PEGAWAI FARMASI

SENARAI SOALAN

● What study subject did you like the most? What subjects did you struggle with?
● What problematic situations can occur in a pharmacy?
● What are your strengths and weaknesses?
● Where do you see yourself in five years?
● Describe a situation when you went above and beyond what was expected.
● Imagine an angry customer, and a stupid customer. How would you deal with them?
● How do you keep your knowledge up to date with current pharmacy practice, new drugs and
trends in the industry?
● This job is repetitive. What would motivate you to do it well every day?
● What characterizes a great pharmacist from your point of view?
● Give an example of a time when you were overwhelmed with work. How did you handle the
situation?
● What can you offer us that someone else can’t?
● What are your biggest accomplishments and why are those a big deal for you?
● Tell me about a leadership experience you have had.
● Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague.
● What would you like to accomplish in the first month, 60 days or 90 days on the job?
● What do you like about working with patients?
● How do you educate patients in managing their medication?
● What challenges do you encounter on a daily basis?
● Describe a time you simplified complex medical treatment information for a patient.
● Give me an example of a time you didn’t meet a patient’s expectations. What happened and how
did you resolve the conflict?
● When you’re working with a larger number of patients, it’s challenging to provide excellent service
to everyone. How would you prioritize their needs?
● Tell me about a time that you had an overwhelming number of responsibilities. What did you do?
● What do you do if a customer asks about an over-the-counter drug you don’t know about? This
question is aimed at testing your research skills, communication skills and customer service
abilities.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/pharmacy-interview-questions

Questions they will ask

An experienced pharmacy manager, or a skilled HR person, will lead an interview with you. They will use
a mix of personal, behavioral and technical questions, trying to understand your abilities,
attitudes, and your readiness for the job. Let’s have a look at the questions you can expect to hear in
your interview (click a question to see an in-depth analysis and sample answers to the particular
question):

Why do you want to become a pharmacist?

Clean working environment, smart colleagues, and exceptional salary–these are the typical reasons why
people decide to pursue career in pharmacy. Or they may just pursue the dreams of their parents,
which is a sad case (but a common one).

In a job interview, however, you should refer to different reasons. Talk about your interest for diseases,
drugs, healthcare, medical equipment. You can also say that you believe to have the right personality
for the job, and can bring value to the team of pharmacists… (click the heading to see more info and
sample answers – the same applies to every question below)

What study subject did you like the most? What subjects did you struggle with?

Your answer to this question helps us to understand your attitude to work and to pharmacy. I suggest
you to speak about practical subjects. Emphasize that you enjoyed your practice, and that the
experience has helped you to confirm your career choice.

On the other hand, each of us struggled with a subject or two. Be honest, tell us that you struggled, but
ensure the interviewers that you did your very best to eventually pass the exams, because you
understood the importance of each single subject at pharmacy school.

What problematic situations can occur in a pharmacy?

A pharmacist deals with all kinds of problems. Angry customers, a prescription they can not read, lack of
medication, conflicts with colleagues. Show us that you see your job realistically, that you count with
the difficulties, that you are ready to face them with smile and dignity.

Once you list the problems, interviewers may give you additional questions. They may ask you about
one of the problems, for example they may inquire how you would spot a drug seeking behavior. And if
they do not ask about it, you can go ahead and talk about the way you plan to address particular
problems…

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Pharmacists do not have to possess excellent leadership or management skills. They will do fine with
average computer skills, and they do not have to be in an excellent physical condition.

What I try to suggest is that every job is different, and what matters for one role is irrelevant (or at least
not essential) for another one.

Try to speak about strengths that are relevant for a pharmacist, such as communication skills, attention
to detail, sales skills, ability to understand the needs of the others, strong knowledge of drugs and their
interactions, etc. And pick a weakness that is not crucial for the job–management skills (lack of them),
leadership, computer skills, …

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Most pharmacists keep their job for many years (sometimes for a lifetime), but you can have different
plans. Perhaps you want to open your own pharmacy in five years? Perhaps you plan to travel, or move
to another part of the world?

Regardless of your actual plans, you should always try to convince your interviewers that you will be
happy to have the same job in five years time. Tell them that they can count with you in a long run.

Needless to say, you do not have to keep to the promises you made in job interviews. You can leave
them in three years, or even in three weeks, regardless of what you said on the big day. Life is a change
and nobody will blame you for making a career change…

Describe a situation when you went above and beyond of what was expected.
At the end of the day, pharmacy is a business. What is more, the competition is enormous, and you will
find a pharmacy on every corner. A good pharmacist understands an importance of customer service, and
they try to exceed (or at least meet) the expectations of every single customer.

Your attitude matters, not the particular situation you narrate. First job? No big deal–you can talk about a
situation from the college, a time when you did something exceptional for one of your schoolmates,
teachers, friends.

