Questions You Should Be Asking Potential Pharmacists

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If you’re interviewing pharmacists, you have limited opportunities to speak with candidates and identify top professionals for your pharmacy. What kinds of questions should you ask to help you get it right?

Determine Competency and Soft Skills

Degrees, certifications, and skills are essential in performing certain job duties. Specific, competency-based interview questions are critical in finding the right candidate. But remember, soft skills are important too. The interaction between pharmacy staff and patients has a significant impact on customer loyalty.

To help you get started, consider the six interview questions below and what to look for as each pharmacist candidate responds:

1.     Tell me about your three most recent positions and what caused you to look for new opportunities.

·         Obtain key details about duties and experience

·         Listen for complaints about management

·         Determine if the candidate is indecisive about their career path

·         Learn if the candidate’s job changes indicate a desire for challenging opportunities

2.     Describe two of your most significant accomplishments and the impact they made.

• Learn about the candidate’s values

• Find out if they are is a team player

• Determine if the candidate is goal-oriented

3.     How would your previous two or three managers rate your performance? What would they say are your strengths and areas for improvement?

·         Listen for honesty

·         Determine if the candidate is open to constructive criticism

·         Learn if they are self-motivated to make improvements

4.     Tell me about a time when a prescribed medication wasn’t appropriate for a particular patient. How did you resolve the issue?

·         Learn how the candidate resolves conflict

·         Gain insight into their interpersonal skills

·         Listen for clues about their ability to handle an issue without alarming a patient

5.     Describe a situation when there was an unexpected event in the pharmacy. How was it handled? How were you involved?

·         Listen for details about how the team was affected and if the candidate is a team player

·         Learn if safety protocol was followed

·         Take note of actions that demonstrate leadership skills

·         Discern if the potential pharmacist is customer-service conscious

6.     Describe a time when you had to speak with a customer who was very upset or angry. What triggered the reaction, and how did you respond to the customer?

·         Learn about the candidate’s customer service and communication skills

·         Find out how they react to pressure

·         Listen for clues about the pharmacist’s level of compassion for patients

As you prepare your interview questions, think about common occurrences in your pharmacy, and use them in the questions to help you find the right candidate.     

Access to Qualified Pharmacy Candidates

At WSi Healthcare Personnel, we’ve established screening and interview processes to help us quickly identify candidates who match the needs of your pharmacy. Contact us to learn more about our staffing solutions.

Interviewing Candidates for Reliability

Reliability in the workplace is important for every business. How can you interview job candidates for reliability and learn about their work ethic before you make an offer? Below are five questions to ask every candidate.

Questions to Determine Reliability        

The examples below provide a basis for interview questions that help determine a candidate’s reliability. You can adapt the questions or create new ones to match your business needs. Beneath each question is types of responses that can reveal a positive, or a problematic, work ethic.

What convinced you to leave your last job or look for a new one?

Positive Responses

• Provide examples of successes and accomplishments

• Include expressions of satisfaction from completing projects and readiness for a new challenge

• Provide details about what the candidate liked about the position

Problematic Responses

• Include complaints of low pay

• Express boredom at work

• Complain about management

Give an example of a time when you went out of your way to resolve an issue at work. What were the results, and who benefited from them?

Positive Responses

• Provide details

• Clearly state results

• Relate tangible benefits

Problematic Responses

• Avoid giving an example

• Are generic

• Include complaints about management

Describe a time when you missed a deadline or failed to follow through. Who was affected? How did you correct the situation? What did you do to help prevent it from happening in the future?

Positive Responses

• Provide details of a missed deadline

• Acknowledge how the candidate was at fault

• Give a clear indication of what the candidate learned and how they worked toward improvement

Problematic Responses

• “I always leave on time. I can only do so much in a day.”

• Place the blame on someone else

Before you say your work is finished, what do you do to ensure you’ve done your best?

Positive Responses

• Reveal the candidate has a system to review work and catch errors

• Express willingness to spend extra time to ensure work is correct

• Indicate willingness to ask for assistance when needed

Problematic Responses

• Include complaints about processes and the inability, or lack of time, to check work

• Express over-confidence

• Reveal a “nobody else cares, so I don’t care” attitude

Tell me about a time you had to follow directions or guidelines that you didn’t agree with.

Positive Responses

• Show directions were followed

• Indicate suggestions for improvement were offered later

• Reveal a positive attitude was maintained

Problematic Responses

• Imply directions were ignored or bypassed

• Give evidence of anger or frustration

• Include negative comments about guidelines or the management team

Experts at Finding Reliable Staff

Screening and interviewing job candidates—and asking the right questions to reveal a person’s reliability—take a lot of effort. At WSi, we understand the details that matter in finding top talent to meet your business requirements and respect your work culture. Contact us today for expert assistance in finding the right staff.