The road to becoming a pharmacist is long and rewarding, but it can be difficult to find employment once you achieve the qualifications needed to work as one. Many pharmacists work with pharmacist staffing agencies to find employment when they’re fresh on the job market.
Staffing agencies are also excellent for times when someone is looking for relocation or having trouble making connections in a particular area.
It’s important that you understand pharmacist staffing agencies before you use them so that you can make the best use of everyone’s time and effort. We’re going to discuss three important things to keep in mind when working with a staffing agency.
3 Things to Know About Pharmacist Staffing Agencies
Everyone’s experience and journey as a pharmacist will be different. There are some fundamental principles to keep in mind as you make your way through the first steps of your next career move, though.
Additionally, working with a staffing agency brings on a few responsibilities that you should keep in mind. Things like research, preparation, clear communication, and respect for the agency are all things we’ll cover in this article.
Our hope is to brief you on what’s expected before you start working with an agency so that you can have the smoothest transition possible. Hopefully, the advice in this article can apply broadly to all those who are looking to work with a pharmacist staffing agency.
Let’s get started!
1. You Should Do Advance Research
There are a lot of directions you could take your career in pharmacy. In fact, there are so many directions that you should take a little extra time to think carefully about specific pieces of your job search.
What Type of Pharmacist are You?
Do some deep diving on the different types of pharmacists out there. We’re sure you’re aware of most of them, but you have forgotten an option or two on your journey to get to where you are today.
Additionally, new and interesting pharmacy positions emerge as new technology and shifts in culture occur. You could be a pharmacy technician, hospital pharmacist, pharmacy assistant, support pharmacist, over the counter assistant, and much more.
Understanding your preferences, your desired work-life balance, and the qualifications that you have will all help you narrow down your job search before you even consult with a staffing agency.
This will allow you and the agency to get right to business and open up more personalized job searches that will put you in touch with excellent positions. An agency will help you sift through different terminology, of course, but having an understanding in advance will speed up the process.
Where do You Want to Work?
Whether you’re thinking of relocating only a short distance or traveling across the world to work as a pharmacist, it’s crucial that you know a few things about the change.
For example, get to know a little bit about the culture you’re moving to before you make the leap to relocate there. Additionally, what are the requirements for the pharmacy position you’re looking for within the country you’re moving to?
Different parts of the world have different ways of measuring a person’s qualifications, and requirements can certainly change from place to place.
So, before you start trying to work with a staffing agency to become a pharmacy supervisor in Ireland, be sure that you have the requisite experience and education that’s required there.
2. Value the Agency’s Time
It’s important to keep in mind that pharmacist staffing agencies are very busy. They’re working closely with individuals and pharmacies who are serious about finding employees and jobs.
That should go without saying, but it happens to be the case that a lot of people work with staffing agencies and opt-out before things can actually happen. Either an individual decides that they don’t want to make the change or the shift their career prospects in a different direction.
The result is that a lot of time and energy gets wasted. Doing careful research about your desired career and potential placement should help you determine whether or not you truly want to work with a staffing agency.
That said, you will receive great assistance when you’re serious about finding a pharmacy job.
If You’re Not Sure, Make a Call
It can never hurt to make a phone call to a pharmacist staffing agency and ask them about their services. Agencies are happy to answer any questions you might have about the commitment required to working with them.
They’ll help you navigate your independent research and inform you as to what you should try and determine before things get underway.
Asking questions and admitting that you’re new to the process is far better than assuming that you know what you’re doing and eventually waste your own time. So, make the call, ask a few questions, and assess whether or not you’re ready to start working with a staffing agency.
3. Understand Your Responsibility
It can be easy to assume that your responsibility is placed mostly upon the staffing agency. That said, it’s important to remember that you are the one looking for a position and the staffing agency is there to put you in touch with the right people.
It’s true that agencies take a huge amount of stress out of the job-finding process. Imagine trying to find a job in a different country or out of state.
You’d have to cross the communication barrier, navigate foreign websites, cultures, languages, and qualifications. All of that interference would certainly get in the way of you finding the best possible job you could.
So, you’re given a huge advantage by working with a pharmacist staffing agency. At the same time, the individual preparation still falls upon you.
You Must Be Informed
Understand all of the ins and outs of the position before you speak with anyone or make a decision to apply. Different positions will have different specifics to take note of, but the point is that you shouldn’t go into an application or an interview blind.
A lot of times, geographical distance makes people feel like the job is a long-shot. That leads them to throw a “hail mary,” so to speak. In other words, people leave a lot of the job specifics up to chance and fail to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to particulars about a position.
This wastes your time as well as the staffing agency that’s working hard to find you a position.
Prepare for the Interview
Interviews are always tough. Many times, the interview makes or breaks a job application and applicants tend to spend a lot of time preparing.
Cross-cultural job applications are even trickier because the norms and customs of one culture are bound to be different from another. This can even break down to things as small as the tone of your voice or a greeting. It’s important to relax and be yourself while also preparing a great deal.
When you make the effort to research and practice for a cross-cultural job interview, your preparation will certainly come across. Most people you’ll speak to will be well aware of the difficulties of such interviews and account for any slip-ups you might make.
It might be wise, though, to work through potential interview questions with a friend or professional who has insight into the pharmacy hiring process. There are always opportunities to find help in specific areas of the job market, especially interview preparation.
The Point is, Take It Seriously
A lot of the points made in this article might seem like common knowledge. It’s important, though, to reinforce the idea that working with a staffing agency is a huge perk, not a solution to all of your worries.
You’ll have access to a broader job market, people in your field, and expert insight into how you can and should move forward. Those are opportunities that require a little effort from your end.
That effort translates to research, preparation, and an understanding of what you want out of your future. If you’re serious about moving in a particular direction toward a specific pharmacy job, you’ll have a lot of luck. If you’re not totally sold on the career choices available to you, spend some time and make sure you’re ready to make the changes.
Pharmacy positions are extremely important to a lot of people. Your role is to provide individuals with the appropriate medication with a very small margin of error. Employers, staffing agencies, and consumers understand that.
You should understand that too, and so long as you take your role with the staffing agency as seriously as you would any other professional relationship, you’ll do great!
Want to Move Forward?
If you’ve made it far, it’s likely that you’re ready to take the next step forward in your career. We’re here to help your job search go as smoothly as possible.
Explore our site for more information on working with pharmacist staffing agencies. Contact us if you’re ready to start the process.