Show them that you always try your best, that you care, that you do not belong to those lazy employees
who never do anything outside of their basic duties. Life is an exciting adventure and you are here to
enjoy it, and to help the others to enjoy it…

Imagine an angry customer, and a stupid customer. How would you deal with them?
Another question that targets your customer service skills. Angry people, sad people, simple people
who will not understand even the most basic instructions you provide–you will meet all of them in your job.

They key is to talk about each customer with love, to show the interviewers that you will try your best to
satisfy each customer, and that you count with the diversity this job presents.

How do you keep your knowledge up to date with current pharmacy practice, new drugs and
trends in the industry?
Accredited continuing education classes are mandatory, and you will not impress us with saying that you
attend them (you can mention them though).
Try to focus on something you do in your free time, for example reading journals, studying new drugs
on the internet, talking with your colleagues, going to conferences, participating in forums for pharmacists.
Show us that you like pharmacy, and that you do your best to stay on the top of the game.

Other questions (answers only in the eBook)

● This job is repetitive. What would motivate you to do it well every day?
● What characterize a great pharmacist from your point of view?
● Give an example of a time when you were overwhelmed with work. How did you handle the
situation?
● Here is a case describing a common drug interaction. How would you resolve it?
● How would you spot drug seeking behavior? What would you do if you spotted it?
● You cannot read the prescription. What would you do?
● How would you ensure that different treatments are compatible?
● What things do you need to assure yourself about before dispensing prescription medicines
to a customer?
● Do you have any questions?
● Why should we hire you?

Success or failure does not depend only on your answers to interview questions

Job of a pharmacist is not primarily a healthcare role (especially a job of a community pharmacist). It is a
customer service position. You will meet people, you will talk to people, you will try to help people.

We will observe a lot of things while interviewing you for a job. Do you smile? Do you talk to the point?
Are you a good listener? Do you keep attention to detail? Do you have the right personality for a job of a
pharmacist? Do you really want to work as a pharmacist, or do you apply just because you invested loads
of time and money into this career?

We observe (nearly) everything. You need to show motivation, and convince us that you strive to
provide the best possible customer service in every moment. There really is a pharmacy on every
corner. If clients are not perfectly satisfied with the behavior and professionalism of the employees in one
pharmacy, they will simply go and spend their money in the next retail store…. Unless you demonstrate
great customer service skills in an interview, we will not hire you.

Sorry to tell you that, buy I want to be honest with you and tell you the truth of interviewing for this job.

References and recommendations

Some people believe it is impossible to get a job in a pharmacy without having a connection with one of
the pharmacy managers. A good connection can certainly help you, especially if an opportunity to
replace someone presents itself, and the manager calls you to come and talk, before they organize official
interviews and advertise the vacancy.

Polish your old address books, give a call to a few people (former classmates), and see whether they can
hand you a helping hand. If they can help you, great for you! And if they can not, you can still succeed
and get a job–you just need to prepare for your interview, and do it in a right way.

Read the answers to the common questions, practice them (alone or with a friend), try to learn how to
make a good impression on your interviewers, and try to get rid of stress. Many pharmacy graduates are
unemployed, true. But many other get the job–and you can be one of them. I believe you will be one of
them.

===

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/
pharmacy-interview-questions

General questions
These questions are designed to help the interviewer understand your personality and background.

● What subject did you enjoy the most in school? Which did you find the most challenging?
● What are your strengths and weaknesses?
● Where do you see yourself in five years?
● What can you offer us that someone else can’t?
● What are your biggest accomplishments and why are those a big deal for you?
● Describe a situation where you went above and beyond what was expected.
● Tell me about a leadership experience you have had.
● Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague.
● What would you like to accomplish in the first month, 60 days or 90 days on the job?
● What do you like about working with patients?

Related: Interview Question: “Why Should We Hire You?”

Questions about experience and background

These questions help the interviewer evaluate how qualified you are for the pharmacy position.

● Describe a problematic situation that occurred in a pharmacy and how you handled it.
● How do you keep your knowledge up-to-date with current pharmacy trends and new drugs?
● Describe your experience with performing immunizations for patients.
● How do you educate patients in managing their medication?
● What challenges do you encounter on a daily basis?
● Describe a time you simplified complex medical treatment information for a patient.

Related: Follow-Up Email Examples or After the Interview

In-depth questions
These questions are designed to help an interviewer get a more specific understanding of your expertise
and problem-solving skills:

● Give me an example of a time you didn’t meet a patient’s expectations. What happened and how
did you resolve the conflict?
● When you’re working with a larger number of patients, it’s challenging to provide excellent service
to everyone. How would you prioritize their needs?
● Tell me about a time that you had an overwhelming number of responsibilities. What did you do?
● Describe a time you had to use fact-finding skills to solve a problem.
● What would you consider to be a clinically significant interaction between drugs
● How would you grade yourself when it comes to identifying drug-seeking behavior in patients?
Have you encountered this problem and how have you handled it?

