G E T M O R E C A R E E R R E S O U R C E S AT C A R E E R S . P H A R M A C Y. U F L .

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A definitive list of interview questions

Accomplishments
• What do you consider to be your most important idea or suggestion that your current
employer implemented?
• Tell me about an award or recognition certificate you have received.
• Tell me about your most satisfying accomplishment in life.
• Tell me about your most satisfying accomplishment as a pharmacist [pharmacy
student, technician].
• Tell me how you supported your present or past employer in reaching a departmental
goal.
• Tell me about a quantifiable outcome from one of your efforts at work.
• Describe a technical skill you developed and perfected during the past year.
• Describe an improvement in your current work setting that you personally initiated.
• How do you measure your success at work?
• How do you handle success?
• Tell me about a time when you completed an assignment that was well received by
your employer.
• Tell me which one of your publications gave you the greatest personal satisfaction and
why.
• What do you consider the most significant accomplishment in your professional
career?
• What achievement at work has given you the greatest sense of personal
accomplishment?
• Tell me about a time when your idea or action reduced an expense for your employer.
• Tell me your five most significant accomplishments at your current place of
employment. Why do you think your employer considers them important?
• What academic honors or awards did you receive in college?

Career Development

• What career goals have you set for the future? Have these changed since you
graduated?
• How has your career progressed in relation to your career plan?
• What would you like to accomplish during the next five years?
• How do your current career goals differ from the career goals you set five years ago?
• Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
• Have you ever considered leaving the profession of pharmacy? If so, what career
choice would you select?
• Tell me why you think this is the right position for you at this point in your career.
• What career plans do you have beyond this position?
• What other career opportunities would you like to experience?
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• Which of the career tracks offered by our company do you find most appealing?
• Have you ever considered taking a position that was not part of your career plan?
• If you could begin your career path again, what changes would you make?
• In climbing a career ladder, how critical is it for you to reach the top rung?
• Why have you considered changing your career path in pharmacy at this point in your
life?
• Would you like to have your current supervisor’s position?
• How much thought do you give to your future?
• To what extent does this position fit with your overall career plan? Does it present
inconsistencies with your plan?
• How do you feel about the progress of your career to date?
• Describe the ideal position based on your long-term career plan.
• What would you change if you were graduating from high school today and planning
your career path?
• What are your short-term (one- to two-year) career goals? How do you plan to achieve
them?
• What are your long-term (three- to five-year) career goals? How do you plan to achieve
them?
• How do you determine if your career plan is on track?
• What made you choose pharmacy as a career?
• How do you see your career changing over the next few years? What are you doing to
prepare yourself for these changes?
• Your résumé lacks any documentation of employment during the past four years.
Why?
• I noticed that you have not worked for several years. What have you done to keep up
with changes in the profession?
• Tell me about the interruptions in your employment history.
• Who had the greatest influence on your choice of pharmacy as a career path?
• Describe a major career planning goal that you recently established for yourself. How
do you plan to achieve this goal?

Coping with Change

• How do you handle change at work?

• Describe a time you had to change your leadership [management] style.
• Do you prefer a structured routine in your daily work or frequent change?
• Change has contributed to our department’s success during the past few years. Tell me
about your ability to deal with change.
• Describe a time when a change at work had a significant impact on your work or
responsibilities. How did you adjust?
• Tell me about a time when you were involved in a project or assignment at work that
resulted in a significant positive [negative] change.
• How do you deal with individuals who resist change?
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• Tell me about a time when change led to downsizing in your organization. How did you
deal with the situation?

Communication Skills

• How do you routinely communicate with your subordinates [superiors]?

• How would you rate your writing abilities?
• How would you rate your oral presentation skills?
• What process do you follow in preparing a presentation?
• How do you “stay connected” with your colleagues?
• Describe your experience in making oral presentations.
• Tell me about a quality presentation you delivered. What made it successful?
• How would you compare your oral presentation skills to your writing skills?
• Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you overcome this?
• Do you prefer to write or speak?
• Tell me about your most difficult writing assignment. What did you learn?
• How would you describe your listening skills?
• What approach have you used to improve your mastery of English as a spoken
language?
• What is your greatest challenge in responding to electronic messages?

