it. You have too much on your plate already as a busy pharmacist.
“If you’ve always done what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got…” Do you want to experience a new way of developing relationships and networking which will give you help and resources that you need at the most unexpected times, or do you want to stuff business cards in your drawer? It’s your choice.
This is simple, so do it and comment on your experiences below. Stay tuned for the next step of what to do to make the most out of your new relationship with another pharmacist/other contact.
After ASHP Midyear – It’s Not Just About You
I was talking to pharmacists who have come back from ASHP Midyear & we all agreed this was a common thing to procrastinate on when coming back from the meeting…so here are easy action steps you can take right away.
You’ve attended the ASHP Midyear Meeting and met other pharmacists & new contacts. Some you were excited to meet & made strong connections with. Others you met and it was just a gesture of courtesy that you accepted their business card– you did not see how they would be a match for you. Now you’re back home with a huge stack of business cards, flyers, and notes.
If you’re like most busy pharmacists & pharmacy directors, you come back and stash them in a desk drawer with the intention of using them in the future when you have a need to connect with that person. Or maybe you are well-intentioned to connect now, but keep procrastinating until that connection is not as memorable.
Unfortunately, many people only follow-up after networking events if they can see a direct, immediate benefit to themselves. Using that approach will cause you to miss out on opportunities that you can mutually support each other with.
Networking is not about meeting people and taking what you can from them at this moment and time. It is about relationship building and creating long-lasting, mutually beneficial connections that can follow you throughout your pharmacy career. It is also about reaching out to others to see what you can help them with. By doing this, you will actually be amazed with the support you receive from others relating what you need.
This year, make a plan for getting to know your new pharmacist and other contacts.
• During ASHP Midyear (you can do this next year, or at future pharmacy conferences) – Write short phrases and memorable things about each person so you will be able to remember them later on. Add project or networking ideas while they are still fresh in your mind. Write down one thing you can help them with, whether it’s an introduction you can make for them, something they need help with, or just to develop a friendship with.
Include on the business card what someone looked like or was wearing. You think you may remember what they look like now—but you may scratch your head later.
• Immediately after the conference (click below to read more):
What I am Thankful For – It’s NOT Pharmacy
As the year comes to an end, I am thankful for the experience you have allowed me to give you this year. I am appreciative of all of you who are a part of my pharmacist community & who inspire me to fulfill my mission. Thank you for letting me live my passion of teaching and inspiring you to work a fulfilling job AND live the ultimate life.
Many of you have been offered pharmacy jobs you want under my guidance. You have learned not to settle (in the big picture perspective) for what you want, as you took what I taught and implemented it in your job search.
A pharmacy career that has at moments given me doubt and made me question why I went into pharmacy….has evolved into my helping you get jobs and interviews faster. It was an indirect path to living my passion (I came from a few generations of teachers). And for that, I am grateful.
I confess, I wrote the title just to catch your attention.
May you finish out the year feeling grateful for how you’ve touched patients’ lives. May you feel thankful for being a pharmacist, which has taken you to a place where you are today– both professionally and personally. May you enjoy this journey of discovery to live your passion within pharmacy (or maybe outside of pharmacy). Let’s continue along in our journey together. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving , and may we enjoy the rest of this year & start out next year in gratitude.
ASHP Midyear – Setting Yourself Up to Be Overlooked for Pharmacist Jobs
ASHP Clinical Midyear Meeting is coming around the corner.
A lot of pharmacists who go to ASHP to interview for a residency or job think their experience or personality will speak for itself…until they show up and see that they are only part of a herd of cattle. Everyone is dressed in dark suits and being asked the same interview questions. Do you realize how everyone starts to sound the same and resumes look the same after awhile?
(For those of you who are NOT going….if you are job hunting right now, do you know confidently that you will beat out your competition?)
Here’s how to stop being part of the herd of cattle. If you miss an important step, you will be in the herd.
1. Figure out what’s important to you. Write down your preferred job situation (practice setting environment, schedule, salary, geographic location). Take a moment to think about your “must haves” and “negotiable” desires.
