Pharmacist Resume Template (Examples, Skills & More)

You’ve given at least six years of your life to get your pharmacy degree. You’ve spent thousands of dollars on your education. And now, it’s time for you to get a job at a good pharmacy, not just a shady pill mill.It all comes down to a piece of paper, your pharmacy resume. Crazy, right? Writing an eye-catching, mind-blowing, job-giving pharmacist resume can be a real pill. And we're here to help.

Whether you’re fresh out of pharmacy school or you’re looking to shift from retail to clinical pharmacy, this guide will show you:

• A pharmacist resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a pharmacy resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a pharmacist resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a pharmacist to get any job you want.

Here's a sample resume for a pharmacist made using our resume builder.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.

Looking for other jobs in healthcare, too? See one of our guides:

• Pharmacy Technician Resume
• Medical Assistant Resume
• Nursing Student Resume
• Lab Technician Resume
• Lab Assistant Resume
• Budtender Resume
• Chemistry Resume
• Doctor Resume
• Pharmaceutical Sales Resume
• Resume Examples for All Careers

Pharmacist Resume Example

1. What’s the Best Format for a Pharmacist Resume?  

Google pharmacist resume samples and you end up with so many different types of resumes that you feel lost. 

They all look so different… How do you even get started? 

How do you choose the best format for a pharmacist resume to get ahead of your competition? 

Our prescription for you? The reverse-chronological resume format.

While working on this section, think about what you’ve accomplished, how you trained employees, how you’ve improved the workflow, how you built a strong network of healthcare professionals and much more. 

Because being a pharmacist is not as easy as it may look. 

Doctors count on you to carry out their prescriptions accurately and avoid any adverse drug interactions. Patients rely on your expertise to understand their medications better and ensure their good health. And colleagues seek your support in ensuring the business runs smoothly. 

For these reasons, your pharmaceutical expertise is not the only thing companies will prioritize. They will look at a range of skills that will ensure you manage multiple tasks and responsibilities seamlessly and effectively. 

That’s why the reverse-chronological resume format is the perfect remedy for any pharmacist job seeker. It shows off your experience while highlighting your skills. Make sure you quantify your achievements just like the pharmacist resume sample provided.

Emphasizing your pharmacist skills is also a great strategy for anyone looking to shift from retail pharmacy to clinical pharmacy and vice-versa. 

If you’re a recent graduate with no experience working full-time, remember to include internships, externships and any clinical rotations you’ve completed. 

Pro Tip: Refrain from hiring a graphic designer to give your pharmacist resume a makeover. Overly designed resumes will be illegible to the robot scanners. Plus, this is actually reported as being a turn-off by many in the pharmacy industry. 

Have a look at our guide for more details on why the combination resume format is the best option for you: “3 Resume Formats: How To Choose The Best One [Examples]”

2. How to Write A Resume Summary or Resume Objective?

Employers don't spend a lot of time reviewing your resume and deciding whether you should be shortlisted or not. No pressure!

This also means that you should spend some time on the first ⅓ of your resume. Indeed, the best pharmacist resume is one that catches the eye of recruiters and encourages them to read it with as much attention as when you are reading your prescriptions. 

So should you use a pharmacist resume summary or a resume objective? 

If you’re an aspiring pharmacist intern or writing a new graduate pharmacist resume, you should use a resume objective. So should anyone seeking a new industry change. 

Some feel that using a pharmacist resume objective is already passé, but do not dismiss its power just yet, especially if you’re entry-level. It will help your profile get through the proper channels. 

Just keep in mind that you’re not writing a letter to Santa. It’s all about what the recruiter wants!

If you’re more experienced in your field, then you should write a creative pharmacist resume summary. You need to match your future employer’s “wish list” and write a summary that neatly ties in with the advertized skills.   

A pharmacist resume objective should be concise but targeted:

A pharmacist resume summary showcases skills and experience in one go: 

Making a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide, use ready-made content tailored to your job and have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, our resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

Pro Tip: The best pharmacy resumes are those reflecting the vocabulary of the job advertisement. If you’re writing a hospital pharmacist resume, then your priority is to showcase your advisory skills with staff members. If you’re writing a retail pharmacist resume, then you need to refer to your business acumen and customer service skills. 

Want more advice on creating the perfect junior pharmacist resume objective? Need more examples of professional resume summaries? See our guides: “How To Write A Resume Summary: 21 Best Examples You Will See” and “+20 Resume Objective Examples - Use Them On Your Resume (Tips)”

3. How to Describe Your Pharmacist Experience on a Resume?

Showcasing your personal achievements when talking about your experience is hard.

Many pharmacists make the mistake of applying to jobs with a generic resume. But you know better. In fact, you deserve better.

