The Job Hunt Experience

This pretty much sums it up really..

A Second Farewell

Today was the last day of regular work at my pharmacy, which made it slightly sad. I've been working at Apollo doing the afternoon till evening shifts on Thursdays and Fridays for most of this past year, as well as covering for people when needed. That has seen me work a few Saturday and Sunday afternoons as well.

I guess the farewell wasn't as sad as there was a sense of deja vu, since I had farewelled everyone at the end of my internship last year. They also might call me back to do some work when some of the pharmacists go on holiday in the coming months...that's if I haven't found another job before then!

I will miss working there regularly though. Working three days initially then two days a week worked out OK for me. I admit that working Friday nights meant I'd come late to youth group, but I had gotten used to it and adjusted to it. I actually enjoyed working Thursday and Friday nights with Moses, the intern as you get a bit more freedom and can also test yourself since you have to rely on yourself when you're the only pharmacist in charge there.

I'll miss everyone!

As everyone was leaving around 6pm, they were all saying their goodbyes to me and joking that the next time they see me I'll hopefully have muscles! My manager who has been pushing me to get my full license all year, then reminded me that I still hadn't gotten my full license yet! Oops! Well next time they see me, hopefully I'll have a license and muscles! My manager reckons the license may be easier for me to get than the muscles!

Once I finish my postgraduate study in a months' time, I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with myself till my next job comes about! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the next chapter has in store for me. I have to admit I'm a little apprehensive, seeing as whatever job it may be, it will be the first job I wouldn't hve done my internship at, so it will be a little different. It will be a good challenge for me though, and I guess it will help me grow further as a pharmacist.

Thanks for everything though, Pharmacy@Apollo! I won't forget you guys!

It All Pays off in the End!

I shouldn't be saying this as it might still be a bit premature (I haven't signed a contract yet) but today I got an email informing me that a pharmacy would like to offer me an intern position at their pharmacy for next year!

Last weekend at the university Courses and Careers Day I got told by my friend she had been shortlisted and given a second interview at two pharmacies I had also had interviews at, which was a bit of a confidence killer, as it obviously meant I hadn't been shortlisted and they weren't interested in me.

However, I'm extremely happy about the pharmacy I've been given an internship at, as I won't have to work late nights, public holidays and weekends which means I can continue to teach music on Saturday mornings!

As Hannah Montana says, it's the best of both worlds!

All I've got to do now is make sure I pass all my exams!

Interview Number Two!

I just had my second community pharmacy interview in Helensville! Boy I didn't realise Helensville was that far away from Henderson! I had to get home straight after class (an early morning law workshop which I started to doze off in!) so I could leave early enough to get there.

My dad drove my mum and I to Helensville, which took about 40 minutes. The traffic wasn't actually too bad!

Helensville was quite quiet and it started to rain and hail when we got there! I was a bit early so I waited for a little bit before going in.

The pharmacy looks like a good place to work, as they seem to provide many services! The interview went well (I hope!) and we made the journey back to Henderson.

I'll be finding out next week if they want me to come back in for another interview and a possible trial. Fingers crossed!

When You Keep Getting Knocked Down

I've been being a bit more proactive in looking for an intern position in the past couple days, having emailed four pharmacies my cover letter and CV, and going in to one pharmacy to drop a copy of them off.

I spent the whole afternoon ringing pharmacies around West Auckland however, and out of around 20 pharmacies that I contacted, a few were engaged, while the rest of them said they weren't taking on interns next year! In one phone call to a pharmacy I was in the middle of my question when the pharmacist answered

"No we're not taking interns next year but all the best bye!"

before I could even finish!

It has taken the number of community and hospital pharmacies that I've approached/applied at to around 30 now, and I'm still unsuccessful! It gets quite depressing thinking about it, getting all these rejections. It sorta makes you feel like you're not wanted or that you're not good enough.

Sometimes I think maybe I just won't bother doing an internship next year and it would be so much easier, but I keep telling myself that this is something I need to do and just have to keep trying.

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I was also leading worship (singing) at my youth group tonight. I'm in charge of sorting out who will lead each week, and well...I forgot to tell anyone to do it this week so Aonghas and I just did it ourselves.

I was up in front singing loudly, trying to encourage everyone else to sing, but I could clearly see that very few people were singing! I understand that they are in their younger/teenage years and that they're very self-consciousness and don't want to embarrass themselves, but it is very depressing when they just sit there looking on not even trying, while you've put so much effort into preparing everything for them.

Sometimes I feel like it's all a waste of time and wonder why I bother, but I always try to remind myself just why we do it.

Experience Counts

I probably shouldn't post about my job interview right now for obvious reasons (it will be updated later!), but here's an abbreviated summary of events:

I had my first community pharmacy interview and third pharmacy interview so far this year earlier today. I won't mention which pharmacy for now for certain reasons! Boy did that interview feel like it went by fast! I think in the end it lasted the whole of ~20 minutes. I didn't get asked too many questions but hopefully he was interested in me!

Rejections Rejections Rejections

Last night one of the pharmacists from Hutt Valley Hospital Pharmacy tried calling me but I missed the call, so I rang them back today when I got back from the city (I've finally rid myself of that hospital pharmacy placement workbook...for now!) and they told me I was unsuccessful in getting the intern position at their hospital next year.

I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it would have been nice for someone to have finally picked me over others for a job, and it would be a whole new experience for me to move out of Auckland, live on my own and meet heaps of new people. On the other hand though, I'm relieved I won't have to move away from Auckland.

Where does it leave me now though? Still struggling to find somewhere to do my internship next year! I have one interview at a community pharmacy lined up for Monday. Hopefully it won't go too badly, as I'm fast running out of places to apply at!

I started thinking about what I'd do if I can't get an internship next year (I have two years to do my internship after I graduate, so I guess the worst case scenario would be that I would have to do it in 2012!), and I was thinking maybe I could go back to uni to study post-grad (if they let me!), travel overseas to visit my friends in America or just get a full-time job for a year! Who knows. Right now I guess I just have to keep looking. Oh, and pass this semester!

Update on the Job Hunt

So here are my current stats on my search for a pharmacy intern job for next year:


Job Applications: 9 (Hospital 8, Community 1)
Rejections: 6
Interviews: 3 
Interview Rejections: 1
Interviews Haven't Heard Back From: 1


And I now have another community pharmacy interview this coming Monday so hopefully all goes well!