One Truth About Pharmacist Recruiters – Exposed
It is frustrating to me to see this happen so much right now that I just had to blog about this today. I am seeing qualified pharmacists get passed up by hiring managers because they have not taken the time to market themselves in their resume tailored to the position they’ve asked me to represent them for.
Here’s one truth about pharmacist recruiters—exposed. I think a misconception pharmacists have about working with recruiters is that recruiters will be able to get you over the hurdle of being just a resume on someone’s desk because they will be able to verbally tell their contact about why you should be considered for a position, so you don’t need to do much to represent yourself well in a resume.
Recruiters can definitely move you in front of the pile of resumes. However, just as with networking, even if a recruiter provides you with the value of a direct connection and markets you to a decision-maker, the hiring manager still wants to see your strengths and responsibilities relevant to the position backed up by your resume. If you choose to highlight other things instead, or gloss over your related pharmacist experience, you can still be passed up even if you are qualified.
For example, there is one hospital that is looking for a pharmacist who has started up an anticoagulation clinic or set up other pharmacy-run clinics. That is a key responsibility they are looking for. I know a pharmacist who has had experience setting up pharmacy-run clinics, but she chose to just highlight in her resume all the anticoagulation clinic experience she’s had, not the experience she’s had in setting up a pharmacy-run clinic. It cost her an interview.
I know another pharmacist who didn’t answer objections upfront about things that a hiring manager could have concerns about within his resume. It was not clear within the resume why he had transitioned positions within a 1.5-2 year period for the last few jobs, all of which were reasonable circumstances. Even though it may be explained to a pharmacy hiring manager by a recruiter, hiring managers are busy and can forget. When the hiring manager gets a chance to look over your resume, he/she passes a judgment based on what they see.
My advice to you is get clear about the responsibilities of the position you’re applying for and take the time to address those specific responsibilities as much as you can. Also meet potential objections upfront someone may have about why you would be a good fit for the position.
Sometimes you can think you’ve addressed this the best as possible without realizing how 1) you have really undersold yourself, 2) you have not crafted your resume to market yourself to give yourself the best chance possible to be invited in for an interview. Whether you tap into my teachings or another expert with my credentials, get a resume critique before you send off your resume/application. Doing it yourself without expert feedback will only get you so far. It will cost you interviews. You have no idea how many times you are getting passed over because of something that you can take control over, if you just took that extra step to get feedback. You deserve the best shot, especially for positions that you are qualified for.
Remember, if you do the same thing you’ve always done, it’s not going to work in this pharmacist job market where you have lots of competition. Take what you’ve learned from this and change what you are doing so you get better results.
Get Off Your Butt & Update Your Resume
I know–it’s painful. Why would you bother to update your resume when you have a job already?
Here are 3 reasons to stay on top of updating your resume, even when you have a job:
1. You may have a sudden change in job situation. Something personal or family-related may come up and you need to move, or reduce your work hours/responsibility.
2. You may be downsized unexpectedly from your pharmacy or pharmaceutical industry job, especially in this economy.
3. When you are ready to make a career move, you don’t remember key responsibilities, pharmacy practice projects, awards/recognition. It may very well be that you’ll be staying in your current pharmacist position for a long time. What you remember about what you did 2 years ago will not be as clear and detail-oriented as what you remember today about what you are currently doing.
How to keep an updated resume:
Anytime you are given a new responsibility, initiated a new project/role, managed other pharmacists, taught pharmacy residents & students, or wrote a publication, write it down.
Be as detailed as possible. Don’t worry if you are verbose in your initial draft; it can always be edited to select relevant skills & experience for what you apply for down the road. For example, if you created a discharge program for a hospital where pharmacists review medications & provide discharge counseling for every patients, write “Developed a patient discharge program involving pharmacy medication review & discharge counseling”. If you manage other pharmacists & techs, start with writing “Managed 4 pharmacists & 3 technicians, filling 700 Rxs/day”.
If you know you are ready for a job change, learn more about secrets you can tap into to get the edge in their job search by updating your resume to stand out from your competition.
If They Like Me, They’ll Hire Me
Is it true? Sure, it plays an important role in a pharmacy hiring manager’s decision, but why should they pick you out of other interested pharmacist applicants?
I was talking to a pharmacist who wanted to be presented for a management position. I suggested that she highlight any leadership experience, including starting/leading clinical programs or previous leadership experiences during work or in pharmacy school (she had attended pharmacy school within the last 5 years), and her response to me was “I want to keep my resume the way it is. If they like me, they’ll hire me. I don’t want to be giving any false impressions about myself.”
I don’t know how else to say it, but please understand that you may not be used to a pharmacist job market that requires you to not only be a pharmacist who has the skills to get the job you want, but to also convey your skills and passion among other competing pharmacists to get the job.
It’s one thing that you know what you are good at–that your patients love the way you connect with them & physicians listen to your therapeutic suggestions because you are sharp clinically & you collaborate well with others.
It’s another thing to show on a resume (the main thing a potential pharmacist employer sees initially) what it is you have that is directly relevant to the pharmacist position they are trying to fill. A good resume’s purpose is not false impressions. A good resume points your strengths out. It is not about being untruthful. It’s about marketing yourself because that is one of the first key impressions someone will have of you.
If you are untruthful, you will be found out during the interview anyway, so that is dangerous territory to be playing in. The point is to think of what the pharmacist employer wants and tailor your resume uniquely to what they are looking for.
Maybe this will help you understand why it’s important. Why don’t we step back from pharmacy & look at a job for a housekeeper. The qualities of a housekeeper an employer or a client (perhaps you) is looking for is 1) someone who cleans the house in an efficient & detail-oriented manner, 2) someone who has experience doing housekeeping.
Candidate #1:
This housekeeper has the skills mentioned above and the experience, but chooses to write on his/her resume:
Housekeeper. Responsibilities are not elaborated on.
Assessment: You are left wondering what responsibilities he/she had as a housekeeper.
Candidate #2:
This housekeeper has the skills mentioned above and experience housekeeping, but chooses to write on his/her resume: “Experience with scanning & copying”, “Running errands for my clients”, Taking quality photo portraits of people”, “Typing 100 WPM”.
Assessment: Experience with scanning & copying is not relevant to the position. Perhaps running errands is somewhat relevant, but not directly relevant. Taking quality photos & typing 100 WPM is not relevant at all.
Candidate #2:
This housekeeper also has the skills and experience housekeeping, but chooses to write on their resume: “Cleaning 4 houses/day that are 5000 sq ft average size and retaining clients for 3+ years”, “Receiving high compliments from clients (references are available) and consistent referrals”
Assessment: This person seems to 1) clean the house in an efficient & detail-oriented manner, 2) someone who has experience doing housekeeping. This person also has references to back it up.
Who would you choose to interview?
Get your foot in the door first. Once you are interviewing, they will get a better sense of your personality and whether they like you. Keep in mind that you are still highlighting what you have that is directly relevant to the position even when you are interviewing, but at that point they will definitely take into consideration more of your personality fit. When you are at the resume stage, what you point out is all they have to go by. Get your foot in the door first. For other tips useful in your job search, check out the 5 Biggest Mistakes Candidates Make in a Job Search.