Pharmacy resume skills: examples and how to improve them

Updated 24 January 2023

If you're applying to a pharmacy position, you may include various types of skills in your CV. This list of skills may include both soft and hard skills. Learning how to present pharmacy skills to employers may help you get a job in this field. In this article, we define pharmacy resume skills, provide examples of these skills and describe the ways to highlight them during your job search process.

What are pharmacy resume skills?

Pharmacy resume skills are special abilities that pharmacy employees, such as pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, develop during their education and work experience. Many pharmacy skills deal with data management, patient and customer service and communication. There are also many skills for these roles related to health care and pharmaceutical knowledge. Once you develop such skills, you can include them on your CV when applying for positions in this field.

Examples of pharmacy CV skills

Here are seven examples of pharmacy skills you can include on your CV:

Customer service

This is a key pharmacy skill that involves patient interactions and listening to customers' needs and concerns. These skills can help you excel when providing clear and concise advice or information to customers or when answering detailed questions about pharmaceutical needs. This skill is especially important when applying for pharmacy technician jobs and pharmacist positions, as these roles involve a large amount of customer interaction.

Communication

This skill involves expressing your ideas clearly and working well with other healthcare professionals. You may communicate professionally with both patients and team members about patient needs, health concerns and treatment protocols. For example, you may communicate the importance of a dosage amount to a customer before giving them medication to help ensure their safety. You can also communicate with healthcare managers or pharmacists regarding treatment protocols.

Data management

Data is a key component of every pharmacy position and an important skill in your CV because it can help you perform many pharmacy operations and save time. This skill helps you create, organise and manage patient records, such as their medical history, allergies and medications. It also helps you collect all data related to the dispensing of medications or other important information that you may use during the evaluation process when job candidates apply for positions in this field.

Organisation

This is another key skill that can help pharmacy employees impress potential employers. Organised workers are more efficient, which means they can handle more tasks in less time. With this skill, you can become an organised employee who manages all the tasks in a pharmacy or hospital setting. This may involve managing a busy schedule while maintaining effective time management.

Problem-solving

This skill involves taking a complex problem and finding a solution using critical thinking skills. While working as a pharmacist or in a related role, you may solve problems that arise during patient interactions or while preparing medication orders for your customers. For example, you may solve patient problems involving the correct dosage of prescription drugs or preparing medications.

Computer skills

This pharmacy skill involves working with computers, operating a payroll program, entering data and completing reports. You may use a computer in pharmacy roles while filling patient orders, finding relevant information or solving complex patient problems. For example, you may use a specific type of software to access patient files and determine their eligibility for prescription medications.

Patient care

Patient care skills involve helping patients with their various health needs. This type of role involves providing medication information, patient counselling and patient education. For example, you may help patients understand how their medications work on the body and how they can benefit from them.

Inventory management

Those working in retail pharmacies may manage their inventory of medications. For example, you may track the number of each type of drug that you have in stock and also print out an accurate list of all medication inventory items. This skill helps ensure all patients can receive their medications and that your employer follows all regulations.

How to improve pharmacy skills

Here are some steps you can follow to improve your skills for this type of role:

1. Research the requirements for pharmacy degrees

Find out more about your options if you want to work as a pharmacist or another employee in a pharmacy or hospital setting. To apply for these jobs and positions, it's often a requirement to complete four years of education at an accredited university where you take courses in pharmaceutical sciences. It may also be a requirement to have some experience working in a patient care or customer service environment.

2. Complete a pharmacology degree

A degree in pharmacology can provide you with an understanding of useful data, education about the medical field and experience working with pharmaceuticals, which can help you improve your skills for this role. Usually, a pharmacology degree can also provide students with basic knowledge of pharmacy career skills and practices.

3. Find a mentor

If you can find someone who works in this role, ask them to mentor you. A mentor can teach you what skills are required for pharmacy positions and how to develop those skills so you can become a more effective pharmacy employee. You may also ask your mentor what fields of pharmacy they feel may suit and interest you the most. For example, if you like working with people, your mentor may suggest a customer-facing role, such as a pharmacist technician. If you prefer analytical roles, you may prefer to find roles in drug production and research.

4. Learn from experience

Developing pharmacy skills doesn't have to be a long process. You can develop these skills by working in a pharmacy during your schooling or after you've already completed your degree. Pharmacy employees who are already in the field can also develop skills based on their experiences and education. Pharmacies may have training programmes that give employees such opportunities to learn new and more advanced skills related to data analysis, patient care or inventory management.

How to highlight pharmacy skills

Here are some tips for presenting pharmacy skills:

1. CV

Use your CV to detail your specific pharmacy skills and related work experiences. List specific details about the jobs you had to help employers better identify the skills they want from employees applying for positions in this field. Include the major factor that attracted or convinced you to apply for this role or how previous pharmacy jobs helped develop your skills. You can also create a list of hard and soft skills in its own section on your CV.

2. Cover letter

In a cover letter, you may provide information about your brief professional experience as a pharmacist. Include details about career goals and the type of pharmacy jobs in which you're interested. Cover letters can also demonstrate how prepared you are to handle a pharmacy position in a thorough, organised and well-written manner.

3. Interview

Employers may ask you questions about working as a pharmacist during an interview. Give clear and concise answers to these questions regarding specific pharmacy skills and past experiences. For example, employers may ask you to recall times when you dealt with a difficult customer or solved a problem. These can provide great insight into your specific skills for the role.