Pharmacist Job Interview Questions and Brilliant Answers/ Pharmacy Employment Interview

The Most General Question types are:

• Why do you want to become a pharmacist?
• What did you like the most on your studies?
• What problematic situations can occur in your daily job?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Where do you see yourself in five years time?
• Describe the time when you went above and beyond what was expected of you?
• How would you deal with an angry customer?
• How do you keep up to date with current pharmacy practice?

Lets see Some GREAT answers pattern to satisfy this Questions:

• Why do you want to become a pharmacist?

I was always interested in treatment of various diseases, in drugs and in medical equipment. It was my passion and I never hesitated when choosing my career. I feel it is my true calling and dream job to work as a pharmacist. On the top of that, I believe to have both knowledge and right personality to become a great pharmacist and to bring added value to the team.

OR,

Every person has some skills and is good in doing something. I believe that people enjoy talking to me, because I am a good listener and have good understanding for the needs of the others. And pharmaceutics has always been my field of interest. People want to do what they do well and what they like.  I want to get the job of a pharmacist because I like the job and also believe I can bring some added value to my employer.

• What did you like the most on your studies?

I really enjoyed the APPE we had to complete. I had the chance to try a real job under supervision and convinced myself once again that this is exactly what I want to do in my life. I believe it was a really good preparation for the job. As you can see from my marks, mathematical subjects, especially Calculus, was the toughest for me. It took me a lot of time to pass the exam. However, I understood that every subject is important and worked hard to pass it.

• What problematic situations can occur in your daily job?

This job is not easy. One has to talk to all kinds of people, old and young, nice and angry, clever and stupid. It may be very difficult sometimes to help a patient, but I work a lot on my communication skills, to be able to talk to everyone in a most appropriate way.

OR,

Being unable to read a prescription is a serious problem. I prefer to have contact details of all medics and officials, in order to be able to confirm what’s written on the paper. People seeking drugs represent another problem. However, they taught us at the faculty how to spot such a behavior and how to act in that case.

OR,

Drug interaction is one of the most common problems we have to deal with. It is important to keep your knowledge up to date, to be able to notice it, explain the situation to the patient and come up with an alternative solution. It may also happen that we do not have what the patient needs. In this case, we should offer him an alternative or send him some other place where they have it.

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Emphasis on this points:

• good communication skills
• ability to uncover the needs of the others
• patience and responsibility
• detail oriented personality
• ability to talk to different kind of people
• problem solving skills

And Make your ans like this:

I have good communication skills and do not have a problem to talk to anybody. Also, details are very important for me. I believe that to be detail oriented is a crucial ability for every good pharmacist. From my weaknesses I can mention management and leadership skills. I am planning to work on it, once I have more free time.

Or,

I am patient, responsible and do not mind doing the same work for a long time. I have good problem solving and observation skills. From the weaknesses, I would love to improve my computer skills. It’s not that bad but I believe in this era, one really needs to have better computer skills than I have. Therefore I attend evening classes and hope to improve on my PC skills.

• Where do you see yourself in five years time?

I would love to become a specialty pharmacist, oriented on chronic illnesses and complicated diseases in five years time. However, I understand that I need to gain some practice before and therefore I apply for this job. I know there is an option to become a specialist in this hospital in few years time, so that my goal is to work on my education and become one in five years time.

Or,

I do not really think too much about five years from now. My goal is to become a pharmacist and do as good job as possible, every single day. Based on my experience with the job, I will think about some career growth, but it’s not on my mind at the moment.

• Describe the time when you went above and beyond what was expected of you?

However, there is no need to be worried if you have no previous working experience. You can speak about a situation from other job, from the college, from the family life. All you have to do is to pick a situation when you did something extraordinary. Pick it and speak about it in detail. After all, the attitude is what matters for the interviewers, not the details of the situation.

I consider it my duty to do 110% for each customer. For example, in my last job, I called several times a friend, expert in the area of electronics, to give me an advice when a customer asked me a specific question I wasn’t able to answer on my own. The customers really appreciated it and I was happy to help.

• How would you deal with an angry customer?

First of all, you should stress that you do your best to not make clients upset, being focused on your job and pleasant to everyone. Having said that, you need to count with all kinds of patients and be ready to deal with each one. Show them your plan of action to deal with “difficult” customers and never forget on your primary goals should:

• To make a sale
• To help the customer
• To ensure he will come to the pharmacy again, when in need of medicines

Let’s have a look at sample answer to overcome this question:

I try my very best to provide a perfect customer service. I am very focused and try to spot the actual mood of the client as soon as possible, to be able to adjust my behavior to the situation. If the client is angry, I have a clear strategy. I tell him he is right, I calmly tell it many times, even if he complains about the price of the product.

If a client is stupid, I do my best to use the simplest possible language and always write him the instructions on a separate piece of paper clearly. I repeat it until I ensure he understands everything. I simply do my best to ensure clients come back to our store and become loyal customers, what is after all, dependent mostly on the quality of customer service.

• How do you keep up to date with current pharmacy practice?

I read U.S. Pharmacist and Pharmacy Times. When traveling home from work, I typically spend about twenty minutes checking latest news on RxTimes, just to ensure I won’t miss anything important. I also try to attend a conference on the University twice a year, when the topic is relevant. I like pharmaceutics a lot, so it is a pleasure for me to do these things. On the top of that, I consider it as my duty, because only when I stay up to date with trends I can continue being good in my job.

OR,

To be honest, I have a family and try to find a healthy work-life balance. Therefore, once out of work, I do not spend too much time reading magazines or doing something else related to my job. However, I attend ACE classes and follow all the other requirements prescribed in this state to renew my license each year. On the top of that, I try to use every free minute in job to consult my colleagues about latest trends and to read articles on the internet, just to ensure I do not miss anything important. I try to be a very good pharmacist, but you need to have a balanced life too. We should never forget on it.

• What to say at the end?

Well, at the end of an interview you can ask or if you get an opportunity to ask any question then ask politely "How was my interview and is there anything that I should keep focus to improve my self" Or, You can ask your question about the Company Profile or about their Products.