There are just over 400k pharmacy technicians in America today and of those over 70% are women. It is a profession that requires training, certification, and expertise. Pharmacy technicians are mainly responsible for preparing prescriptions and supplying them to customers. You may do this in a retail pharmacy or in a hospital or health facility.
To qualify for this position, you must have a medical degree and/or a pharmacy technician certification from an accredited educational institution. Beyond that recruiters will be looking to see a history working in a pharmacy and expertise in medicine.
This guide was developed with leading recruiters in the medical field and includes resume samples, specialized recruiter tips, a list of action verbs, and a list of relevant skills to include.
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A pharmacy technician supports a pharmacist and ensures that the pharmacy is running efficiently. Tasks you can expect include filling prescriptions, answering any questions or concerns from customers, taking inventory of medical stock, etc. You may find yourself working in a retail pharmacy, a pharmacy in a medical center, or at a mail-order pharmacy. For each of these locations, your tasks may slightly differ.
You will not need to show a bachelor’s degree to qualify for this job but you will need to show a pharmacy technician certificate or something similar. Experience in a pharmacy will also be highly preferred. Take a look at this successful resume sample.
There are associations like the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists that you may be a member of, or you may have nationally-recognized pharmacy-related licenses or certificates that you should list clearly on your resume. If you do not have any of the above, consider pursuing one to give you an edge over your competition.
This job has very specific tasks and so you should have very specific skills listed. Make sure you list proficiency in all the main tasks in your hard skills section and make sure you include all industry-standard tools you might use. Make sure these lists are constantly updated as new technologies or tools come out.
As the name suggests, a certified pharmacy technician is licensed or certified by the relevant organization in their state or country. In America, the organization is called the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and you must complete a course and exam to get certified. Ensure that your certification is valid in the place you are applying to and make sure you clearly list your certifications in your resume.
Aside from being certified, recruiters want to see a history of successfully working in pharmacies and a strong and updated skills section.
Most recruiters will use ATS resume filters to narrow down the applicant pool to the most qualified. If they are looking for a certified pharmacy technician, they will likely filter out all resumes without the word ‘certified’ so ensure you write your title appropriately as this applicant has done.
Action verbs are great tools to shape your experience section. For this position, you can use them to indicate the various tasks associated with this job. Useful action verbs include ‘prepared’, ‘verified’, and ‘educated’, among others.
As the name suggests, these professionals work in hospitals. Tasks you can expect include filling prescriptions for all patients (both inpatient and outpatient), ensuring supplies are always well stocked, creating mixtures of medications where needed, etc. Unlike retail pharmacy technicians, you will usually have much less contact with customers or none at all. You are also expected to have a stronger understanding of medicine and prescriptions so a stronger technical skill set would be expected. Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
Metrics make a resume much easier to understand and also help one’s achievements shine through. Use metrics to show your workload capabilities by listing how many reports you prepared or prescriptions you filled in a given time. You can also use metrics to show where you have increased efficiency or reduced waste/costs.
Grab recruiters’ attention from the very beginning of your resume. Because they may not have time to scrutinize the hundreds of resumes they get, it’s advantageous to include impressive achievements and metrics in the introduction section as this applicant has done.
This is a professional just starting their career as a pharmacy technician. Even though this is an entry-level position, you will still be expected to be certified in order to be hired so make sure you are adequately certified in your state or country. You may or may not have any experience in a pharmacy outside of your certification training so focus on including any experience in a related field or any related skills you may have. Take a look at this strong resume sample.
All your competitors will have the minimum certifications needed to work in this profession. If you want to stand up, work on getting additional nationally or globally recognized certifications or licenses. It shows initiative and drive on your part and also indicates to recruiters that you are more trained and knowledgeable in the field than your competitors.
Recruiters need to know you can complete all the tasks assigned to you in this job. Because you may not have a lot of experience to prove this, ensure you list all the tasks you are capable of completing in the hard skills section. Go a step further and make sure all the skills listed in the job post are included on your resume. If there is one you have no experience with, do a crash course in it before adding it to your resume.
As a hiring manager who has recruited pharmacy technicians at companies like Walgreens, CVS Health, and Rite Aid, I've seen countless resumes over the years. The best pharmacy technician resumes effectively showcase the candidate's relevant skills, experience, and qualifications. In this section, we'll provide you with some key tips to help you create a standout resume that will catch the attention of hiring managers in the pharmaceutical industry.
One of the most important things to include on your pharmacy technician resume is your certification. Many states require pharmacy technicians to be certified, and even if it's not required in your state, it's still a valuable credential that can set you apart from other candidates.
When listing your certification, be sure to include:
By prominently displaying your pharmacy technician certification on your resume, you'll show hiring managers that you have the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in the role.
A resume summary is an optional section that highlights your most relevant qualifications for the job you're seeking. While not required, it can be a valuable addition for pharmacy technicians, especially if you have extensive experience or are making a career change. A well-written summary can quickly showcase your key skills and accomplishments, making it easier for hiring managers to see your potential fit for the role.
When crafting your summary, focus on your unique strengths and tailor it to the specific pharmacy technician position you're targeting. Avoid using generic statements or objectives that don't provide any real insight into your capabilities. Instead, use concrete examples and metrics to demonstrate your value and expertise.
The work experience section is the heart of your pharmacy technician resume. It's where you'll detail your relevant experience and accomplishments to show employers you have the skills to excel in the role.
In this section, we'll break down the key steps to write an effective work experience section that will catch the attention of hiring managers and help you land your next pharmacy technician job.
Action verbs are useful tools to frame your experience section. They point to the tasks you have completed and also the skills that are relevant to this position. This position requires you to show both technical skills and experience, and also customer-facing experience. For technical skills, some useful action verbs may include ‘certified’, ‘examined’, and ‘processed.’ Customer-facing action verbs may include ‘educated’, and ‘advised.’
Here is a list of action verbs that we found to be particularly effective for this position.
For more related action verbs, visit Healthcare Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
The skills section helps recruiters see your capabilities and expertise at a glance, so it is very important to create a thought-through and wholesome skills section. As a pharmacy technician, your skills section needs to show a blend of both technical skills and customer-facing skills. More technical skills may include things like dispensing, insurance verification, and patient care, while customer-facing skills may include patient counseling and customer service.
We have compiled a list of skills particularly useful for this position. Feel free to add to your resume those that resonate with your skill set.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Pharmacy Technician job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
