Pharmacist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Pharmacist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Pharmacists are the experts when it comes to all things medicine—they’re the ones who fill your prescriptions, answer your questions about which medications are right for you, and advise you on how to use them safely and effectively. If you’re passionate about helping people feel better and want a job where you can make a tangible difference in people’s lives, then pharmacy might be the perfect career choice for you.
But before you can begin your new role as a pharmacist, you need a resume that will impress hiring managers and land you an interview. Here are some tips and an example to help you write a resume that will get noticed by hiring managers.
How to Write a Pharmacist Resume
Here’s how to write a pharmacist resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most effective way to showcase your experience and qualifications. But rather than simply listing your responsibilities, you can make your resume much more interesting by using bullet points to tell a story about your work.
For example, rather than saying you “managed inventory for pharmacy department,” you could say that you “managed inventory for pharmacy department, reducing stockout rate from 15% to 0.5% in first six months by negotiating with vendors and implementing new inventory management system.”
The second bullet point is much more interesting because it provides specific details about what you did and the results of your work.
Related: What Is a Pharmacist? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
Most pharmacy job applications are submitted online these days, which means that the resume you submit is likely to go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This software will scan your resume for specific keywords related to the position you’re applying for. If your resume doesn’t have enough of the right keywords, the ATS might disqualify you from the pool of applicants.
One way to make sure your resume makes it past the ATS is to focus on including relevant keywords throughout all sections of your resume. Here are some of the most commonly used pharmacy keywords:
- Pharmacy
- Community Pharmacy
- Pharmaceutics
- Medicine
- Healthcare
- Healthcare Management
- Pharmacy Practice
- Pharmacy Technician
- Hospitals
- Nursing
- Healthcare Information Technology (HIT)
- Prescription
- Retail Pharmacy
- Patient Counseling
- Patient Safety
- Medication Counseling
- Clinical Research
- Pharmacology
- Ambulatory Care
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- IV Therapy
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Diabetes
- Patient Education
- Homeopathy
- Hospice Care
- Pharmacy Sales
- Health Education
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Pharmacists are responsible for dispensing medication to patients, so it’s important that they are familiar with the various types of software and systems used in the pharmacy. In addition, pharmacists need to be able to use technology to communicate with other members of the healthcare team, including doctors and nurses.
Some of the programs and systems that pharmacists are typically expected to be proficient in include: pharmacy management software, prescription processing software, electronic health records (EHR) software, and drug information resources, such as Lexicomp.
Related: How Much Does a Pharmacist Make?
Remember The Basics
As you draft your resume, there are a few basic rules to keep in mind.
Make Sure Your Resume Is Easy to Scan
There are a few things you can do to make your resume more readable and easier to scan. Try left-aligning your text, using a standard font type and size, and using bullets instead of paragraphs to list your experiences. Additionally, you can use bolding and italics to highlight important information, but avoid using all-caps or too much formatting variation. Finally, try to leave some white space on the page to make the document less overwhelming.
Be Concise
There is no set length for a resume, but a one-page resume is generally the best option. This allows you to focus on your professional experience and skills, and keeps the employer’s time in mind. If you have more than 10 years of experience, a two-page resume may be more appropriate. When trimming down your resume, be sure to remove any irrelevant information and to focus on the most important details.
Check Your Work
Proofreading your resume is important in order to make sure it looks professional and error-free. Spell checking is a must, as are punctuation and grammar checks. It is also helpful to have someone else proofread your resume for you, as they may catch mistakes that you have missed. Beware of easily confused words, and make sure that your tense is consistent throughout the resume.
Use a Summary
When creating a resume, it’s important to use every tool at your disposal to make yourself stand out. A resume summary statement is a great way to do just that, by providing a brief overview of your skills, experiences, and goals. This can help to give a more complete picture of who you are as a candidate and can help to show how your skills might be a good fit for the role you’re hoping to land.
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