Pharmacist Resume Guide + Tips + Example
Move forward in your career with a professional pharmacist resume. Our guide will help you through the entire process and show you how our Resume Maker can help you save time while writing an effective resume for a pharmacist.
Start by editing this pharmacist resume template or explore our 40+ resume templates to find the best one for you.
Pharmacist resume (text version)
Patrick Lambert
Buffalo, NY 14215
555-555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Motivated pharmacist knowledgeable about entering orders, obtaining authorizations and educating patients about the correct use and storage of medications. Skilled in collaborating with team members to expedite urgent requests while maintaining impeccable focus on safety, accuracy and confidentiality. Advanced communicator with all levels of staff, clients, management and healthcare administrators.
Work History
January 2019 – Current
Buffalo Pharmacies – Buffalo, NY
Lead Pharmacist
- Provide consultations and answer inquiries from 250 patients per week, healthcare professionals and physicians regarding drugs, potential side effects and specified use.
- Educate patients on possible drug interactions and optimal methods of administration, reducing risk by 95%.
- Monitor ordering of pharmacy medication stock to maintain streamlined inventory and low overhead.
February 2012 – December 2018
Walgreen’s Pharmacy – Buffalo, NY
Pharmacist
- Interpreted an average of 15 prescription orders per day, dispensed medications and educated an average of 60 patients on possible drug interactions, potential side effects and optimal methods of administration.
- Vaccinated patients to provide immunity against influenza, pneumonia and other diseases.
- Evaluated patient histories to assess medication compliance and spot issues such as doctor shopping or excessive usage.
June 2010 – January 2012
Woodmark Pharmacy – Buffalo, NY
Pharmacy Technician
- Assisted up to 40 patients per day in minimizing medical expenses by recommending generic alternative prescription medications.
- Helped pharmacist clear problematic prescriptions and address customer questions to keep the pharmacy efficient.
- Performed various pharmacy operational activities with a strong commitment to accuracy, efficiency and service quality.
Skills
- Managing products
- Medication dispensing and immunizing
- Pharmacy operations management
- Quality review processes
- Drug utilization review
- Medication dispensing
- Medicare and Medicaid process
- FDA Drug Safety Guidelines
Education
- School of Pharmacy And Pharmaceutical Sciences Buffalo, NY
Doctor of Pharmacy Pharmacy - The State University of NY Buffalo, NY
Bachelor of Science Chemistry
Licenses
New York Pharmacist license – (Updated 2022)
5 essentials of a pharmacist resume
Contact details
The contact details section must include your full name, city, state and zip code. Add your phone number and email address. If you have a profile with LinkedIn or another professional networking website, include it in this section.
Personal statement
The personal statement, also known as the professional summary, will be your introduction to the recruiter or hiring manager. This section must not go over five sentences. Be choosy with your words. It must include your years of experience, your strongest skills, and your best professional accomplishment. You can use the job description as a guide or inspiration on the best information to include.
Skills
The skills section will tell a recruiter about your knowledge and how you work. Make a balanced section by including soft skills, like communication and active listening skills, and hard skills, like operations management and quality review processes.
If you have no experience, include transferable skills from other internships, research work, and volunteering.
Work history
Your work history tells the recruiters how much experience you have in the field. List it in reverse-chronological order and add the company names, locations and dates of employment. For every job, include a bulleted list of three measurable accomplishments, like amount of managed orders, amount of medication history reviews, track-record of processed prescriptions, and so on.
If this is your first job, you can include other relevant work experience, like volunteer experiences, community services, professional projects and more.
Education
Education is important in a pharmacist resume so pay special attention to this section. Using bullet points, include the educational institution’s name, the degree conferred and graduation year. You can omit the graduation date if it has been over 10 years. If you did not attend college, list your high school and any other post-high school course you’ve completed.
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Action words for a stand-out pharmacist resume
A pharmacist resume needs action words to impact the recruiter. Their directness shows your confidence and strength as a candidate. Combine these action words with numbers for an unstoppable resume.
Here’s a short list of action words for a pharmacist resume:
- Administered
- Formulated
- Evaluated
- Detected
- Clarified
- Collected
- Analyzed
- Prepared
- Planned
- Projected
- Qualified
- Controlled
- Auditied
- Assessed
- Located
Creating an effective resume for pharmacist is quick and easy with the help of our Resume Builder. It has all the tools you need: you can edit, follow the step-by-step guidance, consider the expert suggestions and download the product once you’re satisfied with it.