Dealing with Conflict

• Do you prefer to confront conflict or tactfully avoid it?

• How do you go about confronting your colleagues when problems occur?
• How do you attempt to avoid conflict?
• Do you prefer to address small issues before they become problems or wait to see if
they resolve on their own?
• Have you ever lost your temper at work?
• How do you handle conflict?
• How do you deal with your colleagues after a difficult situation has been resolved?
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an irate patient [physician, nurse,
student]. How did you handle the situation?
• Tell me about a situation where you avoided siding with a colleague about a difficult
issue.
• Tell me about a time when you needed to work closely with someone you routinely
disagree with. How did you deal with the situation?
• Describe a time when you successfully resolved a conflict between two of your
colleagues.
• How do you deal with “office politics?”
• Tell me about a situation where you had a personal commitment that resulted in a
conflict with your work schedule. What did you do?

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• Describe a time when you did not successfully resolve a conflict with one of your
colleagues.
• Describe a time when you successfully resolved a conflict with one of your colleagues.

Creativity

• Tell me about a time while not at work that you got an idea that helped you become
more successful at work.
• If you were planning a trip to the moon and could only take three things, what would
you take?
• If you were a drug, what drug would you be? Why?
• Convince me that I need to buy the chair you are sitting in.
• What would you do if this was your last week on earth?
• How would you like people to remember you?
• Describe your most innovative work assignment.
• Describe a time when your personal creativity helped solve a problem at work.
• Tell me about a time when you improved something that was already working fine.
• Tell me about your participation in a really creative project.
• What areas of research interest you?
• Describe something creative you have done as an employee [student].
• If you were hospitalized, who would you like to share your semi-private room with?

Handling Criticism

• Tell me about a time when you were unfairly criticized. How did you handle the
situation?
• What is your approach for dealing with constructive criticism?
• If your supervisor was unfair in his or her criticism of your work performance, what
would you do?
• Describe a situation where your work was justifiably criticized.
• What would you do if I said that I thought your interview skills were less than I expect
for an individual with your experience?
• Has one of your professors ever assigned a grade lower than you deserved? If so, what
did you do?

Decision-Making Skills

• What kind of decisions do you find most difficult to make?

• On her way to a three-day business meeting, your supervisor leaves an assignment
with incomplete and unclear instructions. You have no luck in reaching her. How would
you handle this situation?

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• Your supervisor directs you to complete an assignment with incorrect instructions.

How would you handle this situation?
• What approach do you use to make important decisions?
• How did you handle the most difficult decision you ever had to make?
• After you make a decision, do you ever change your mind?
• To what extent does intuition play an important part of your decision-making process?
• Tell me about a time when you made an unpopular decision. How did you handle this
situation?
• Describe a situation when you had to make a quick decision without the ability to
gather all the facts.
• Have you ever made a decision without the knowledge of a standard operating
procedure to assist you?
• Give me some examples of decisions that you routinely make in your current position.
How do you go about making these decisions?
• Tell me about a time when you had to defend your decision.
• Which types of decisions do you find easy [difficult] to make? Why?
• Think about an important decision that you made in the past. Would you make the
same decision today? Why or why not?
• To what extent do you seek information from others before making a decision?
• How have your decision-making skills improved in the last few years? What factors
have contributed to this improvement?

