Whether you’re at the start of your career as a pharmacist or looking to move on to another challenge in the field, putting together your résumé is no easy task.
Indeed, out of all the exciting healthcare jobs out there, a pharmacist role is one of the most complex, requiring skills in chemistry, biology, patient care, management and more.
Your résumé will need to address all the education, experience and interpersonal skills the job requires. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become a pharmacist, so you should have plenty of impressive accolades to fill those résumé pages.
To help guide and, hopefully, inspire you, we’ve put together a list of the best résumé examples for pharmacists.
1. Community/Retail Pharmacist
Community pharmacists typically staff local standalone pharmacies or the pharmacy desks inside grocery stores and other retail spaces. The role requires more than just knowledge of medication. Retail pharmacists also discuss basic health information with patients, administer health screenings and shots, and advise both patients and doctors about drug interactions.
Working in a retail space also requires attention to sales. The retail pharmacist résumé sample below includes an entire section on key accomplishments with an emphasis on marketing and profit increases. Rather than just a list of duties, this focus on actual results gives employers tangible evidence of your success on the retail side of the job.
Whatever format you choose when writing your résumé, you want to make the most important elements stand out. Community pharmacists must have the appropriate degree and be licensed.
The résumé example below puts the applicant’s PharmD qualification right at the top and immediately notes they are licensed in the state. The education section further confirms those credentials, so even a quick scan will reveal this essential information to the hiring manager.
2. Hospital Pharmacist
Hospital pharmacies provide medication to individual patients as well as supply the hospital with all required pharmaceuticals and supplies. They work closely with doctors in selecting the right drugs for patients and also take an active role in clinical trials of medication.
When applying for a job as a hospital pharmacist, it’s important to stress your skills in customer service. In the pharmacist résumé template below, you can see the candidate has mentioned patient interactions in their introduction, skills and experience sections.
That introduction is also a key element of the perfect résumé structure. Labelled as a ‘Professional Objective’ in the résumé example above, the intro provides an excellent summary of the applicant’s skills and experience. While the rest of your résumé spells out your exact experience and qualifications to be a hospital pharmacist, it’s important to use this section to convincingly sell yourself as the right person for the job.
The second sample below also begins with a good summary. With the varied job history, it serves as a good example for hospital, primary care or community pharmacists. Note the various keywording throughout that stresses the applicant’s desirable teamwork and management skills.
3. Primary Care/Clinical Pharmacist
Pharmacists in primary care are much more involved with patients and their medication needs. They often work with an entire healthcare team to develop the best course of drugs for a patient. Their expertise is particularly needed for patients with long-term and complex conditions, and clinical pharmacists may specialise in care for a particular illness.
Primary care pharmacists may also research and develop programmes to address the immunisation and other preventative treatment needs of their community. They assist doctors in assessing at-risk patients, overprescribed medications and alternative drug options for patients with side effect or drug interaction issues.
The clinical pharmacist résumé samples below illustrate two different résumé formats to address the variety of skills and experience you may bring to the role. The first, as you’ll see immediately below, devotes more space to the specific duties of their previous jobs.
The second example frontloads the candidate’s accomplishments and awards, which is an ideal choice if you have an impressive list to present to prospective employers.
4. Academic Pharmacist
Whether they plan to teach at one of the best pharmacy schools in the world or not, academic pharmacists must have a substantial set of credentials. Roles in academia can have varying balances of teaching, practice and research, and you’ll want to tailor your résumé to the job description given.
The following academic pharmacist résumé sample follows the technical definition of a curriculum vitae and provides an intense amount of detail. The extensive experience section even includes evidence of a career change, but this is not a problem as the teaching credentials remain relevant. Being published in your field is highly valued for any academic position, and this example includes an impressive bibliography.
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
5. Student Pharmacist
Writing your first résumé as a graduate of pharmacy school can be a daunting task. Your lack of job experience as an actual pharmacist doesn’t mean you’ll have a lot of empty space on your résumé, however. Other relevant experiences and your studies will take centre stage instead.
The first pharmacist résumé sample below is an excellent model for making the most of relevant work experience, research and computer skills, and leadership and volunteer efforts. Unlike most mid-career résumés, this graduate résumé also adds ‘Interests’ and ‘References’ sections to help offer a fuller picture of the applicant.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
The second sample below offers an interesting and more personable tone, particularly in the introduction. This résumé example also succeeds in touching on many of the necessary skills for a good pharmacist, including communication, integrity and dedication to the health and wellbeing of patients.
6. Managed Care Pharmacist
Any job in medical care will inevitably have some link to insurance companies but managed care pharmacists act as a direct liaison. Working for HMOs and other networks, their varied duties include direct contact with patients and helping them achieve the best course of affordable medication as well as recommendations to insurance companies on cost management.
The managed care résumé sample below does a nice job of highlighting the variety of experience the candidate has accumulated in previous roles. Expertise in Medicare programmes and the stress on cost-cutting are of particular interest to employers.
This example does make some of the most common résumé mistakes, however. While being succinct does have its virtues, this applicant has relied a bit too much on repetitive language. You also want to focus more on specific accomplishments. Hiring managers will want to know the exact programmes you developed and see some numbers attached to your claims of reducing expenses.
7. Nuclear Pharmacist
Pharmacists can specialise in several different areas, and one of those is nuclear medicine. Though some of their duties are very similar to other hospital and community practitioners, nuclear pharmacists measure and dispense radioactive medication for diagnosis and treatment.
Nuclear pharmacy work requires strict adherence to safety protocols, quality checks and precise measurements. The pharmacist résumé sample below wisely includes language like ‘properly’, ‘accurately’ and ‘exhibited proficiency’ in describing the duties of their previous job roles.
Education and licensing are important for every pharmacist résumé, but as seen below, be sure to also highlight your certifications.
The next step is to compile all your own job history, skills and accomplishments. Which résumé example was your favourite?
What other sections might you consider including in your résumé? Join the discussion below and let us know!