Top skills for a pharmacist resume
A pharmacist needs skills that show their scientific aptitude, empathy and business acumen. Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to the skills and traits that fit you.
Your skills might include:
- Customer service
- Excellent communication
- Active listening skills
- Quality management
- Collaborative
- Multitasking
- Accuracy
- Medication dispensing
- Medication distribution systems
- Physical stamina
- Patient counseling
- Pharmacy management
Certifications for a pharmacist resume
Pharmacists need to be licensed to practice. Pharmacists can also add specialized certifications to help their career advancement and practice in areas they know best.
The Board of Pharmacy Specialties currently recognizes 14 specialized areas. These are some of them:
- Board of Pharmacy Specialty Certification (BPS)
- BPS Nuclear Pharmacist Certification (BCNP)
- BPS Ambulatory Care Pharmacy ( BCACP)
- Geriatric Certification (CCGP)
- Pharmacotherapy Certification (BCPS)
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Pharmacist resume FAQ
1. How to improve your resume for a pharmacist?
To improve your pharmacist resume, ensure you have the right skills for the job by using the job description to tailor your resume to the position you want. Never underestimate an accomplishment in your career, if it’s quantifiable, add it to your work history.
Employers will look for well-rounded candidates, and if you can provide something extra, you’ll be standing out from the rest.
Once you’ve included all this information, check the spelling and grammar, and you’re done!
2. How to write a pharmacist resume?
This guide will help you write an effective pharmacist resume. Simply follow our tips and include your accurate information in the primary sections:
- Contact information
- Personal statement
- Work history
- Skills
- Education
You can also include additional sections that can set you apart from the rest of the candidates. For example:
- Professional memberships or associations
- Presentations
- Publications
- Certifications and licenses
- Volunteer experience
- Related hobbies and interests
Our Resume Builder can help you create an effective resume quickly and easily. Simply choose a template, add your information, and then follow our step-by-step guide. You’ll receive expert suggestions and job-specific suggestions.
3. What should a resume for a pharmacist look like?
The resume for a pharmacist should have a professional and clean look. You can check out our resume templates to choose one that speaks to you. Designed by experts, our templates range from modern to creative to basic and beyond. Find a visually pleasing template and build your pharmacist resume in our Resume Builder.
Do’s and don’ts for building a pharmacist resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your pharmacist skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your pharmacist resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target pharmacist job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your pharmacist resume.
- Format your pharmacist resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your pharmacist experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” pharmacist abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience not pertaining to pharmacist work.
- Forget to proofread. A pharmacist resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a pharmacist interview
Research the company or institution before your interview.
Take the time to learn about the company’s history, goals, values and people before the interview. Being able to show that you have in-depth knowledge about your potential employer shows real interest, dedication and commitment — traits that hiring managers look for in every job candidate they talk to. Plus, having a glimpse of the company culture before you arrive will give you an idea of what to expect on arrival so that you can feel confident.
Practice at home.
Prepare for any scenario by practicing an interview at home. Start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- What Do You See Yourself Doing in 10 Years?
- How do you determine priorities?
- What is the biggest mistake you’ve made?
Ask a friend or relative to perform a mock interview. Look online for possible interview questions, write down the answers and then practice with your interview partner. Once you’re done, ask them for feedback and work with them to improve. Being prepared will boost your confidence and chances of getting a callback.
Pro tip: if possible, practice in front of a mirror. Look at your facial expressions and body language, which hiring managers will notice.
Be proactive and ask questions.
At the end of your interview, you will be asked if you have any questions. As a rule of thumb, have three questions prepared. Hiring managers expect questions during or at the end of the interview. This shows your enthusiasm and interest in the role.
Here are a few examples of questions to get you started:
- How does the day-to-day look like?
- What are your expectations for this role?
- What are the biggest challenges the pharmacy faces?
- What attracted you to this company?
- What tools do you provide to excel at this position?
Gather your references.
Once you are ready to start sending your pharmacist resume, contact former managers and colleagues to be potential references. They should be able to vouch for you, your work ethic and your skills. Explain to them where you are in the process and let them know they could receive a phone call or email. Ask if they could prepare a letter of recommendation for you. This will depend on what the hiring manager requests.
If this is your first full-time job, you can request a reference from a mentor, former professor, community leader, volunteer coordinator or classmate that can vouch for your skills.
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Pharmacist Resume Example
Nilda Melissa Díaz is a Career Advice Writer. She has worked for the Washington Post, Stringr, and Latina Style Magazine. She has a master's in journalism from Columbia University and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
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