Educational Experience

• Does your overall grade point average on your college transcript adequately reflect
your academic ability?
• How do you think your academic performance will correlate with your work
performance?
• Where did you rank in your graduating class in high school [college, pharmacy school]?
• How did you choose the college or university you attended?
• What subjects did you enjoy most [least] in pharmacy school?
• If you had it to do over again, what changes would you make as a pharmacy [college,
high school] student?
• If you were entering a pharmacy degree program again, which courses would you
devote more time to fully understand?
• In what courses did you earn low [high] grades? How do you think that will affect your
work performance?
• What were a few of your most [least] favorite college courses? Why?
• Which year of college was the most difficult for you? Why?
• On average, how many hours do you estimate that you spent studying per week when
you were earning your pharmacy degree?
• Did you work full time or part time while earning your pharmacy degree?
• How did you pay for your college education?
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• What aspects of your pharmacy [college, high school] education did you enjoy most?
• Tell me more about the factors that led you to select the topic for your thesis.
• What are the major findings of your thesis?
• What process did you follow to select your thesis advisor?
• What was the role of your thesis advisor in guiding the completion of your work?
• What publications have resulted from your graduate work?
• How did you pay for your graduate education?
• How well do you think academic performance correlates with productivity as an
employee?

Issues Related to the Employer or Position

• What work conditions allow you to perform most successfully in activities you
undertake?
• Why do you want this position?
• Describe your ideal work environment.
• What do you find most [least] appealing about this position? Why?
• What do you think about customer service?
• Tell me about a current responsibility that you enjoy as an employee.
• Thinking about your past supervisors, who did you like the most? What were the traits
that you liked about this individual?
• Thinking about your past supervisors, who did you like the least? Why? What, if
anything, could you have done to improve the relationship?
• If you could change one thing about your most recent employer, what would you
change?
• How would your most recent supervisor describe your work habits?
• What do you perceive as differences between this position and your most recent
position?
• Tell me about your relationship with your previous supervisors.
• Do you perceive your current or most recent employer as being sensitive to employee
needs? Do you think this organization will act differently?
• What do you like most [least] about your current position?
• I see that you have held various jobs. Which one did you like most? Why?
• I see that you have held many jobs for short periods of time. How long would you plan
to stay here?
• I see that you have stayed with one employer for a long time. Does this reflect a sense
of loyalty or a lack of initiative?
• Why do you want to leave your current position?
• Describe your best [worst] supervisor.
• What have your past supervisors identified as your strengths [weaknesses]?
• Describe a typical work day in your most recent position.
• Tell me about a situation at work when you exceeded your supervisor’s expectations.
• Would you recommend your most recent employer to your friends? Why or why not?
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• Have you ever resigned from a position with less than two weeks’ notice? If so, what
were the circumstances?
• Have any of your past employers ever refused to give you a reference? If so, what were
the circumstances?
• Does your current employer know about this interview today?
• Have you ever been terminated? If so, what were the circumstances?
• Have you ever been asked to resign? If so, what were the circumstances?
• What kind of supervisors motivate you to do your best work?
• How would you describe your current supervisor’s management style? Which aspects
do you like the most [least]? Why?
• How would you describe your relationship with your current supervisor?
• What did you like the most [least] about your most recent position?
• What do you want to achieve in your next position?
• How do you feel about the contributions you made to your most recent employer?
• What has been the pattern of your relationships with supervisors or upper
management?
• What would you plan to achieve in this position that you did not achieve in your most
recent position?
• What limitations exist in your current position?
• In your most recent position, how much time did you spend working by yourself?
Working with others? Do you ever work as a member of a team to complete projects or
other assignments?
• In your most recent position, how often did you meet with your supervisor? What was
the nature of these meetings?
• Tell me about your last three positions (your major responsibilities, description of the
work environment, the relationship with your supervisor and coworkers).
• In your current position, how much time during a typical day do you devote to
communications (telephone calls, meetings, presentations, correspondence)?
• If you decide to stay with your current employer, what expectations do you have
concerning advancement?
• If you like your current employer and position, why do you plan to leave?
• Since you have expressed difficulties with your current supervisor, what have you done
to bring these problems to his or her attention?
• What have you learned from past supervisors?
• How would you characterize the workload associated with your most recent position?
• To what extent has your most recent position prepared you to assume additional
responsibilities and duties?
• In your most recent position, how many levels of management existed between your
position and the chief executive officer?
• Describe your relationship and dealings with upper management.
• In your most recent position, what changes did you initiate to enhance the efficiency of
the organization?

