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Tips for Perfecting Your Pharmacy Technician Resume

Header Banner tips for resume

As a pharmacy technician, your job is in high demand. This is excellent news for your job security, but it also means you’ll face stiff competition in the job market. You may end up competing with dozens of applicants for the same position. What’s more, hiring managers at large organizations, such as hospitals, often only have time to glance at pharmacy technician resumes or use an applicant tracking system to scan for relevant keywords.

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That said, you have a limited opportunity to make a lasting impression. You need to synthesize the most important, relevant, and impressive pieces of information about yourself and format your resume strategically to highlight your skills and talents and set yourself apart from the competition. We’re here to help you create the most impactful pharmacy technician resume possible with these tips.

Woman looking at Meds

Focus on Key Pharmacy Technician Skills

The skills section of your pharmacy technician resume is critical to get right. When hiring a pharmacy technician, the hiring manager looks for specific skills on your resume. If you don’t include those skills as keywords within the skills section and throughout your work experience, you may be immediately counted out for the job in question. A high-quality resume with critical pharmacy technician resume keywords increases your odds of getting the job.

“A high-quality resume with critical pharmacy technician resume keywords increases your odds of getting the job.”

Skills

You can determine the skills they’re looking for by reading the job description and picking out the strengths the ideal candidate should have. Even if you haven’t worked as a pharmacy technician yet, you likely have skills that pertain to the position. For instance, if you’ve worked in any retail or warehouse position, you know how to manage inventory. If you’ve worked at a call center, you have customer service experience. These relevant skills should be included in your resume.

Soft Skills for a Pharmacy Technician Resume

General skills, such as customer service experience, are in high demand for pharmacy technicians. You are tasked with collaborating effectively with the general public and medical teams. For these job responsibilities, vital soft skills to list include:

Effective time management

Effective time management

Flexibility

Flexibility

Ability to be a team player

Ability to be a team player

Empathy and compassion for others

Empathy and compassion for others

Attention to detail

Attention to detail

Interpersonal communication

Interpersonal communication

Hard Skills for a Pharmacy Technician Resume

Hard skills are equally as crucial for your resume as soft skills. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some position-specific hard skills that pharmacy managers will be looking for:

Inventory audits

Inventory audits

Compounding

Compounding

Prescription filling and labeling

Prescription filling and labeling

Ability to label and re-package medications

Ability to label and re-package medications

Knowledge of inventory control practices

Knowledge of inventory control practices

Ability to read and interpret physician’s medication orders

Ability to read and interpret physician’s medication orders

Counting prescription medications

Counting prescription medications

Confidentiality maintenance and HIPAA compliance

Confidentiality maintenance and HIPAA compliance

Coordinating prior authorizations

Coordinating prior authorizations

Medication and supply purchases

Medication and supply purchases

Patient insurance processing and third-party billing

Patient insurance processing and third-party billing

Math and computer proficiency

Math and computer proficiency

Familiarity with pharmacy information systems

Familiarity with pharmacy information systems

Knowledge of brand-name and generic drugs

Knowledge of brand-name and generic drugs

Two Doctors
Business People

Come Up With a Strategic Format for Your Resume

The way you organize your pharmacy technician resume matters more than you may think. When a hiring manager can quickly get a feel for who you are and your greatest strengths and career achievements, they’re more likely to continue reading.

In formatting your resume, use one-inch margins. Be respectful of the hiring manager’s time by keeping it to one page and being concise. You may have more skills and work experience than can fit on one page, but your resume should be tailored to the job and trimmed down to the most relevant qualifications that make you the best candidate for the position. Make your work experience more digestible using bullet points to break up the text. Avoid the use of icons and images.

infographic on how to format your resume

The best way to lay things out is in reverse-chronological order. Employers care more about your most recent experience than your job from seven years ago. So, listing your current or last employment will ensure that the most relevant and up-to-date information is at the top, where employers can easily see it.

