Pharmacy CV: Example & How to Write

Text Format

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Dedicated pharmacist with 6+ years of experience in compounding and dispensing medicines while delivering quality pharmaceutical care to clients. Well versed in aligning pharmacy operations to meet operational standards and legal requirements. Ability to form cross-functional collaborations with colleagues and healthcare providers to support patients with unique needs.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Pharmacist
Corner Pharmacy, London – December 2020 – Present

Meet with clients, read medical histories, interpret prescriptions, and formulate medicines while maintaining accuracy and legal compliance
Decreased inventory costs by 20% by inspecting and identifying a major discrepancy in medication storage
Maintained 100% accuracy in transcription and order fulfilment by auditing all files and records related to medications

Junior Pharmacist
Boots, Leeds – August 2018 – December 2020

Assisted pharmacist in taking verbal prescriptions and writing exact prescriptions, and counselled patients on prescription and OTC medications
Attained 100% customer satisfaction by advising customers in person and over the phone regarding proper drug usage
Maintained computerised patient profiles, outpatient pharmacy services, drug interaction screening, and monitoring with pharmacist
Ensured 100% compliance with NHS Pharmacy Regulations in maintaining adequate pharmacy inventory control and general management/finance accounting operations
Served as preceptor for 20+ pharmacy students on community practice rotations

Trainee Pharmacist
Boots, Leeds – July 2016 – July 2018

Provided exceptional support to pharmacists daily
Achieved 99.9% efficiency in order fulfilment by dispensing prescription medication on time for a diverse patient base
Handled data-entry activities associated with prescription information
Communicated with physicians and patients concerning inquiries and information verification
Contributed to daily operations of the mail-order pharmacy

EDUCATION

Kingston University London (2016)
MPharm (Hons) — Merit

Relevant Modules:
Cardio-Respiratory System, Effective Decision Making for Pharmacy Practice, Pharmacy Law, Ethics and Practice

KEY SKILLS

Communication
Organisation
Analysis
People management
Fluent in French and German

INTERESTS

Avid chess player
Amateur chef
Voracious reader
Semi-professional gamer
World traveller

How to write your pharmacy CV

Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.

A well-written pharmacist CV is a precise mix of relevant skills and experience. We’ve prescribed the following three writing tips on how to write a pharmacy CV that helps you land a job at your preferred chemist’s or GP’s surgery:

1. Quantify your pharmacist work experience

When you write your CV’s work experience section, don’t just describe your pharmacy job duties. The recruiter knows all about what pharmacist assistants or technicians do — what the employer is truly interested in is the scale of your work.

So quantify your pharmaceutical skills and experience with hard numbers and specific examples, like this:

Decreased inventory costs by 20% by inspecting and identifying a major discrepancy in medication storage

Remember to quantify your experience when you write a cover letter for a pharmacy job too. (Or use a cover letter builder that writes your content for you to get your pharmacy application done faster.)

2. Use standard CV formatting

Arrange your information using the standard CV format, which features your work experience on the first page of your CV. Even if you’re applying for your first non-placement pharmacist job, you should emphasise your work experience gained during your foundation training year.

Here’s how to lay out your CV sections to ensure your relevant pharmacy work history is in the right place:

Name & contact information
Personal statement
Work experience
Education
Key skills
Hobbies & interests

If your only work experience is your foundation training year, find a CV template online that includes both your work history and education sections on the first page of your CV to ensure the recruiter reads them.

And if you’re looking for your first job after university, consider using a professional CV template that lists your education first because this is likely your most recent relevant experience.

3. Emphasise your job-relevant pharmacy skills

Don’t generally outline your pharmacy skills on your CV, and then use it for every job application. Instead, retool your CV for every pharmacy position you apply to, showing how your skills match specific requirements in the job advert.

Here’s an actual pharmacist job advert with skills the employer is looking for underlined in green:

An example pharmacy job advert with CV skills underlined in green — Write your pharmacy CV to target a specific job advert.

And here’s an example of a CV personal statement that responds directly to the requirements in the above job advert:

GPhC-registered pharmacist with an MPharm degree and 5+ years’ experience inspiring pharmaceutical teams to deliver customer-oriented service. Encourage team members to stay up-to-date regarding industry knowledge by providing easy access to pharmaceutical journals. Led pharmacy’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, with 450+ doses administered.

If you can’t fit all the skills from the job advert in your personal statement, that’s okay. Continue targeting the position requirements in the rest of your CV and your cover letter.