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• Tell me about a situation in your most recent position that you never want to
experience again.
• Tell me about a time when your most recent supervisor was not pleased with your job
performance.
• Have you ever been denied an opportunity for advancement that you felt you
deserved? How did you handle the situation?
• What kind of employee rewards do you like?
• Tell me about a time when you may have expected too much from your employer.
How did you handle the situation?
• What skills do you think you need most for success in this position?
• If we hire you into this position, what skills would you like to develop?
• If you decide to stay in your current position, how could you improve the position?
• What strengths did you bring to your most recent position that contributed to your
success?
• What strengths will make you successful in this position?
• Of the various settings you have worked in, which environment caused you to be the
most [least] productive?
• How would you compare your past three positions with what you like?
• What specific knowledge and skills do you need to improve for successful performance
in this position? What can you do to overcome these possible deficiencies?
• How would you rate your potential success in this position? Why?
• What responsibilities in your most recent position did you find difficult to fulfill?
• Can you work overtime shifts, if needed?
• What would you have liked to achieve in your most recent position that was beyond
your reach?
• What qualifications do you think you need for this position and how can you satisfy
them?
• Tell me what you know about our organization. How did you obtain this information?
• What particular aspects of this organization appear most interesting to you?
• Give me your impression of our company within the marketplace.
• Where do you think we are the most vulnerable as an industry?
• From your perspective, describe our company’s primary competition.
• What would you do if a competitor offered you a position similar to the one discussed
here?
• How actively have you searched for a position?
• What trends do you see in our industry?
• If you were in my position, what type of experience would you consider important for
this position?
• What do you see in common between this position and your most recent position?
• What differences do you see between this position and your most recent position?
• How did you learn about this open position?
• During the past six months, have you arrived late to work? How often, and what were
the circumstances?
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• What have you heard about our organization that raises concerns in your mind?
• How will you handle the least appealing aspects of this position?
• What aspects of this position can you confidently fulfill?
• What aspects of this position raise concerns about your abilities?
• In three minutes or less, tell me why we should hire you [why you are the best
candidate for this position].
• What do you think about our facilities and operations?
• What process did you use to select your references?
• How long will it take for you to contribute to our organization’s success?
• After reviewing your résumé, most reasonable managers might conclude that you have
too much experience for this position. What do you think?
• After reviewing your résumé, it appears that you lack the requisite qualifications for
this position. Why should I hire you?
• What characteristics do you want most in a position?
• Based on what you have learned about our organization and this position, what
additional factors should we consider in hiring someone?
• A number of applicants are being interviewed for this position. Why should we
consider you for the position?
• Did you consider yourself to have a sense of loyalty to any of your past employers?
Why or why not?
• Name one particular characteristic or skill that should make you more successful than
other candidates for this position.
• Often, employees are either concept-oriented or task-oriented. How would you
describe yourself?
• Do you enjoy routine tasks and duties at work?

Knowledge of Issues Facing the Profession

• What recommendations can you suggest to improve safe medication practices?

• In your opinion, should the profession support a mandatory reporting system for
serious or fatal adverse events?
• What does the term “pharmaceutical care” mean to you?
• How do you see the role of the pharmacist changing in the next five years?
• What recommendations would you suggest to support public and private insurance
payment to pharmacists for patient services that improve clinical and economic
outcomes?
• In your opinion, do pharmacists need credentialing to participate in disease state
management programs?
• How would you try to initiate a collaborative practice agreement with a physician?
• What clinical evidence exists to support the value of pharmacists in providing patient
care services?
• What role does direct-to-consumer advertising play in educating patients about
prescription medications?
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• What major challenges do you think the profession will face over the next 10 years?
• Describe opportunities for initiating a pharmaceutical care practice.
• What measures can pharmacists take to reduce the incidence of medication errors?
• What impact will telemedicine technology have on the practice of pharmacy?
• Should the general public have access to data from clinical drug trials?
• Who should bear responsibility for certifying pharmacists to participate in disease state
management activities?
• Which cognitive services provided by pharmacists result in a positive cost benefit to
patients and payers?
• Why have pharmacists been ranked as one of the most respected health professionals
during the past decade?
• How would you advise a patient-consumer to choose his or her personal pharmacist?
• What role should pharmacists play in response to a disaster such as an influenza
pandemic?
• How can technology enhance the role of the practicing pharmacist?
• What single greatest challenge does the profession face in the next two years?
• What important trends do you see in our profession?
• What do you feel it takes to be a professional?
• What does the term “professionalism” mean to you?
• Describe an ethical dilemma you faced in a practice situation. How did you deal with it?