Be clear about why you want a new job. Not only is it important to figure this out for yourself, a potential employer will want to know this. If your desire for the position doesn’t make sense (ie, you are not wanting the job for the right reasons), you are less likely to stay. As a result, you may be a less desirable pharmacist candidate to an employer, so you are less attractive. You are also not likely to be as happy in your new job.
2. Figure out how to impress, starting out with your sizzle. Your sizzle is your unique pizzaz that makes you special from any other pharmacist. It inspires a hiring manager to want more. You will use it to write your resume that rises to the top and to make your first impression in a conversation with a hiring manager. You will also use your sizzle in the interview to stand out from your competition.
This foundation to your job search will move you from feeling frustrated to taking control of your job search. Creating your sizzle is step one of the 5-step formula I teach in the Kick Ass Resume Bootcamp to help you rise to the top of the resume pile. Get access to the free prerequisite training teleseminar: “5 Simple Secrets: How to Write a Kick Ass Resume that Stops YOU From Getting Tossed.”
3. Tap into the hidden job market. This is one of the biggest challenges you have shared with me. How to find jobs before other pharmacists find out about them and how to approach your interest. Stay tuned—I will be teaching this soon.
4. Create a resume that rises to the top of the pile. Learn the #1 thing you need to change about how you’re writing your resumes, if you care to get noticed (not knowing this can cost you many interviews). Write a resume that leaves a hiring manager wanting more & inviting you in for an interview.
5. Ace the interview with confidence. I will be creating a series of videos to help you get the edge in your interviews at the ASHP Midyear Meeting or elsewhere. Be the first to get them when they come out.
Do you want to be busy in your job search, or do you want more interviews and job offers to choose from? Evaluate whether you have currently control of your job search and what you will do differently to gain control back.
Wishing you all luck when you get to your interviews. Whether you learn from me or someone else, learn from a pharmacist job market expert whose job is to get pharmacists on the top of the resume pile. Don’t rely solely on fellow pharmacists, preceptors, or professors who may have a limited view of what it’s taking to beat out the competition right now.
If you are doing all of the above….and there isn’t something fundamentally wrong with your work history (ie, frequent job hopping), your fit with the company, or how well you get along with others, you should be getting offers you deserve….even in this tough job market.
Pharmacy Managers: Sometimes You Have to Say, “You’re Fired!”
Take the Poll: How long after hiring a new pharmacist do you know whether or not he or she will work out for the long run?
Q: What is the best way to address and remove a bad hire?
Determine whether to say goodbye. Determine if you’ve made a bad hire, or whether underperformance may be due to other factors such as your lack of strategic direction or leadership, or inability to foster your hire to perform to his/her highest capacity. If you determine your hiring mistake is irreparable, remove your bad pharmacist hire quickly, because he/she can drain the energy and morale of your good hires (not to mention taking up a lot of your management time).
The firing. Have compassion and respect for your bad hire when you are doing your firing. Come from the perspective of discussing how it is no longer a fit for both parties, rather than making your discussion focused on the areas in which they are underperforming. Usually when you are at the point of having the “letting go” conversation, you have already made attempts at making things work. One example of discussing it from the place of it being no longer a mutual fit could be saying that the vision/ strategic direction or values you have for the pharmacy isn’t in alignment with the way he/she is currently performing.
Anticipate that you may receive different reactions. Some pharmacists react by being defensive. Others may be surprised. Some may even feel a sense of relief because they have felt for some time that it’s not a good fit and you’ve finally validated it for them. Be prepared for the range of human emotion.
What to do about the reaction. Be present — give them your attention. Acknowledge their reaction. Allow the person to share their perspective and acknowledge them for sharing. Then come back to how it is not a fit and that you feel they would thrive in a different environment. Wish them luck in their next endeavor. It doesn’t have to be a long discussion, but have compassion and respect for the pharmacist you are firing.
Ready to hire right the first time so you don’t have to fire someone? Read the 4 secret ways to attract good pharmacists.
Emotional Hiring Baggage
Take the Poll: Do you think it’s better to strengthen your strengths, or strengthen your weaknesses?
