Pharmacy CV Example

Searching for a new pharmacist role means preparing an updated pharmacy CV to reflect your skills and in-depth knowledge of medication usage and patient care.

Use these four tips to create an effective pharmacist CV that presents you as a qualified health care professional and gives you the best chance of landing an interview.

1. Format your pharmacist CV correctly

Employers seek detail-oriented and organized pharmacists, so show you have these qualities by formatting your CV effectively.

Here are some ways to optimize your pharmacist CV:

1. Follow the reverse chronological CV format that displays your most recent experiences first (based on the dates you held a position). Employers are accustomed to the reverse-chronological format for job seekers because it’s easy to read and follows a logical structure.

2. Structure your CV pages wisely by using 1″ to ½″ margins on all sides. Additionally, take out experiences that aren’t pharmacy-related. For instance, it’s unnecessary to include your makeup artistry online course on your pharmacist CV unless you’re applying to a pharmaceutical company that works closely with cosmetics.

3. Use bullet points to highlight your work history. Bullet points help employers follow your experiences easily. Use 4–6 bullet points under each role and write your best CV accomplishments and experiences at the top so hiring managers see them first.

4. Write your pharmacy CV using a professional font such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Georgia and keep your font size 10.5–12 points so employers won’t strain their eyes when reading your CV.

2. Use descriptive headings on your pharmacist CV

Because pharmacist CVs are lengthier than typical pharmacy resumes, writing an appropriate heading for each CV section is important.

Labeling each CV header correctly helps to:

• organize your relevant work experience so employers can scan your job history easily
• label other essential sections of your CV that provide context for hiring managers (such as your contact information or education details)
• tailor your pharmacist CV to the company’s exact requirements

CVs require at least five essential headings. These are the basic headings to include on a job-seeking CV:

Basic headings for a job-seeking CV

• Contact information
• CV objective (such as a qualifications summary)
• Experience section
• Skills section
• Education section

But if you’re writing a pharmacist CV, you need to include a more detailed account of your work history by adding more descriptive headings for each section.

For instance, pharmacists are trained professionals — so list your relevant certifications and credentials to show you’re a qualified pharmacist under a heading like “Specialized Training and Certifications.”

Here’s a list of key CV headings for your pharmacy CV:

Industry-related headings for a pharmacy CV

• Awards and scholarships
• Conferences
• Language skills
• Presentations
• Professional associations
• Research experience
• Specialized training and certifications

Finally, create CV sections that cater to your strengths and match what the company is looking for. 

For example, if you’re applying for a research position at a university that requires working in a lab, include headers called “University Leadership” and “Lab Based Research Experience.”

Have a look at these detailed CV headings for your pharmacist CV (and pick the ones that suit the role you’re applying for):

Descriptive headings for a pharmacist CV

• Clinical experience
• Clinical trials training
• Community service and leadership 
• Health policy experience
• Medical software experience
• Outreach and education experience
• Project management experience
• Public health experience
• Teaching and curriculum experience
• Teaching and mentorship experience

3. Highlight your work experience with hard numbers

Employers seek pharmacist applicants with a range of work, clinical, non-clinical, internship, and volunteer experience, so highlight these experiences by using hard numbers.

Hard numbers quantify your experiences and provide context for hiring managers so they can clearly understand what tasks you completed as a pharmacist.

So include percentages, the number of patients, colleagues, or customers you worked with, and impressive results-driven data (like sales volumes and productivity levels) related to your position.

In addition, hard numbers are impactful because they show the scope of your pharmacy expertise and CV achievements — which helps make your CV stand out from other applicants.

For instance, we’ve bolded the hard numbers from our pharmacist CV example:

• Received and documented 50–200 written and phone inquiries per week from patients, patients’ families, and their health care providers about patients’ products
• Conducted medication counseling and advice on drug safety precautions as well as health and well-being during COVID-19 to 350+ patients per month
• Reviewed 30+ documents per day including project contracts, SOPs, and other internal paperwork and introduced a new filing procedure in May 2021 that increased work productivity by 90%

4. List your industry-specific hard and soft skills

Your CV skills section communicates to employers what qualifications and personality traits you bring to the position, so optimize your CV to include your hard and soft skills.

First, include your hard skills — skills learned from schooling, training, or on-the-job experience.

For instance, trained pharmacists have a wide range of technical skills such as advanced drug knowledge, drug therapy, and patient counseling.

Additionally, mention your computer skills and database management skills to convey that you can operate different databases (and pick up on training quickly).

While your pharmacy degree and certifications prove you’ve received a formal university education, listing these skills visibly on your CV shows hiring managers you have the exact qualifications they’re looking for in a pharmacist.

Mention these hard skills on your pharmacy CV:

By contrast, soft skills give hiring managers an idea of who you are by revealing some of your professional qualities, personality, and work ethic.

For example, pharmacists provide an essential public service, so having exceptional customer skills and people skills when dealing with customers and colleagues is a must.

Being observant and paying close attention to detail is also crucial. Patients rely on you for accurate medical knowledge — as even a small error could put someone’s health at risk.

Finally, list your management skills and leadership skills if you have experience managing a team of pharmacists or are looking for opportunities beyond your current role.

Here are more pharmacist soft skills when adding key skills for your CV: