Your Career Guide

8/13/2019 Your Career Guide

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This guide will give you a brief idea about dealing with an interview effectively and intelligently.

There are 04 sections of this document;

1 CV and cover letter

2 Types and Formats of Interview

3 Interview specificities for Pharmacist

4 Closing and Interview and Follow up

1 CV & COVER LETTER

Let me begin with highlighting the importance of a good and catchy CV. This is your first impression and most of us believe 1st impression is the last impression.

An effective CV should be efficient enough to describe your professional aspirations, your qualifications, job experiences, achievements, interests, strengths and a glimpse of your personal information (age,

gender, contact number, contact address etc).

The formatting

of

your

CV

is

as

important

as

the

contents

in

its.

A

well

designed,

nicely

structured

CV

with reasonable simple font type and size is easy for reading by the employer and creates a health

impression. Extra large fonts, unnecessary bold, colored text, pictograms, logos, Italic fonts are difficult

to read and more likely to bother the reviewer and will reduce the chances of your interview call.

Cover letter is like the lifeline to your CV. An impressive CV plus a nicely written customized Cover letter for a particular job makes you stand out of the crowd and ensures interview call.

It is critical to draft a customized cover letter and to amend your CV for a specific type of job. Sending

the same generic CV and cover letter will have no impact and will reduce your chances of getting employment.

Spelling errors are venoms for your CV. Try using simplest language and error free typing. Always give a comprehensive review to your CV before sending it for a job.

If you are not sure how to create an impressive CV please ask your seniors. They might be in a better

position to help you in this.


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2 Types and Formats of Interview

This section will describe different types of Interviews and the tips to tackle each. Experts divide interviews in 8 basic types;

The text this section is taken from following link

http://www.success.uwo.ca/careers/prepare_for_interviews/types_of_interviews.html

Interview Types

Screening Interview Telephone Interview Video Conferencing One on One Interview Panel Interview Group Interview General Group Interview/Information Session Sequential/Serial Interview

Interview Formats

Behavioural Interview Situational Interview Structured Interview Unstructured Interview Semi Structured Interview

Case Interview Testing/Assessment


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2.1 Interview Types

Screening Interview

This type of interview is generally conducted by larger companies when there is a large applicant pool and is typically the first phase of selection. Screening interviews are used to ensure that the candidates meet minimum requirements and are often conducted by a computer or by an interviewer from the human resources department who is skilled at determining whether there is anything that might disqualify you from the position.

Tips: Highlight your qualifications and accomplishments using non technical language the HR

professional is not necessarily an expert in your field.

Answer questions clearly and succinctly personality is not as important at this stage of the process.

If asked about salary expectations, use a range make sure youve done your homework in

this area. If conducted by phone, have your resume beside you to refer to for dates and names.

Telephone Interview

Telephone interviews are often used to screen candidates in order to narrow the pool of applicants who will be invited for inperson interviews and is a good way to minimize travel expenses! They can be challenging because you arent able to rely on nonverbal communication or body language. You should prepare for this type of interview just as you would for a regular interview so, if you are not given any warning and are not ready for an interview when called, politely request that the interviewer call back at another mutually convenient time. This will allow you to refresh your memory on the

organization and

be

better

prepared.

Tips: Have your resume, organization information, points that you want to highlight, and list of

questions you may want to ask in front of you and have a short list of your accomplishments prepared to discuss.

Although youre not required to dress up, you may find that its easier to get into the interview mindset and feel more confident when dressed professionally.

Have a pen and paper handy to keep notes or write down any questions that come up; keep a glass of water beside you.

Close the door or ensure you are in a quiet setting to eliminate any potential distractions.

Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and vary your voice tone, tempo, and pitch to keep the interviewers attention.

Provide short answers that make interchange easier on the phone; do not interrupt the interviewer.


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Restate the question if you have not fully heard or understood it.

Smile even on the phone it will project a positive image.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is typically used to conduct interviews using video technology from a distance. The same interview strategies you would use if you were meeting in person apply clothing, body

language, and

dialogue

are

important.

Tips: Depending on the sophistication of the technology, you may experience short transmission

delays so be sure to take that into account when you are interacting with the interviewer.

Make eye contact with the camera, which, to the employer, appears as direct eye contact.

Check the monitor periodically to observe the interviewers body language.

One on One Interview

The most common interview format is the one on one (or face to face). This interview is traditionally conducted by a direct supervisor and if often the last step in a series of interviews. The interviewer may or may not be experienced in conducting interviews and, depending on personality and experience, the interview may be directive following a clear agenda, or non directive relying on you to lead the discussion as you answer open ended questions.

Tips: You will likely be asked a variety of interview questions, so be familiar with all of the

different types of questions so that you can adjust your answers appropriately.

It is important to be thoroughly prepared know the job and know yourself.

Panel Interview

A panel interview is conducted by two or more interviewers and is designed to reduce individual interviewer bias. It is very common for entrance into graduate and professional schools. One member of the panel may ask all of the questions or individual panel member may take turns.