Leadership Qualities

• What leadership positions, if any, did you hold in pharmacy student organizations?
How were you selected for these positions?
• Tell me about a time when you persuaded others to accept your recommendation or
advice.
• How would a coworker describe your leadership style?
• Describe the characteristics of a leader you admire.
• Tell me about a time when you led a project with a positive [negative] outcome.
• What kept you from greater participation in extracurricular activities when you were in
pharmacy school [college, high school]?
• How do you go about influencing someone to accept your ideas?
• Tell me about your commitment to maintaining a diverse work force.
• Give me examples of how you have demonstrated leadership qualities in your current
position.
• Who is your favorite leader in pharmacy? Why?
• Tell me about an effective leader you have known. In your opinion, what made this
individual effective?

Commitment to Life-Long Learning

• Describe your three most significant learning experiences during the past six months.
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• Do you plan to pursue additional studies?

• How much time do you spend each month keeping up with the professional literature?
Which professional journals do you routinely read?
• Do you currently take, or do you plan to take, evening courses?
• Do you subscribe to any professional journals? Which ones?
• In the last year, have you attended any pharmacy continuing education programs?
• How do you keep up with the scientific advances in drug therapy?

Management Skills and Abilities

• Have you overseen budgeting, approved expenses, and monitored departmental

progress against financial goals? How qualified do you feel in performing these activities?
• Tell me about your supervision of other individuals in your past positions.
• Tell me about a learning experience that affected your management style.
• Give me examples of what you did in your most recent position to increase revenues
and reduce costs.
• Have you ever had to hire people? For what types of positions?
• What characteristics do you look for in individuals you plan to hire?
• Have you ever fired anyone? What were the circumstances?
• What type of management style do you think proves effective in managing health
professionals?
• Describe your management style. What aspects would you like to change? Why?
• Tell me about a time when you did not receive full support in the completion of a task
and how you dealt with it.
• Are you an effective manager? Give me examples of your management effectiveness.
• Tell me about the people you hired in your current job. How long did they stay with
you? How did their coworkers view them?
• What process would you use to address an employee with an unsatisfactory
performance evaluation?
• How do you identify deficiencies in your subordinates?
• Give examples of your ability to delegate.
• Tell me about a time when you dealt with an employee displaying inappropriate
behavior in your work setting.
• What characteristics does an effective department director display?
• How would you describe your management philosophy?
• Give me examples of how you balance autonomy and control among your employees.
• How do you effectively evaluate the performance of your staff?
• How would your staff describe your management style?
• What techniques have you found effective for motivating your staff?
• Tell me about one of your former employees who was promoted as a result of your
mentoring.
• How do you prefer to recognize and reward your staff for excellent work performance?
• How do you train and develop your staff?
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• How do you differentiate between management and leadership?