Include a Summary or Objective Section at the Top

It’s great to list work experience, but it’s better to explain how your work experience makes you a good employee. An objectives section is one of the first sections of a resume that provides a short description of the work you’re seeking and how you would add value to the position you want. If you’re an entry-level candidate or transitioning from another industry, an objective section is appropriate to include in your pharmacy technician resume.

“An objectives section is one of the first sections of a resume that provides a short description of the work you’re seeking and how you would add value to the position you want.”

A summary is typically used by individuals with at least 10 years of experience; it’s used to highlight job history, personal qualities, top pharmacy technician resume skills and qualifications, and interest in the role. It should be customized for the position you are applying to. As a rule of thumb, try to condense your top selling points into four sentences or less. Be sure to include high-impact keywords and avoid being generic. Your summary should highlight what makes you unique and memorable, so customize it accordingly!

Objective and summary sections should be listed at the top of the resume after your name and contact information but before your work experience. They are often written in the third person in the past tense using strong action verbs. If you choose to include these sections in your resume, take time to craft it carefully. If you lazily type something up without giving it much thought, you risk making a poor first impression on the hiring manager, and they may not continue reading your resume beyond that section.

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Woman writing notes

Provide Hard Numbers to Prove Your Value as a Pharmacy Tech

In your work experience section, it’s important to focus on your achievements on the job rather than just the responsibilities of the position. Coming up with an example of how you’ve used your skills to benefit your company shows what you are capable of and how you can contribute value to the next company you work for. Achievements are most impactful when described in metrics, as they help you quantify your contributions and back up your words with data.

For example, pharmacy technicians are responsible for providing excellent customer service. See if you can dig up some numbers about customer acquisition and retention that you were responsible for — i.e., how many new customers per month did you help to acquire? Of those people, how many that you regularly worked with have your retained since then? Other numbers of interest could include:

The size of your team

The size of your team

Number of customers served or acquired

Number of customers served or acquired

The number of people you’ve managed (if applicable)

Number of orders you can fill in one day

Years of experience

Years of experience

How quickly you can work without sacrificing accuracy or quality

Laptop Doctor

Tailor Your Resume to the Type of Pharmacy Job You’re Applying For

Each pharmacy runs a little differently and has unique needs. Having a unique resume for each job you apply for might sound like a daunting task, but we don’t mean that you need to rewrite your resume from scratch for each position.

Tailoring your resume simply means adding and replacing details here and there to match the requirements of a particular role listed in the job description to prove you’re the right fit. Candidates most often adjust their summary/objective sections to discuss their interest in the company and role, as well as the pharmacy technician resume skills and work history sections to show how their work experience fits the pharmacy’s needs.

Creating an Entry-Level Pharmacy Technician Resume

Creating an Entry-Level Pharmacy Technician Resume

As an entry-level pharmacy tech, you’ll need to create an attention-grabbing resume demonstrating how your past work experience has prepared you for the pharmacy field. Jobs in child care, retail, customer service, food service, and more involve skills that translate well to pharmacies. If you don’t have any work experience, focus on applicable volunteer work, hobbies, personal projects, or educational qualifications and accomplishments that have led you to this position.

Tailoring a Hospital Pharmacy Technician Resume

Tailoring a Hospital Pharmacy Technician Resume

If you have experience working in hospitals, highlight this in your resume. Describe the capacity in which you’ve worked in a hospital before and how your experiences there will make you a great pharmacy technician for the hospital setting. Discuss your experience with drug misuse surveillance, medicine distribution to patients, and answering patients’ questions and concerns about particular drugs.

Tailoring a Pharmacy Technician Resume

Tailoring a Pharmacy Technician Resume

Hiring managers seek out pharmacy techs who are trained and certified with the right pharmacy technician resume skills to match. Make sure your resume includes certifications required by law, or you may not be considered for any position. Those applying for a pharmacy technician job tend to have several years of experience, and if this is true for you, it’s probably okay to skip the objective section.

