Pharmacy Technician resume example
A resume for a Pharmacy Technician needs to show the work itself: prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. Day to day that means work like this: receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate; enter prescription information into computer databases. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.
Also advertised as
The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
- Certified Pharmacy Technician
- CPhT
- Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician
- Chemo Pharmacy Technician
- OR Pharmacy Tech
- Operating Room Pharmacy Tech
- RPhT
- Registered Pharmacy Technician
- Accredited Pharmacy Technician
- Compounding Technician
- Compounding Pharmacy Tech
- Hospital Pharmacy Tech
- Inpatient Pharmacy Tech
- Pharm Tech
- Retail Pharmacy Tech
- Compounding Pharmacy Technician
- Drug Coordinator
- Hospital Pharmacy Technician
O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.
What people in this job call themselves
Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.
- Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
- Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician)
- OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech)
- RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician)
What this work actually involves
Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
- Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
- Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
- Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
- Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
- Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
- Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.
Example bullets for this role
Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Enter prescription information into computer databases, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Software used in this role
Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.
- Billing and reimbursement software
- Compounder software
- Database software
- Drug compatibility software
- Inventory management software
- Label-making software
- Medical condition coding software
- MEDITECH software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Patient record maintenance software
19 software entries are recorded in total.
Tools and equipment
The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.
- Agar slides
- Autoclaves
- Automatic bottle filling machines
- Automatic unit dose strip packaging machines
- Benchtop colloid mills
- Blending/agitating machines
- Bunsen burners
- Cash registers
- Centrifuges
- Colloid mills
- Computer laser printers
- Computer-based dispensing equipment
Skills an ATS reads for
Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.
- Billing and reimbursement
- Compounder
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
What this job rates as most important
O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.
- 01Active Listening
- 02Reading Comprehension
- 03Speaking
- 04Critical Thinking
- 05Active Learning
- 06Complex Problem Solving
- 07Judgment and Decision Making
- 08Monitoring
- 09Service Orientation
- 10Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge areas
The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Law and Government
- Administrative
- Production and Processing
What qualifications people in this job have
From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
- 42%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
- 36%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
- 15%Some College Courses
What level this role is pitched at
O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Common questions
- What does a Pharmacy Technician do?
- Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. Day to day that includes work like receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate and Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- What skills should a Pharmacy Technician put on a resume?
- O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
- What software should a Pharmacy Technician list?
- Software recorded for this occupation includes Billing and reimbursement software, Compounder software, Database software, Drug compatibility software, and Inventory management software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
- What other job titles cover Pharmacy Technician work?
- O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Certified Pharmacy Technician, CPhT, Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician, and Chemo Pharmacy Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
- What qualifications does a Pharmacy Technician need?
- In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 42% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
- Will this resume pass an ATS for a Pharmacy Technician role?
- No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.
Related roles
Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.
What this page cannot tell you
- No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
- This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
- Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.
If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.
Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.