• Would you describe yourself as a manager or a leader? Can you elaborate?
• Give me examples of your ability to manage resources effectively.
• Tell me about a time when you negotiated a conflict between two of your most [least]
successful employees.
• What strengths [weaknesses] do you display as a manager?
• If you left your current position, do you have someone to take your place? How have
you developed this person to assume your responsibilities?
• Give examples of how you enhanced the effectiveness of your immediate superior in
your most recent position.
• Tell me about your experience in dealing with external consultants. How did you use
their recommendations for improving your department?
• Tell me about a time when you made a bad hiring decision.
• What process have you found useful in planning?
• How do you go about organizing and planning for the successful completion of a major
project or event?
• Give me examples of how you handle multiple projects or assignments.
• What process did you use to prepare for this interview?
• Tell me about a time when you became sidetracked with the details of an assignment.
• How would you describe your attitude toward taking risks?
• How do you respond to the concept of “no risk, no reward?”
• What risks did you take in your most recent position? What results did taking these
risks achieve?
• Do you consider yourself a risk taker? Give me examples of risks you have taken in
previous positions.
• Tell me about an experience at work where the risks outweighed the rewards. How did
you deal with this situation?
• How did you go about obtaining your most recent position?

Maintaining Peer Relationships

• Describe your working relationship with peers.

• When assigned to a team, what types of coworkers do you like most as teammates?
• How would you describe your coworkers at your most recent place of employment?
• How do you deal with weaknesses in others?
• What do you consider the ideal mix of individuals for a productive work team?
• How would you compare the quality and quantity of your work to that of your
coworkers?
• Do you prefer working alone or with others?
• In your most recent position, how did you relate to coworkers with more [fewer] years
of experience?
• How do you like to work with other people when completing projects?
• Tell me about your ability to get along with classmates [faculty members, coworkers].
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• What types of people irritate you at work?

• Tell me about the types of people you like to associate with at work.
• Do you enjoy meeting people?
• Tell me about a time when you were not successful in getting along with a coworker.
How did you resolve the issue?

Personal Attributes

• What personal characteristics do you consider ideal for a pharmacist? How do these
match your personal characteristics? How do they differ?
• What makes you different from other pharmacists [technicians, students, employees]?
• How do you measure personal success?
• Give me examples of your determination.
• Tell me about a time when your persistence paid off at work.
• How do I know you are a sincere person?
• How hard have you worked to achieve your career goals?
• Tell me about a time when you were right, but others disagreed. How did you deal with
the situation?
• Tell me about a time when you accomplished a task that required a significant amount
of discipline.
• In your most recent position, did you work harder than your coworkers?
• What motivates you to excel?
• List five things that motivate you to do your best work.
• Are you self-motivated? Give me examples of how you display initiative at work.
• How do you motivate other people?
• How has competition affected your achievements? Give me examples of positive
[negative] impacts.
• Which has greater value to you, a large salary or recognition and career advancement?
• What personal rewards do you want from your job?
• Tell me about a long-standing interest or activity of yours.
• How do you unwind in your spare time?
• What percent of your college expenses did you earn? How?
• What did you do during your summers while you were in college?
• How do you balance your outside activities with your work?
• Do you stick to a schedule on your days away from work?
• Tell me about a movie that inspired you.
• I did not see any hobbies or outside activities listed on your résumé. What do you like
to do in your time away from work?
• Do you enjoy reading? What is your favorite book [magazine]?
• Tell me about the last book you read.
• How would your best friend [college roommate, favorite supervisor, coworkers]
describe you?
• If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be? Why?
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• How do you like to spend your time relaxing when not at work?
• Are you the type of person who demands attention?
• What section of the daily newspaper do you like most?
• What television program do you like most?
• Do you include coworkers in your social life?
• Tell me about an interesting trip you have taken.
• How would you describe your personality?
• What importance do you place on being liked by your colleagues?
• Who do you consider your best friend? Why is this individual special to you?
• Tell me something about yourself that you have not included in your résumé.
• Will you relocate, if necessary?
• What will you do if we do not offer this position to you?
• How do you feel about having a dress code in a work environment made up of health
professionals?
• Tell me about yourself.
• If I could remember only one thing about you, what should it be?
• How do you feel about being tested for drug use?
• How do you explain your career success?
• Tell me about a time when you exceeded the expectations of your supervisor.
• What sites do you routinely visit on the World Wide Web?