Tips:

Make eye contact with the person asking the questions, but also to give every member on the panel your attention, regardless of if they ask any questions at all treat them all with equal importance.

Be prepared to extend more energy in this setting, as you need to be alert and responding

to more people

Group Interview

A group interview occurs when several candidates for a position are interviewed simultaneously. Group interviews offer employers a sense of your leadership potential and style, and provide a glimpse of what you may actually be like as an employee and how you would fit into the team. Candidates may also be asked to solve a problem together which allows interviewers to assess candidates skills in action (e.g. teamwork).


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Tips:

Be aware of the dynamics established by the interviewer, try to discover the rules of the game.

Regardless of how you may feel about any member of the group, treat everyone with respect, and avoid power struggles which make you appear uncooperative.

Give

everyone

a chance

to

speak

and

not

monopolize

the

conversation.

Be aware that all interactions are being observed; dont let down your guard or lose your perspective.

General Group Interview/Information Session

This approach is intended to save time and ensure applicants understand the basics of the job and organization by providing large amounts of information. This process is usually followed by an individual interview.

Tip:

To stand out in a group setting, a well timed and intelligent question may help the employer remember you positively.

Sequential/Serial Interview

A sequential interview is conducted by two or more interviewers, separately or in sequence. The candidate either moves from one location to another or stays in one room and while different interviewers join them. Sequential interviews involve a number of first impression opportunities so get aware of how you present yourself each time. At the end of the process, the interviewers meet to evaluate each applicant and make their decision.

Tip:

If you have difficulties remembering what you have already said to one person dont be afraid to ask!

2.2 Interview Formats

Behavioural Interview

The Interviewer will ask for specific examples from your past experiences to determine if you can provide evidence of your skills in a certain area the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. Although the interviewer is having you recount stories from your past, they are really trying

to imagine

how

you

would

handle

similar

situations

in

the

future.

When deciding what examples from your past to use, consider the following:

The more recent the behaviour, the better its predictive power.

The more long lasting the behaviour, the better its predictive power.


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Prepare yourself for the probable skill areas the employer will be interested in and will, therefore, likely be asked about in the interview. Determine this by reviewing the job description.

Situational Interview

This format is highly structured in that hypothetical situations are described and applicants are asked to explain what they would do in these situations. Interviewers may use a scoring guide consisting of

sample answers to evaluate and score each applicants answers.

Structured Interview

This format combines the situational interview with a variety of other types of interview questions. Typically, each candidate is asked the same set of questions and their answers are compared to a scoring guide and rated. The goal of this approach is to reduce interviewer bias and to help make an objective decision about the best candidate.

Unstructured Interview

Questions here are based on the individuals application documents such as their rsum and so different variants of a question will be asked to each applicant. Without structured guidelines, the

conversation can be free flowing, thus making this method of interviewing the most prone to bias, but allowing the interviewer to get a more natural and perhaps more realistic sense of who you are. Although this type of interview may seem more casual, and may even occur over lunch or dinner, you must still be well prepared and maintain a professional demeanor. Be careful not to provide information you would not have communicated if the interview was more structured.

Semi Structured Interview

This format is a blend of structured and unstructured, where the interviewer will ask a small list of similar questions to all candidates along with some questions pertaining to your resume.

Case Interview

The case interview format is popular among consulting firms. It gives the interviewer a good idea of you ability to solve problems on the spot an important skill for any consultant. This interview format is also designed to assess logical thought processes, quantitative skills, business knowledge, general knowledge, creativity, and communication skills.

Testing/Assessment

It is common for employers to use standardized tests or work simulation exercises to assess a candidates fit to the position or to test work related competencies. Testing is usually done after an initial screening process and can be a very costly process for the employer.


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3 INTERVIEW SPECIFICITIES FOR PHARMACISTS

A Pharmacist interview could merely be specific depending on the nature of the job he/she is applying

for. On the other hands the dynamics of Pharmacy field makes it quite difficult to cover all the aspects of

our profession in one two sittings. Thus we can expect the interview being taken from a Pharmacist

could be or couldnt be specific.

Simplifying the myths, I divide the interview into three basic elements;

3.1 Personal evaluation

3.2 Professional evaluation 3.3 Career aspirations

3.1 Personal evaluation

Many of us start our interview by answering a general question Tell me about you? The simplest the

question is the complicated the answer could be. The interviewer intends to estimate your personality in one answer (no matter how short or how long you take to describe yourself).

TIPS; speak slowly and gently, not being too loud, not being too low. The best point to start is your

graduation degree (example, I started my professional Academics from XYZ university in year XXXX and

this was a XX years program. I earned XYZ grades and then started looking for the opportunities in the

market for me.

You can also give a brief about the healthy extracurricular activities you were involved in. like faculty

magazine, sports, national day, volunteer ship etc BE SPECIFIC, PRECISE, and ONLY TELL the BOTTOM

LINE.