Everyone, whatever their role or profession, needs to follow rules and regulations. Does it mean you have to write it on your resume? 

Absolutely not. 

It’s a given requirement of being a pharmacist. Just like “being results-driven”, “hard-working” or a “team player”. This can be applied to everyone and adds no value to your resume. Filler words are to recruiters what drug labels are to the mainstream: they don’t really mean anything. 

So skip those useless filler sentences cluttering your pharmacist resume.

Instead, focus on the good stuff. Keep it short, and sweet! 

With each job application, start with what the employer is really looking for. Then list your responsibilities and the results you’ve achieved.

Can you see the difference?

Responsibilities are common to every pharmacist out there. Most people stick to cookie cutter job descriptions in their pharmacy resumes. You need results to set you apart from the competition.

You’re truly adding value when you’re doing things like:

• Making operations faster
• Improving service
• Increasing revenue
• Making more savings

Let’s dissect this example from a pharmacist’s resume:

Improved customer service and pharmacy efficiency, increasing customer retention by 15%

This shows that you can add value by being:

• business-conscious
• beneficial to the pharmacy
• customer oriented

And guess what?

No pharmacy will turn down a few extra bucks.

Trained and supervised 10 pharmacy technicians, improving performance by 20%

This highlights your leadership skills.

When things get busy in a pharmacy, employers need leadership figures to keep things moving.

Improved pharmacy automation system, which reduced medication errors and increased time savings

The second part of this sentence is where the genius is.

Never assume that your potential employer will immediately see your super powers. You’re not on Nuvigil after all! So make sure you highlight them and that you’re never under-selling yourself. 

That’s exactly how you show off about your accomplishments in your pharmacist resume.

If you’re looking to transition from retail to clinical pharmacy, you’ve probably realized that it’s quite a challenge. 

The transition starts with your resume. No surprise — resumes for pharmacy jobs aren’t all the same. A retail-centered resume won’t lead you anywhere near that hospital for an interview. Instead of focusing on how many sales you performed, highlight your ability to assess patient profiles for proper dosing. 

If you’ve only recently left school, focus on your clinical rotations. Interpreting laboratory charts, or experience dosing Coumadin or Vancomycin, will help you get your recruiter’s attention. 

Add clinically relevant skills. Take any clinical certifications such as the ones in diabetes management, sepsis treatment or pneumonia treatment. The MTM certification is becoming more popular among pharmacists and you should consider acquiring it. Leverage your thirst for clinical knowledge to make up for your retail background. 

Be flexible. Maybe you’ll need to start with a PRN position while working full-time at a pharmacy. Many PRN positions transition to full-time. Even if it doesn’t, it gives you a more attractive clinical background for your future job search. 

Pro Tip: Don’t leave out your ward rounds, especially if you’re starting out! Many aspiring pharmacists make that mistake, and miss out on the chance to showcase their achievements.

Want to make your pharmacist resume experience section even better? Consider adding action words. Read our guide to find out how to use the best action words to write a pharmacist resume: “+80 Examples of Resume Action Words For Every Profession”

4. Is Your Education Section Underperforming? It Might Be

Completing a degree in Pharmacy is necessary. Continuing education is also required for you to be able to renew your license to practice.

One of the key takeaways from this guide is to understand and emphasize your own assets and skills. 

If you’re an experienced pharmacist, you will want to highlight your relevant experience, skills, and vast industry knowledge.

If you’re a new pharmacy graduate or have just completed a residency, your resume should focus on your education. This is an interview-landing strategy.

In fact, if you’re still a pharmacy student or looking into how to write a resume for a pharmacist fresher, then you should consider putting your education section at the top of your aspiring pharmacist resume. 

Either way, you should include:

• The type of degree you received.
• Your major/minor.
• The name of your school.
• The school’s location.
• The year you graduated.

Recruiters won’t care about where you went to high-school. Whether or where you did your pre-pharmacy is another story. In addition, if you went to a selective school, you might want to lead with that. 

Experienced job hunters can simply list their school, degree, and dates. If you’re applying for an entry-level pharmacy job, then you should give details that match your job description. If you’ve taken any other relevant coursework outside of pharmacy (eg. Business) then you should highlight it. 

Pharmacist Resume Sample:

Pro Tip: GPA is optional. You should only add it if you graduated within the last three years and if it was above a 3.0 (above a 3.5, ideally!) Otherwise, most hiring managers won’t really care. 

Still in need of pharmacist resume examples of how to add your degrees? Read our guide: “How To Put Your Education On A Resume (Tips & Examples)”

5. How to Put Pharmacist Skills on a Resume 

Your skills section is considered the clincher. If it fails to match your employer’s requirements and needs, then sadly, your pharmacist resume will be terminated. 

