You can see how adding more concise information to each bullet point can clarify your experience and make a big impression.
This example does an excellent job of:
- Detailing their knowledge of pharmacy management systems and their ability to improve efficiency.
- Specifying experience with inventory management software.
- Expressing their knowledge of HIPAA regulations for preparing specialty medications and compounds.
- Highlighting their interpersonal skills and ability to create a positive experience for all customers.
- Including the specific type of certification in the job title.
Later on, we’ll go over the types of experience recruiters like to see from entry-level pharmacy technicians. First, we need to talk more about which metrics you can quantify.
How to quantify impact on your resume
One of the easiest ways to stand out above the hundreds of other resumes HR staff receive for a single position is to include numbers and percentages to detail your job accomplishments. The majority of job seekers don’t quantify their experience, leaving anyone reading the resume with more questions than answers.
Your resume is an introduction to your skills and experience, and you want to do more than just say you have that particular experience.
Writing “Efficiently packaged and labeled medications and streamlined the dispensing process, boosting accuracy rating to 99%” is much more informative than “Effectively packed and labeled medications.”
Here are some examples of how to quantify the most sought-after pharmacy technician metrics:
- Number of prescriptions filled per day: “Filled an average of 80-100 prescriptions per day, with a 100% accuracy rating.”
- The size of inventory managed: “Managed an inventory of 150,000 products using BestRx inventory management system.”
- User ratings with pharmaceutical software: “Calculated medication dosages with 100% accuracy using NexsysADC™ Automated Dispensing Cabinet.”
- Savings achieved through effective inventory management: “Responsible for managing pharmaceutical stock and developed new product tracking strategies that resulted in a $250,000 annual savings.”
- Percentage of error-free prescriptions filled: “Trained and monitored new pharmacy techs on Medacube medication dispensing system, which produced a 99% accuracy rating from all pharmacy technicians.”
- Number of customers assisted each day: “Collaborated with 40 customers per day, handling all inquiries while maintaining a 96% customer satisfaction score.”
- Number of insurance claims processed accurately: “Managed the processing of insurance claims, resulting in a 95% success rate and a 10% reduction in claim processing times.”
- Improvements in patient wait times: “Enacted a new text-message prescription notification system that decreased patient wait time by 30% and increased customer satisfaction by 35%,”
As you can see, you can quantify multiple metrics together and make more of a statement.
Now, let’s turn our attention to those pharmacy techs who are looking for their first job as a technician.
How do I write a pharmacy technician resume with no experience
If you are nervous about applying for your first pharmacy technician job, so is everyone else who once stood on the shores of the First-Timers. You can still apply for a pharmacy technician job even if you don’t have any real-world pharmacy experience.
What kind of work experience do recruiters and HR staff like to see from their first-time pharmacy techs? Focus on those jobs where you have experience in:
- Customer service: Supporting a diverse customer base in person or via phone or telehealth services.
- Research and development: Assisting research scientists in the development of new medications.
- Inventory management: Managing a large inventory of medical supplies, equipment, or medications.
- Technician assistance: Working in a healthcare facility assisting administrative or clinical staff in the care of patients.
- Extracurricular activities: Volunteering at a hospital, mental health treatment center, or senior living community.
If you have a lot of past work experience that you feel relates to a pharmacy technician position, remember to limit the number of jobs you list. You only want to include up to 3 jobs, as any more than that, and you risk going over that two-page limit.
If you feel your resume experience section is lacking, you can make up for it by listing your technical, medical, and interpersonal skills in other resume sections, which we’ll go over in a little bit.
How to list your hard skills and soft skills on your resume
As a pharmacy technician, you have a wide range of hard and soft skills that you rely on to dispense medications, accurately convey medical information, develop compassionate relationships with your customers, and maintain the store inventory.
Hard skills include knowledge of HIPAA regulations, using pharmacy management systems, and developing new medications to help people feel better. You learn these skills through post-secondary education, internships, advanced pharmaceutical training, and real-world experience.
Soft skills are your personal skills and include excellent communication and problem-solving abilites, expressing empathy, adaptability, and cultural sensitivities. You pick up these skills through daily interaction at home, school, work, and play.
Soft skills are equally important as your hard skills, and together, they allow you to be a more efficient and empathetic pharmacy technician.
When it comes to adding your relevant skills, you may have heard a few conflicting stories about adding them and applicant tracking systems. This software looks for keywords entered by HR staff to help them find qualified candidates who have the skills and experience they are looking for.
If the job post states, “Knowledge of Medication Therapy Management,” you want to include those keywords in either the resume experience section, professional statement, or skills section.
Take a look at some of the top hard and soft skills that are the most requested by pharmacies and placement agencies.