Some of us don't really know how to get a placement job aka internship (but we don't call it internship anyway) in a pharmacy because:-
1. pharmacies aren't looking for short term staffs
2. we are inexperience (as students)
3. etc
definitely not because we're incapable.
i went through that too. i tried asking many pharmacies for a placement job (min 2 weeks to 2 months) from the unknown ones to the big ones like Caring, Watsons, Guardian.
'cause i didn't have a long break, & for my uni, our break will last max 1 month, which included 2 weeks of happy break, then it's either you get another 2 weeks of happy break / 2 weeks of sad break.
why sad break, because you might fail a paper or something & you gotta retake, which is in the final week of the break. so yeah, i could only ask for 2 weeks just in case.
anyway back to how. my guide is how to get into a *big* pharmacy :) & there's only 1 question to this;
1. how to apply / ask as many pharmacies as you can & get the job?
1.1 do not bother if you might get the job or not. it is always okay to reject a job offer if you have others rather than not have a job offer at all. i know, i sound mean when it comes to rejecting job offers but how sure are you that you are getting 1 to start with?
1.2 widen your location preference. i know, some place might be far, & transport might be the issue, etc. so yeah, try getting somewhere as near as where you live but not that near as well? let's say if you stay in Taman Connaught Cheras, try lookin' somewhere in Taman Connaught community pharmacies, areas near Leisure Mall, Shamelin, or Maluri? widen your location preference & you might get picked by your boss, sitting in his / her pharmacy anywhere :)
1.3 try to work as long as you can because chain pharmacies normally have a lot of work to do, that's why they prefer long term staffs as they don't need to keep on *teaching* new staffs. so for a maybe 1 month break, try working for all the weeks? if time permits you to do so. (if you're boss, & A & B comes in at the same time asking for a job & A says that he plans to work for a short time approx 1 month & B says he plans to work for approx 1 yr, which one will you pick? & there's only 1 vacancy left)
1.4 try applying way beforehand. let's say if you wanna start working the next week, so sorry to say you're a little too late. if you wanna start working next week, it's best if you ask / apply waaaaaay few months ahead. (i applied in December when I wanted to work in March) also, just in case if you didn't get the job, you can look further elsewhere :)
1.4.1 step into any pharmacy & ask verbally if they have any vacancies. don't forget to mention that you're a student looking for a job placement & you're looking to gain experience. oh yeah say that you're looking to work for long term instead of short term :) - what i meant is, not full time staff but you'll come back whenever you're free.
1.4.2 friend's recommendation. look for friends who have a job in the local pharmacy & ask if they can *get* you into the pharmacy to work as well. some of the pharmacies they work in might have vacancies & can definitely fit you in! then walla, you get it!
1.4.3 email them! look for their email on google & send them basic resumes. as usual, mention you're a student, which semester, which year. how long you'll be working, location preferences & that you'll be looking forward to their email / replies.
1.4.3.1 basic resume. name, contact number, address, past schools (from primary to present, include years as well), past work experience (if any, include your position & how long you worked for).
1.5 meanwhile waiting for *big* pharmacies' reply, try looking around your housing area's pharmacies as well, just in case.
1.6 do not bother about the pay. as you & i both know, experience credit hours > money when it comes to this :) especially you people who plan to do pre-registration in UK, working experience is important! & if money > experience, i suggest you to look around http://asiaparttime.com
for me, it was all about Caring / Watsons / Guardian so i was praying hard i could get any of the job from either 1 of the pharmacies.
my story: i started applying in December although I planned to email them in November, 'cause well, just in case i couldn't get any of the jobs I would look around to get 1 later. thank God i had 3 replies, & they came in within a month-ish (was it within 2 months? O_O it was quite long if i didn't remember it wrongly). oh i got 3 replies within the same week as well. i had 3 job offers but Caring was my first choice. Guardian emailed me that they could accept me for both 2 weeks & 2 months job first. then a day or 2 after that, Watsons gave me a call saying they could only offer me the 2 months job only. then, Caring emailed me saying that i could walk in anytime for a job briefing a day after Watsons' call :D so well, the job acceptance was obvious :) i couldn't thank God more than ever. oh yes what made me even happier was i got a job from my first pharmacy choice, & also in the location that i wanted to work at!
P/S you might / might not get the job because of the location, etc. so don't scold me if you don't get a job alright. i applied to a pharmacy which is placed in the golden triangle of KL, so it might be slightly different? i even surveyed the pharmacy if they have enough staffs before applying :)
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