Tailoring a Long-Term Care Pharmacy Technician Resume

Tailoring a Long-Term Care Pharmacy Technician Resume

Working in a long-term care facility involves working with nurses and serving the elderly. Your resume should highlight your communication and collaboration skills, ability to plan, implement plans, and evaluate, and dedication to treating senior citizens with compassion, dignity, and respect.

Tailoring a Registered Pharmacy Technician Resume

Tailoring a Registered Pharmacy Technician Resume

Being a registered pharmacy technician means that you’re certified by your province and have a working understanding of medicine brands and medical terminology. This is a big accomplishment, so don’t forget to include “Registered Pharmacy Technician” as your job title at the top of your resume. You should also mention the province where you’re registered and your licensing/certification details on the side or at the bottom.

You’re Ready to Apply for Pharmacy Tech Jobs!

All that’s left to do now is design your resume for the job you’re looking for using the tips above, and you’ll be well on your way to landing your dream job. Be sure to run your resume through an online checker that can provide additional pointers on improving it. You can also compare your resume against a winning pharmacy technician resume example online to see how you can mimic those strategies in your resume. Good luck!

What Is the Dress Code for a Pharmacist?

What Is the Dress Code for a Pharmacist?

There isn’t a specific dress code for pharmacists that is universally acknowledged. Public-facing jobs need to send the right message through a dress code, but how a pharmacist dresses depends on the situation. Professionals are often judged by their attire, and how a pharmacist dresses affects their patients’ opinions of their credibility, knowledge, and trustworthiness. Because of this, pharmacists must be careful not to be too casual in their dress so their patients are more likely to trust them.

Do Pharmacists Wear Lab Coats?

Lab coats are a personal choice for pharmacists; however, a survey of customers shows that patients prefer their pharmacists to wear traditional white lab coats. Still, as long as they dress professionally and build a relationship of trust with their patients, pharmacists aren’t required to wear lab coats. When it comes to what pharmacists do wear, it depends on where a pharmacist works.

Lab coats were initially considered the norm for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals because it was easy to see when they were dirty and needed to be cleaned or disinfected. White shows every imperfection, and white lab coats do the same. They also protect a professional’s clothing while working with medical compounds. However, systems have changed, processes are different, and cleaning and disinfection happen much more frequently. This has made the need for white lab coats for healthcare professionals less prevalent. The general public still associates lab coats with pharmaceutical work, though so many pharmacists still use them.

What Color Scrubs Do Pharmacists Wear?

Not all pharmacists wear scrubs. Many hospital pharmacists wear scrubs, and pharmacy techs may wear them in some other pharmacies, but there is no required color for pharmacy employees to wear. Depending on the hospital pharmacy, the scrubs may be red, navy blue, or another neutral color. Most pharmacists wear professional business clothing outside hospital pharmacies, such as khakis or slacks and button-up shirts; some might even wear ties.

Scrubs

Khakis or Slacks

Button-up Shirts

Ties

What Kind of Shoes Do Pharmacists Wear?

Pharmacists must wear comfortable, professional-looking shoes, which is what they should look for when shopping for work-appropriate footwear. Loafers and clogs with good support are excellent options. Depending on the dress code, black or brown shoes look professional and blend well with the overall appearance that most pharmacists aim for in the workplace.

What Are The Best Shoes for Pharmacists?

When it comes to what does a pharmacist wear for shoes, the best shoes for pharmacists are comfortable, professional-looking shoes. Pharmacists often
choose to wear orthopedic shoes because they have good arch support and are comfortable for continuous wear. Since pharmacists are on their feet most of the time, they need shoes that will not become uncomfortable throughout the day.

What Are the Best Shoes for Healthcare Workers?

Like pharmacists, healthcare workers should look for comfortable shoes with good support; clogs, sneakers, and the like are good options for that purpose. Shoes in neutral colors will usually go with any uniform healthcare workers require.

Do Pharmacists Stand All Day?

Pharmacists spend most of their shifts standing and walking around. There aren’t usually many opportunities to sit down in a pharmacy between filling prescriptions, taking phone calls, interacting with patients, answering questions, etc. Most pharmacies expect their pharmacists to stand for most, if not all, of the day.

Is It Hard To Become a Pharmacist?

It certainly takes work to become a pharmacist. Becoming a pharmacist requires six years of education: two years of specific undergraduate study and four academic years of pharmacy study. This schooling is followed by plenty of training and experience. One must also pass multiple exams and become licensed before becoming a pharmacist.

Six years of education:

two years of specific undergraduate study and four academic years of pharmacy study

Training and experience

Pass multiple exams
and become licensed

Dress Code for Pharmacists

Overall, the dress code for pharmacists varies from pharmacy to pharmacy. Some pharmacies require business-casual clothing, and some require business-professional outfits. Some pharmacies will have their pharmacists in scrubs, and some will have their pharmacists in the classic white lab coat. Above all, pharmacists need to build professional, trustworthy relationships with their patients, regardless of what they wear. 

Need to Fill a Shift?

If you need to fill a shift at your pharmacy, try ShiftPosts. We make filling pharmacy shifts as easy as possible, and we’re the leader in the pharmacy industry for staffing and relief. With ShiftPosts, relief scheduling is just as easy as booking your own staff and ensures continuity for your business and your patients. Find qualified, quality pharmacy workers to help you out by using ShiftPosts today — just make sure you let them know your pharmacy dress code!

How to Enhance Your Relief Pharmacy Opportunities

A day in the life of a relief pharmacist looks different from that of a typical pharmacist. Each shift can bring new challenges and learning opportunities. Working relief shifts is a great way to grow your pharmacy career as you are placed in new settings with different responsibilities. This helps you gain valuable information and skills you can take with you throughout your career. 


Whether you’re a pharmacist looking to re-energize your career or a relief pharmacist looking for ways to enhance your opportunities, we can help. We’ve created a guide to help you get the most out of relief shifts to grow in your career.

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PharmAchieve — Quick Refreshers for Critical Systems

One of the best ways to enhance pharmacy opportunities is with PharmAchieve. PharmAchieve is a government-certified institution that offers PEBC® prep courses and accredited continuing education courses. Their continuing education courses are beneficial for advancing knowledge of critical systems.

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Different Dispensing Systems

To increase your likelihood of being hired for relief shifts, consider becoming familiar with the major dispensing systems used by pharmacies today. There are four major dispensing systems to consider to give you the best chance of competing in the market. 

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Kroll

The most common pharmacy system is Kroll. It’s used by many large pharmacy chains and a significant percentage of independent pharmacies as well. Because Kroll is the leader in the industry, a relief pharmacist needs proficient knowledge of this system to be sought after. We also recommend looking into Kroll Paperless, as many pharmacies are transitioning to this system.

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Healthwatch

The second leading system in the industry is Healthwatch, which is used by Shoppers Drug Market. As there are multiple locations across the country, learning their computer system will give you more flexibility and control over the relief opportunities you can take on.

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Nexxsys and PharmaClic RX

Nexxsys and PharmaClic RX systems are also valuable to know. The Rexall chain of pharmacies uses Nexxsys, and many pharmacy chains like The Medicine Shoppe and certain McKesson locations use PharmaClic Rx. These systems aren’t common among small family-owned pharmacies, but learning them and being independently proficient increases your ability to find great relief shifts across the country.

Know When to Start Planning

Knowing when to start planning is crucial to enhance your relief pharmacy opportunities. Depending on the position, you may be required to have certain licenses or other qualifications. Some of these requirements can only be obtained at certain times. Research your state’s requirements to determine what licensing you need and when and how you can obtain it.