Problem-Solving Skills

• Tell me about a recurring work problem that you resolved.

• Give me examples of major projects you have completed.
• Tell me about a time when you were assigned to complete an unpopular task.
• How do you usually approach solving problems?
• Where do you turn when your usual problem-solving approaches do not work?
• Give me examples of how you have successfully used problem-solving techniques.
• Tell me about the most difficult problem you ever confronted.
• Give me an example of a problem that was not resolved to your satisfaction.
• How do you approach problems or difficult assignments that you would prefer to
avoid?
• Describe a situation where you were not successful in resolving a problem. How did
you finally deal with this situation?
• Tell me about a time when you were asked to solve a problem without sufficient
resources. How did you resolve the problem?
• If you encounter an unsatisfied patient, what do you typically do?
• Tell me about a time when you used a creative approach to solve a difficult problem.
• Tell me about a time when you overlooked a simple solution to solve a problem.

Professional and Other Employment Experience

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• What do you consider the most important thing you have learned from your most
recent position?
• How will your military experience assist you with the responsibilities of this position?
• As a recent graduate, how will you compensate for your lack of experience in this
position?
• Do you believe your qualifications [professional experiences] will enable you to
become successful in this position?
• How does your current position relate to the mission and goals of the organization?
• How do you rate your clinical knowledge and skills?
• How do you rate your past experience in relation to the responsibilities of this
position?
• I see that you have held a variety of positions. Overall, what have you learned from
your work experience?
• Which of your clerkship experiences was the most [least] professionally satisfying?
Why?
• What would your pharmacy preceptors tell me about your ability to apply knowledge
in a practice setting?
• Tell me about your experience in preparing and compounding intravenous admixture
preparations.
• Give me examples of recommendations you have made to physicians about medication
treatment plans that reduced the risk of patient harm.
• Tell me about the outcome of a clinical intervention that you made within the past two
months.
• Tell me about your experience in promoting rational drug therapy based on the use of
a formulary.
• What approach do you use to document the impact of your patient interventions?
• Give me examples of your interactions with other health care providers in caring for
patients.
• During the last year, have you participated in any health care promotion activities?
What were the impacts?
• Give me examples of your participation in the activities of local, state, or national
pharmacy organizations.
• What makes you an effective teacher?
• Tell me about your experiences in precepting pharmacy students in the practice
setting.
• Your résumé indicates that you’ve been working as a part-time pharmacy technician.
How will this experience help you achieve your career goals?

Salary Issues

• What would you like to earn five years from now?

• Do you believe your current salary reflects your experience and performance
evaluations?
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• How do you feel about a reduction in salary from your most recent position?
• How much do you value job security?
• Tell me about your salary expectations.
• Have you ever been denied a salary increase? What were the circumstances?
• What do you currently earn?
• What do you expect for a compensation package?

Dealing with Self-Assessment

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? Why?
• What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
• What do you consider your biggest strengths [weaknesses]?
• How does your personality manifest itself when you deal with stressful situations at
work?
• Tell me about a time when you failed. How did you handle the situation?
• Do you consider yourself successful? Why?
• To what degree were you satisfied with your performance in your most recent
position?
• How would you describe yourself when you were in college? How have you changed
since graduating?
• What experience do you need most to advance your career?
• What do you consider the greatest disappointment in your career, to date? How did
you overcome this?
• How would you characterize the quality and quantity of your work in your past
positions?
• What have you learned from your mistakes?
• How do you reconcile any differences between reality and your expectations?
• What tasks or duties do you find difficult? What have you done to overcome these
difficulties?
• How would you rank yourself among your peers?
• Tell me about a time at work when you were disappointed with your performance.
• Have you ever been called on by one of your professors when you were unsure about
the answer? How did you respond?
• What do you consider the most intellectually challenging activity you have ever
performed?
• How important do you consider details?
• What plan do you have for improving your professional qualifications?
• Have you considered pursuing an advanced degree?
• What plan do you have for improving your knowledge and skills?
• What work habits have you sought to improve?
• During the past three years, what have you done to improve your professional
knowledge and skills?

