The job outlook in pharmacy is a very anxiety inducing situation for many in the profession right now because the market is so saturated, and there are 143 pharmacy schools producing thousands of new pharmacists every year. There is a projected 0% growth in pharmacy jobs from 2018 to 2028, which means a lot of these graduates will have no place to land. Because of these staggering statistics, as a student pharmacist it is imperative that we set ourselves apart if we want to find job placement immediately upon graduation, especially if we are set on a specific area of practice or location.
As a second year student pharmacist, I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I’m sharing what I have done thus far to set myself up for success upon graduation!
1. Get a job as a pharmacy intern during school! This is one of the number one ways to make connections that will result in a job offer when you graduate. I worked at Walgreens as a technician in undergrad, and have continued as a pharmacy intern since beginning school. By the time I earn my Pharm.D. I will have SEVEN years of experience at Walgreens, which I hope will be valuable enough to differentiate me in the applicant pool. In undergrad, I also worked at Twelve Stone Health Partners, an independent pharmacy in my hometown, as an intern helping to manage the nonprofit side of their business for several year. Now, I work part-time at Innovation Compounding, an independent pharmacy here in the Atlanta area, to strengthen both my skills in compounding and connections to the world of independent community pharmacies.
I hope to work in community pharmacy when I graduate, either retail or independent, so I have done my best to gain the experience necessary in that realm to contribute to the strength of my job applications when I finish school. If you are interested in a different area of pharmacy, try to find employment there, whether that be in the hospital, long term care, or another more specialized niche.
2. Seek internships. The Summer after my first year, I did a research internship through Mercer and a Community Pharmacy Internship through Walgreens. This Summer, I will be doing an internship with NASPA and a second year of the Community Pharmacy Internship. These experiences have opened a ton of doors for me already, and are great to broaden your pharmacy experience beyond your typical job. Many pharmacy associations, drug companies, and universities offer Summer internships that can be pretty competitive but make you stand out!
3. Find leadership roles! Run for elected positions, join committees, help plan events and give your input on important issues. Pharmacy school has been a huge time to develop valuable leadership skills and to step out of my comfort zone. I ran for a regional officer position in APhA-ASP just two months into my P1 year, which was terrifying, but also one of the most important pieces of my story thus far. I am now the President of Mercer’s APhA-ASP chapter, a member of the APhA-ASP National Communications Standing Committee, Executive Director of the Student Leadership Board of GPhA, Secretary of the Mercer NCPA chapter, a member of the Mercer Pharmacy Ambassador Leadership team, Mercer Curriculum Committee, and Kappa Epsilon historian and IFC representative. I was recently even inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma which is a leadership society that recognizes students who are leaders within their field. All those positions make my email signature almost as long as my to do list, but they are all very important to me and I do my best to go above and beyond the call to duty for each one. That is a a major caveat to this one, do not overcommit, and do not accept positions that you are not passionate about. There is nothing more frustrating than having someone run for a position only to fill their CV, and care nothing about the organization or fulfilling the duties of the position. That will make you look worse than not even having the position.
4. Get involved in research! I never thought research would be something I would be interested in, as I only imagined it as test tubes and pipets. However, research can also be focused on patient care or the profession. I have participated in projects with both focuses, and learned so much about the process from IRB applications to statistics, to manuscript submission. It is very impressive to have published work on your CV before graduation! I have presented several posters on my research at national conferences. Check with your professors, many may have research projects they would be willing to let you join, or could allow you to start your own with their guidance if you have a unique idea! This is especially important for students interested in a future in academia (like me!) as a big part of academia is publishing research!
5. Be an advocate for your profession! This is one of the most exciting and important parts of your entire career, as it effects so much of how you will be able to practice in the future. I have traveled to state and national level to speak with legislators about issues that are important to me and my patients, and learned so much about the process along the way. Align yourself with professional associations which fight on your behalf (ex: APhA, NCPA, APC, and your state pharmacy association)!
6. Network! Everywhere you go, make connections that might make a difference for your future. Make sure you always have business cards with you, and be sure to follow up with an email to everyone you meet. Add them on social media as well if applicable. I have made friends across the country and am confident I could call on many of them if I ever had a question or needed to make a connection to a mutual friend.
7. Maintain a professional social media presence. Future employers WILL check this out. I use my social media to share my accomplishments in the pharmacy world, and have many friends from the pharmacy world whom I admire greatly. To learn more about the specifics, visit this blog: https://savannahcunningham.org/10-tips-to-create-a-professional-social-media-presence/.
8. Find mentors. I am so lucky to have found professors and pharmacists who have taken me under their wing and provided be invaluable advice and guidance along the way thus far. I set up meetings with professors who specialize in the areas I’m interested in early in my first year, and have maintained those relationships throughout school.
9. Be present. Attend conferences, events on campus, volunteer to support your peers in their endeavors. Your professors, friends, and everyone you come in contact with through these events will recognize you as an involved student and appreciate that! Attending conferences is one of the most important parts of my pharmacy school experience thus far, I cannot talk enough about the opportunities they have opened for me.
10. Give back. Luckily, service learning is a part of the curriculum at Mercer, so this is a given for all student pharmacists here. This has been such a rewarding part of school so far. I have volunteered at many free flu clinics through Walgreens and at the Physician’s Care Clinic, a free clinic here in Atlanta. I appreciate the importance of the phrase “with great privilege comes great responsibility”, and I think that applies to all health professionals.
11. Seek extra certifications in the area you hope to practice in. For me, this has been numerous online and in person compounding lab courses through PCCA. I also plan to attend a compounding course through ACA before finishing school. Mercer offers many certificate programs within our curriculum as well! I plan to finish with a teaching certificate, and all students graduate with a MTM certificate! Look into which certificates your school might offer and take advantage of as many as possible.
12. Maintain a high GPA. Yes, I know, this one isn’t very fun. But applying for residencies and jobs will still require sharing your GPA, and it may be a factor that weeds applicants out before those hiring even get to see how awesome everything else you have done is! Make this a priority, and if you can qualify for Rho Chi, even better!