The interviewer might ask any question in between what you have described above or simply he can

jump to another question. BE PREPARED FOR BOTH SCENARIOS.

Expect some more personal questions, like religion, ethnic group, marital status, family structure and lifestyle etc. Prepare yourself well to be as precise as possible.

This evaluation (either towards the beginning or the end of the session) will allow your

recruiter/employer to analyze how much you fit into the organization in general. This is simple but tricky. Prepare what to say and what not to say.

This session also allows the employer to determine how much you are open for discussion, how bold and confident you are in sharing information and how much easy you are in talking and during conversations. 50% of employers take the decision to hire you during this session only.

Effective communication skill is the key to get hired.


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3.2 Professional evaluation

This is the main part of your interview. You will be analyzed how much professionally you fit into the

role they are This is the real technical part. So prepare very well. Expect the questions related to your field or the fields you have already worked for.

PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION

HOSPITAL

PHARMACIST

JOB

A hospital Pharmacist is most likely to be asked questions related to the Pharmacy practices in a hospital environment.

What is the difference between Hospital Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy?

What role you expect to play in Hospital Pharmacy? How a pharmacy set up works in Hospital?

What is Hospital Formulary and how it is controlled? Why it is always separate counters for Inpatient and out patient dealing?

How you handle a prescription?

Some drugs

names

and

classification

and

pharmacology.

Generally

antibiotics

are

the

focus

of

such

questions but you could be asked any class, so prepare a little extra.

Dose calculation. This is the most important part. I hope you are preparing it well for your interview. Are you flexible in working in evening/night shifts?

Drug DrugFood interactions & related precautions.

General precautions while dispensing medicine.

Patient counseling.

PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION INDUSTRIAL PHARMACIST JOB

What is a drug and what is a medicine?

What is HPLC and how it works? What is Spectrophotometer and how it works? What is bulk density and true density?

What is an active Pharmaceutical ingredient? Describe dissolution, disintegration tests.

How many types of granulation processes are there for tablet manufacturing?

Sterile products and Sterile Area classification. Autoclaving.

Capsule types and uses. E.g. Hard Gelatin Capsule, Soft Gelatin Capsule etc

What is Quality Control and what is Quality Assurance?

Handling of Quality Documentation, change control, CAPA, deviation, SOPs etc

PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION SALES JOB What is sales job? How it is different than marketing one?

How you deal with doctors and their assistants?

What is the most effective professional way in your opinion to convince a practitioner to prescribe your medicine?


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How you deal with difficult costumer?

You might be asked to grab a broacher and try selling the product to the interviewer. I was asked exactly

the same. How open are you talking with strangers?

What are your presentation skills?

PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION MARKETING JOB

What is a market/business plan and have you ever prepared one? What is SWOT model? What are different approaches to access the market?

Have you ever created a marketing material?

What is market insight? How you support sales team with your marketing work? Share with us any presentation you have prepared for your current/previous company.

PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION REGULATORY AFFAIRS JOB

How many files you have submitted so far? How many approved? What is your understanding of regulatory landscape of the country/region/global? ICH guidelines. CTD dossier compliation.

SUPAC guidelines.

What is FDA and EMA and what is WHO? What are the regulations for a particular class of products (example Pharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare product, cosmetic)

Stability studies and ICH zones of the world. Which zone your country/region falls in?

Artworks development process and your exposure.

Authority/Internal audits

and

your

participation/exposure.

Quality documentation. Change Control/ CAPA/ Deviation / SOP etc

3.3. Career Aspirations

Most of the times we are asked towards the end of the interview to share our career aspirations.

Following are some general examples for this part;

Where we wanted to be after 5 years? What is the parameter of success in our eyes? How you get motivated? When you feel you are de motivated?

What package and perks you expect for this role?

How soon you can join us?


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Why do you want this job?

Why are you the best person for the job?

What relevant experience do you have? Why are you interested in working for this company?

What can you contribute to this company?

What do you know about this company?

What challenges are you looking for in a position?

Why do you want to work for this company? Why should we hire you?

4 CLOSING AND INTERVIEW AND FOLLOW UP

Closing an interview is another point where most of the candidates failed. Trust me this is the last

chance for you to ensure the interviewer you could be the right selection for this role.

While finishing interview dont show extra happiness or vice versa. Stay formal and thank the

interviewer for his time. Shaking hand also creates a good impression.

Follow up/Thank you email will not only give you another lifeline but will also allow you to show the employer about your business writing skills.

A nicely drafted thank you/follow up email will make you stand out of the crowd and thus your CV will reach directly to the inbox of the interviewer..once again this time after you have met him

Try writing something about yourself you didnt tell during the interview. For example a Regulatory affairs candidate in his follow up email can describe his Pharmacovigilance experience or IT skills etc.

ALL THE BEST

Muhammad Waqas Sial Dubai UAE

Documents

Your Career Guide