“Knowing when to start planning is crucial to enhance your relief pharmacy opportunities.”

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Increase Your Certifications to Make Yourself More Versatile as a Relief Pharmacist

You may have the right qualifications to enter the pharmacy field. Still, continuing education is critical to stay on top of current pharmacy needs and trends. Identify which courses can help you excel in relief positions and find a classroom or online setting to complete them. As mentioned above, PharmAchieve is a great online source for completing certifications and taking relevant continuing education courses. 

Even if you don’t want to take pharmacy-specific courses, you can consider business classes to understand pharmacy profitably or classes for improving people skills. The more certifications you have and the more multi-talented you are, the more likely you are to enhance pharmacy relief opportunities.

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Pharmacist Advancement Opportunities

Consider pharmacist advancement opportunities such as executive positions, hospital management, medical specialties, or research programs. Some of these positions require more schooling, but allow you to learn additional skills that can be beneficial for relief shifts.

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Pharmacy Career Goals

Consider your pharmacy career goals. Why do you want to advance your pharmacy career? Are you looking to make some extra money or change up your routine? When you determine your pharmacy career goals, you can consider your options. Working different kinds of relief shifts can help you better achieve these goals as you gain experience in various settings.

An icon of a map detailing a path to take.

Pharmacist Career Path

Determine your career path. Are you looking to be a pharmacy consultant or pharmacologist? Or are you looking to end up in drug manufacturing or pharmacy law? Whatever path you choose, relief shifts can help you learn valuable information you can use to excel in your career.

Two men talking in a professional setting
.

A Valuable Network

One of the best ways to enhance your relief shifts and advance your career is to network with local pharmacists. Find other pharmacists in your area and get to know them. Take time to talk with them about your own experiences and see what you can learn from them. Talking with other like-minded pharmacy professionals can help you gain new insights into the industry.

A male and female pharmacist talking in a professional setting.

Another great way to network is to get to know the people you work with during relief shifts. This can include any other pharmacists on duty or even pharmacy technicians. If you have downtime during your shift, use that opportunity to learn from them and listen to their experience. You’ll be surprised by what you can learn by getting to know other pharmacy professionals. 

Networking not only helps you gain more knowledge of the industry but also opens new relief shift opportunities. Other professionals may know of open shifts or be more inclined to recommend you for shifts in the future.

“Networking not only helps you gain more knowledge of the industry but also opens new relief shift opportunities.”

A female pharmacist works and has a family.

How to Grow Your Career and Get More Shifts


Once you’ve determined your career goals and received the necessary training and certifications, it’s time to look for relief shifts. Here’s how to get more shifts to help you gain experience and skills for your career.

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Be Willing to Travel

The most common pharmacy system is Kroll. It’s used by many large have to travel too far but make sure you’re willing to travel to nearby cities to find even more shifts. Finding shifts outside your area provides excellent networking opportunities, allowing you to meet new people who can help grow your career.

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Stay Active in the App

The best way to get more shifts is to stay active in the ShiftPosts app. Create your profile and set your relief shift preferences. Once this is complete, we’ll match you with shifts that fit your criteria. After completing your shifts, continue to check the app to find even more relief shifts that meet your needs.

Find Shifts You Actually Want to Work

By working relief shifts, you gain valuable information that you can use for the rest of your pharmacy career. However, finding the shifts you actually want to work often involves putting in the extra effort. Learning new systems, expanding your knowledge, and increasing your certifications are excellent ways to prepare yourself for every kind of shift. You should also set goals for the career opportunities you’re looking for and build a network of professionals willing to help you achieve those goals. 


If you’re ready to start working more relief shifts, be sure to check out the ShiftPosts app. ShiftPosts is a free and easy-to-use app to find nearby pharmacies with open shifts. Browse shifts, read employer reviews, and receive payment for your work. Set preferences and only fill shifts that work for you. Discover how ShiftPosts can help you advance your pharmacy career!

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