Pharmacist Cover Letter

Pharmacist Cover Letter (With Examples)

Whether you’re young or old, male or female, depressed or diabetic, odds are you’ve been prescribed an important medication or two at least a few times in your life. In many instances, this medication can be lifesaving, so careful and skilled preparation is a vital part of any prescription.

Fortunately, pharmacists are highly qualified, knowledgeable professionals who specialize in preparing and dispensing medications. However, if you’re thinking of becoming one, just remember that countless people rely on this job for their health and safety, so the bar for entry will be understandably high.

Luckily, including a professional, passionate cover letter that highlights your skills and qualifications can be a great way to elevate your resume.

As a pharmacist, your cover letter can allow you to outline your most relevant achievements and demonstrate why you have the skills to handle controlled medications. Overall, a professional cover letter can allow you to stand out amongst other qualified candidates.

In this article, we’ll discuss what makes a pharmacist's cover letter successful, as well as provide professional tips and examples.

Crucial Parts of a Pharmacist Cover Letter

As a pharmacist, you’ll want to convey your experience communicating with customers, handling controlled medications, and overseeing a safe and organized work environment.

For this position, having a relevant college education, applicable licensing, and industry knowledge is vital for any application. After all, many people rely on controlled medications to live, so avoiding mistakes in the workplace is essential.

Luckily, a well-written cover letter allows you to show off these qualifications by briefly explaining why you’re the right person for the position.

Overall, you should do your best to include as many relevant details as possible, while also keeping your letter relatively brief. To keep your letter focused, here are some important traits to keep in mind:

• Relevant education. Being a successful pharmacist requires extensive experience with medications and various chemicals.

  For example, without the proper education and training, a pharmacist might not immediately recognize the dangers of mixing Warfarin and Ibuprofen, or antidepressants and painkillers.

  Having the proper education will not only increase your chances of being hired but will also ensure a safe workplace.

• Organization. Distributing the right medications to hundreds of customers requires adept organizational skills. To ensure that medications are easy to locate and delivered to the right person, pharmacists need to know how to stay organized.

• Communication and compassion. Given the number of people who need important medications, pharmacists must be able to communicate effectively and compassionately with customers.

  For instance, if a customer approached the counter claiming that they received the wrong medications, a good pharmacist would be able to resolve the situation.

• Attention to detail. Having attention to detail can help pharmacists avoid making mistakes in the workplace, and allow them to remember important information about individual medications.

• Safety. When it comes to controlled substances, safety always has to be a priority. Pharmacists need to be aware of industry protocols to ensure that medication is received and distributed correctly.

Structurally speaking, your letter also requires a few vital components. After all, wowing a potential employer isn’t very useful if they don’t know how to contact you. In general, your letter should include:

• Your contact information

• The company’s contact information

• An introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion (typically 3 small paragraphs)

• Letter formatting (e.g. Beginning with Dear “employer’s name”, and concluded with Sincerely, “your name”)

Pharmacist Cover Letter Opening

For the sake of professionalism, a cover letter should have your contact information at the top of the page and properly address the potential employer. This formatting is standard for cover letters and ensures that your employer will have your information.

Here is an example of how to write this information on a cover letter:

Now that you know how to properly address your letter, it is vital that you nail your opening paragraph, especially considering that the average employer spends less than 10 seconds reading your application. It is crucial to open strong and leave a memorable impression.

In the case of a pharmacist application, showcasing your most valuable experience satisfying customers, handling controlled medications, and overseeing a safe work environment can be a worthwhile way to start your cover letter.

For instance, if you’ve worked in the industry for several years, or processed a significant amount of prescriptions, you might want to start strong with that information.

Here’s an example of an eye-catching introduction:

Stating a meaningful accomplishment in your opening paragraph shows the employer that you have the hard skills to succeed in your field. However, even if you have a minimal amount of experience, and are applying at entry-level, you should still try to start with a noteworthy accomplishment related to your education or customer service skills.

Pharmacist Cover Letter Body

Though your opening paragraph plays a crucial role in catching an employer’s attention, your body paragraph needs to show why you’re a qualified candidate. Typically, one of the best ways to show your passion for the field is by outlining your knowledge and experience.

Additionally, you should try to do some research on the pharmacy you applied to, so you further express your interest in the position.

Though, keep in mind that while it’s important to outline your experience, you’ll also want to keep things brief. This ensures that you’ll be able to retain the employer’s attention. For instance, include a few bullet notes that list your accomplishments, so the information is for the employer to digest.

Here is an example of an effective body paragraph:

Pharmacist Cover Letter Closing Lines

Now that you’ve effectively reeled your employer in, it's important to end your cover letter strong and use your words to mobilize them. After all, you want them to contact you!

Here’s a good example of how to end your cover letter:

Example of a Pharmacist Cover Letter

Additional Tips

Though writing a competitive cover letter can feel overwhelming, here are some additional tips to aid your writing:

• Open strong. To keep an employer hooked and ensure that they read about your most important qualifications, it’s vital to have a strong opening.

  Try to use your most impressive pharmacy-related accomplishment to do so, but even if you’re inexperienced, you can mention accomplishments related to your education or previous jobs.

• Keep it brief. As tempting as it is, you don’t want to overindulge and include far too much information in your cover letter.

  Always keep in mind that employers will be more likely to retain information when they can skim and still pick out all the important details. Ideally, your cover letter shouldn’t exceed 250 words.

• Appear experienced and educated. Being a pharmacist requires extensive education and knowledge of controlled medications.

  Therefore, you should include the most relevant parts of your education history in your cover letter, as well as draw from your current knowledge of medications, prescriptions, and state laws.

• Show confidence and enthusiasm. You wouldn’t be applying for a pharmacist job if you didn’t have the experience, skills, and qualifications needed. Being confident and enthusiastic shows the potential employer you know how to work with people and controlled medications.