How to Get a Job as a Pharmacy Technician in 2020
Pharmacy Technician
US Median Salary
$30,920/year or $14.86/hour
Education Requirements
High School Diploma or GED
Some states and employers prefer candidates with a pharmacy technician certificate, but it is not necessary to be considered for the role unless you’re trying to work in a hospital.
You'd be great for this position if...
– You enjoy working with people
– You’re patient
– You’re empathetic
– You’re helpful
– You’re tech savvy
– You’re dependable
You'd be great for this position if...
– You enjoy working with people
– You’re patient
– You’re empathetic
– You’re helpful
– You’re tech savvy
– You’re dependable
Resume Tips for Pharmacy Technicians
To have a successful career as a pharmacy technician, there are certain skills that hiring managers know to look for. Take inventory of these important qualities and emphasize them in your resume:
- High attention to detail
- Comfortable working with numbers
- Customer oriented
- Good with computers
- Organizational skills
- A strong commitment to ethics
- Able to work on a team
- Data entry with high accuracy
If you don’t have much on-the-job experience, include things like…
- Prior experience working in stock rooms, customer service, or the retail industry
- Volunteer experience, especially working in hospitals or nursing homes
- Familiarity with basic medical terminology
- Any additional strengths, like being multilingual, working in a laboratory environment, or tutoring experience
If you’re still feeling stuck on what skills to list in your resume, check the job description! Hiring managers list the key qualities they’re looking for, so you can score serious points for including them.
Interview Pointers for Pharmacy Technicians
Prior to your interview, be sure to think of examples of personal experience applicable to the role:
- Discuss a time when you handled an upset individual. What did you do to calm them down?
- Describe a time when you worked on a team to fix a problem.
- Talk about a time when you had to accommodate the needs of someone you disagreed with and how you dealt with the situation.
- Provide the hiring manger with your conflict resolution tactics and why you think they work well for you.
- Give an example of a time when your communication skills saved the day.
Be prepared to answer questions like:
- What would you do if you noticed a coworker pocketing medications?
- What is the difference between name brand and generic medications?
- How do you handle on-the-job stress and deadlines?
Trouble finding Pharmacy Technician jobs to apply for? Try searching for these jobs as well!
Pharmacy Clerk • Pharmacy Aide • Pharmacy Cashier
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