*Scroll down to the bottom to see what experts say about strengthening your strengths vs. strengthening your weaknesses. Find out why it matters to the success of your pharmacy after you hire.*
Now…read about a common mistake that pharmacy directors make when hiring a pharmacist.
Hiring based on emotions or your rapport with someone is a common mistake hiring managers make. You go through your screening process, but end up hiring someone you like rather than the most suitable person for the role. It is important to like whom you work with, but taking emotion out of the picture will allow you to make sound final decisions. Go through a set system that takes emotion out of the decision. Emotion can be triggered by your need to hire someone right away, or your hoping that a candidate you like will work out because you like him/her, and you hire them despite red flags showing up.
Try to involve other people and your pharmacy staff in the decision-making process at some point. They may be able to identify your blind spots preventing you from seeing the whole picture of the candidate. Use a set system and include your intuition to help you make a final decision.
One overlooked mistake is hiring someone who <span id=”more-1598″></span>is similar to you in the way they process the world. The problem is that you may actually be looking for them to fulfill a role that does not require the similar type of excellent that your role does.
Many times, the way someone processes the world is tied to the type of role they are well suited in. For example, someone who is introverted, structured & organized, systematic, analytical, detail-oriented will be more likely to be in the role of a bookkeeper than an entertainer (who may be more extraverted, sociable, and right-brained).
Pharmacists typically have a strong analytical and detail-oriented side to them, which makes them more prone to being accurate and perhaps enjoy reading journal articles. But they may not like counseling patients because they are an introvert. Even though they may appear sociable, their true preference is being an introvert. Others may thrive on counseling patients.
Each person has traits that allow them to be strong in other areas, whether they are traits that allow them to be a strong leader, the ability to make others feel comfortable and welcoming, or being a supportive type of person who doesn’t mind being conforming and likes to avoid confrontation.
Although some pharmacists can accomplish the analytical side of things, they would thrive even more if placed in a role (or add-on to their current role) that allows their creativity to come through, such as creating ways to improve patient satisfaction. Or engaging in a role that requires thinking outside the box. Maybe they would be better at re-designing pharmacy workflow to its optimal efficiency rather than analyzing journal articles, reviewing patient records, or making sure everything is entered in the computer exactly as requested.
When you hire pharmacists without conducting behavioral assessments, chances are that you are not utilizing their best talent, because you haven’t taken the time to truly understand their strengths and how they process the world.
Identify your team’s strengths and strengthen their strengths. It is more effective than identifying weaknesses and improving on their weaknesses. That is a concept explored in “Strengths Finder” by Tom Rath. The Strengths Finder assessment is something you can incorporate in your hiring process to understand someone’s true strengths, and identify ways to magnify those strengths.
Other assessment tools can help with determining work style preferences. Stay tuned–in a future article, you will find out how to move someone a seemingly low achiever to a high level of performance.
The time to start assessing and understanding your pharmacy staff’s strengths is during the hiring process, even before they start.
Temporary IHS Pharmacy Jobs – Indian Health Service – Selecting Travel Assignments
If your career path has crossed working with the Indian Health Service at some point in time, whether as a pharmacist or student completing a rotation, chances are that you will work with the IHS at another point in your career in some capacity down the road.
For pharmacists who are waiting for their Commissioned Corps call to active duty right now, an option available to you is working temporary pharmacist assignments through a pharmacist staffing agency that offers Indian Health Service assignments. This allows you to work in the IHS setting without losing out on experience and pay, while waiting for your paperwork to come through.
If you are recently retired from the Indian Health Service and wanting to do some relief work, travel assignments can be a great way for you to stay connected with the IHS, make money to supplement your retirement, and work when you want to.
If you are currently working for a relief agency and working in the IHS setting, but want to have more desirable work environments and locations to choose from, do research on how you can get the opportunity to do IHS assignments in desirable settings.
If you have worked for the Indian Health Service at some point in time, whether as a pharmacist or had exposure as a JRCOSTEP or during a rotation, doing contract pharmacist work in between jobs or as a career can be options to consider. One IHS-experienced pharmacist Read more