Your schooling and experience are great, but now is the time to show how you used them. 

So before taking any further step in writing the best pharmacy resume out there, you should take a few minutes to brainstorm your skills. 

Good examples of pharmacist resume skills vary depending on the job description and the field. 

You can divide your skills for a pharmacist resume into:

• Job-related Technical Skills or Specialties
• Computer Skills
• Administrative Skills
• People Skills

Computer skills and technical skills are not exactly the same thing.

Many hospitals and pharmacies are switching to digital records only, and being familiar with certain software and systems (such as PharmaSys) will give you an advantage. 

Below is a list of pharmacy resume sample skills that you should include in regard to your speciality:

This list is far from exhaustive. It should act as a roadmap to help you enumerate the right skills that are needed in your field. 

Your next step is to put that in your pharmacist resume. 

How to describe strong pharmacist skills: 

One last tip: visit LinkedIn to check out the competition and for some extra inspiration. Why would you snoop on other professionals? Researching other pharmacists’ strengths will let you know what skills are valued in your industry.

6. How to Add Other Sections for an Effective Resume

The medical field is an ever-advancing industry and companies are always looking for employees up-to-date with the recent changes in pharmacy. 

Other than acquiring the right licences to practice, you have to be able to showcase a few certifications to wow your recruiter or show your expertise in a certain specialty. 

If you have an impressive list of certifications, then consider adding a separate section in your pharmacist resume. Otherwise, add certifications to your “education” section. 

If you’re looking to get a job in a very specialized field in pharmacy, such as nuclear pharmacy, then adding your certification is not only an edge over other applicants, but is considered mandatory.

Sample nuclear pharmacist resume certification entries:

Authorized User of Radio Pharmaceuticals, University of Saint-Louis, Nuclear Regulatory Committee, 2017  

Authorized Radiation Safety Officer, The American Board of Health Physics, 2016

Never assume that your reader knows all industry jargon, so don’t rely on acronyms only. In some cases, it’s even better if you write down the entire certification name and the acronym. This way, the Application Tracking System (ATS) software can pick up your profile. 

For example:

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Certified Occupational Health Nurse (COHN)

Also, remember that the best pharmacist resume describes certifications as follow:

• The Certifying Organization
• The Certificate’s Expiration Date: You can put the date that you acquired the certificate if there is it does not expire.
• The Certification Number (where appropriate)

It’s impossible to list all the pharmacy certifications. You can find some of them here:

• The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association: lists all the advanced certificates for pharmacists by specialty
• The Board of Pharmacy Specialties: provides documentation, exam content and info on eligibility requirements for 8 pharmacy certifications 

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to mention any relevant seminars or trainings you have attended, as well as any certificates you obtained that show your interest in improving your personal development. If you don’t have that many, consider completing some online. 

Need more ideas of what to add to make the best pharmacist resume? Check our guide: “What To Put On A Resume To Make It Perfect [Tips & Examples]”

7. Here's the Most Common Myth About Cover Letters

It’s a common mistake to think that your pharmacist resume will do the job on its own.

Cover letters are to a resume what a spoon is to syrup. Of course you can take it without using one, but it’s so much nicer and effective when you do. 

Again, don’t hesitate to snoop around online and on LinkedIn to find out who’s going to read your pharmacist job application.

Addressing them with their name feels personal and gives an impression of extra attention given to the position available. 

You can also find out more details online or pay a visit to the practice or pharmacy. Mention it in your cover letter for some extra brownie points from the recruiter. 

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Pro Tip: Don’t regurgitate your resume. The pharmacist cover letter is your chance to have a personal discussion with your recruiter. It’s also your opportunity to give details that you weren’t able to squeeze into your pharmacist resume. So tell the story of why you’re a perfect fit for the company. 

Not really sold on cover letters? Check out our guide: “How To Write A Cover Letter [Complete Guide With Examples]”

Key Takeaway

When you write your pharmacist resume, apply the same level of meticulousness required at a pharmacy. Just like in real life, you’ll be able to impress and get approval. Follow these tips:

• Define and emphasize your greatest assets. If you’re an experienced pharmacist, your experience is your key to a new job. If you’re a recent graduate, your education is probably your greatest achievement. 
• Keep it relevant. Your pharmacist resume should target the field you’re interested in. Don’t distract recruiters with irrelevant experience. 
• Add skills. Your pharmacist resume won’t be as powerful without it.
• Quantify your results and experience. Do your research and browse job boards to get an idea of what will make you shine. 

Do you have any questions on how to make a pharmacist resume? Get in touch in the comments section!

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Sources

• https://www.bpsweb.org/bps-specialties/