Interview questions with sample answers

Here are some common interview questions for pharmacists and suggestions for how to answer them and
sample answers.

Why did you choose a career in pharmacy?

Interviewers ask this question to determine what most attracted you to a specific role within a particular
organization. They also want to gauge your level of passion for helping others.

Make sure your answer captures the role and why you are passionate about the job. The way you answer
this question will determine the tone of the rest of the conversation. Offer a response that shows you
understand the job requirements and are committed to delivering the best performance if hired.

Example: “Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated with the medical profession. But the most interesting
part of the profession is how drugs heal different ailments. This was why I chose pharmacy and I have
been preparing myself for the role for a long time. I believe I am well-equipped to deliver value to
customers and help the pharmacy achieve its goals.”

What do you do if a customer asks about an over-the-counter drug you

don’t know about?

This question is aimed at testing your research skills, communication skills and customer service abilities.
If a customer asks about a drug you’re unfamiliar with, be honest and transparent. Inquire among the
other team members if they are familiar with the medication. If not, tell the customer you will research the
drug and follow up with them when you know more.

Example: “I would inform the customer that I was unfamiliar with the medication but that I would find out
if my colleagues were familiar with it. If they aren’t, I would tell them I would find out more information
about it and let them know as soon as I learned more. I would get their contact information and follow up
within 24 hours.”

How do you handle a situation where a dispute between two technicians is

affecting customer service?

As a pharmacist, your responsibilities include managing technicians and resolving conflicts so that
customer service does not suffer. In your answer, show your conflict resolution skills and ability to lead
people to ensure optimal productivity. A major part of this function requires interpersonal skills, so it’s
important to be comfortable and competent in building rapport among employees.

Example: “I would summon both parties for a meeting before the store opens. I would allow each person
to state their concerns and, together, we would work towards an amicable solution. I would make it clear
to them that they can always approach me if they’re having a difficult time resolving conflicts with a
coworker.”

How do you deal with a customer who comes to the pharmacy with a half-
used bottle of prescription medication and claims it doesn’t work?

Not all patients follow their doctor or pharmacist’s instructions when using prescriptions. In this situation,
you must explain how you would use interpersonal and customer service skills to resolve a conflict to the
satisfaction of a patient. In your answer, empathize with the customer, explain the reasons you think the
medication did not work and if the fault is from your end, offer a refund if that option is available.

Example: “I would ask the patient why they thought the medication failed. If the medicine is a type that
required the full dosage for it to be effective, I would calmly explain to the patient that they needed to
complete the entire amount to see results. However, I would take necessary measures to compensate
the customer if the fault appears to be from the pharmacy.”

What is the most vital business aspect of a pharmacist’s job?

A pharmacy is a for-profit business although the main motive is to provide quality care to patients. The
recruiter asks this question to test your understanding of the business side of a pharmacy. Use this
opportunity to show your knowledge of running a profitable pharmacy, how to attract customers, keep
expenses low and scale the business.

In your answer, show your understanding of other responsibilities of pharmacists such as management,
conflict resolution, logistics, inventory management and customer service. From your response, the hiring
manager can determine whether you will be a good fit for the pharmacy and the level of value you can
add to the business.

Example: “The primary role of a pharmacist is to provide top-quality care for patients and for me that is
the most important aspect of this business. By offering customized care that addresses the unique needs
of each patient, the pharmacy wins their loyalty and transforms them into long-term customers and
advocates of the business.”

Describe a situation when you went out of your way to provide an

exceptional performance

Like every other business, pharmacies thrive by providing top-quality customer service consistently. With
stiff competition in the industry, great pharmacists must be adept at meeting customer needs regardless
of the situation. Your goal should be to exceed customer expectations every time so they don’t even
consider an alternative.

The answer does not have to be about a job since you may be fresh out of college. Narrate a situation
where you went above and beyond to make sure another person was doing well. It may be something you
did for a friend, a former co-worker or a patient at your workplace.

Use this opportunity to show your problem-solving skills and dedication to your duties and responsibilities.
Show the hiring manager that when the situation calls for it, you are ready to go the extra mile. Provide a
relevant real-life example for your response.

Example: “At my former employer, there was a woman who came in every week to pick up her
prescription in a motorized wheelchair. I asked her why she didn’t order the medication to save herself
the stress of coming to the pharmacy. She told me her finances were down and couldn’t afford such a
luxury. When I asked how far she traveled to reach the store, I discovered she was living down the street
from my apartment. So I volunteered to drop off her meds at the doorstep every week at no extra charge.”