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Stress Management

• How do you respond to deadlines?

• Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.
• How do you manage stress in your daily work?
• How do you handle stressful situations with your supervisor [coworkers]?
• Tell me about a time when you worked under significant pressure to meet a deadline.
• What measures do you take to avoid burnout?

Teamwork

• How do you feel as a team member when your project isn’t successful? How do you
deal with the situation?
• How do you promote “esprit de corps” among members of a team at work?
• Do you consider yourself a team player?
• Describe a situation when the team fell apart. What was your role in the outcome?
• Tell me about a time when you were effective in convincing team members to adopt
your recommendation.
• Tell me about a contribution you made as a member of a team at work.
• Tell me about a time when you increased your productivity by serving as a team
member at work.
• What type of role do you generally assume when assigned to a team?
• Tell me about a time when you learned about teamwork through your participation in
a sport.
• What quality do you value the most in a team member?

Technical Knowledge and Skills

• Describe your familiarity with computer systems and software applications.

• What is the latest computer software application that you have learned?
• Review the following case of a patient with [a common chronic or acute disease] and
outline a plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with [a common chronic or acute disease] and
[any other common chronic or acute disease]. Outline a plan for drug therapy
management.
• Review the following case describing a common drug interaction [adverse drug
reaction]. How would you resolve the problem?
• Review the following case describing a patient with a history of medication non-
compliance. Design a plan to improve the patient’s medication taking behavior.
• Review the following case of a patient with diabetes [seizure disorder, high blood
pressure, lipid disorder, congestive heart failure, tuberculosis, bipolar disease, urinary tract
infection, Parkinson’s disease] and outline a plan for drug therapy management.

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• Review the following case of a patient with bronchitis and a history of anxiety. Outline
a plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with asthma and contact dermatitis. Outline a
plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and a duodenal ulcer.
Outline a plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with angina pectoris and deep vein thrombosis.
Outline a plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with bacterial pneumonia and congestive heart
failure. Outline a plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with atrial fibrillation and a history of migraine
headaches. Outline a plan for drug therapy management.
• Review the following case of a patient with chronic depression and symptoms of the
common cold. Outline a plan for drug therapy management.

Time Management Skills

• Tell me about a time when you did not meet an important deadline. What steps have
you taken to avoid this situation in the future?
• How much time did you devote to outside work while you were completing your
pharmacy [college, high school] degree?
• What approach do you use for time management?
• Give me examples of how you prioritized work assignments in your most recent
position. How do you keep them scheduled to meet deadlines?
• Tell me about a time you requested an extension to complete an important
assignment.
• Tell me about a time when you completed an important assignment ahead of schedule.
• Describe your typical workday.
• How do you organize your daily assignments and activities?
• Give me an example of a time management skill that has increased your productivity at
work.
• Tell me how you deal with procrastination.

Volunteerism

• Tell me about your association with community service organizations. To what extent
have you been involved?
• Have you held any positions in a community service organization? If so, to what extent
were you involved? What did you gain from the experience?
• Have you ever been considered for a public office? What were the circumstances?
What did you gain from the experience?
• Tell me about your involvement in extracurricular activities as a pharmacy student.
• What organizations did you belong to as a pharmacy student?
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• Which organizations did you enjoy the most [least]?

• Our organization believes that employees should give time back to the community.
How do you feel about this?
• What professional-based community projects interest you?
• Would you consider volunteering as a member of our organization if we did not hire
you as an employee?

Concluding Questions

• In what respect do our position and your needs appear to be a good match? In what
respect do they differ?
• Is there anything else I should ask?
• Is there anything that will keep you from taking this position if we offer it?
• When can you start work?
• Now that we have spent some time orienting you to the position, what level of interest
do you have?
• How does this position compare with other positions you are considering?

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