Pharmacist Cover Letter Examples & Writing Tips
Follow our advice and professional examples to create a strong and eye-catching pharmacist cover letter for your job search.
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Featured pharmacist cover letter example
Cover letters are an important part of a job application. Through them, you can highlight your skills, traits and important achievements, showing potential employers why you’re the perfect candidate. Use the pharmacist cover letter sample below as inspiration or edit it in our Cover Letter Builder to make it your own!
Free pharmacist cover letter example
Paste this free staff pharmacist cover letter template onto one of our professional cover letter templates and update it with your information.
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Pharmacist cover letter: 5 key tips
Use these cover letter writing tips to create a professional pharmacist cover letter.
Feature your top skills and qualifications upfront.
Approach your cover letter as though you’re telling a story to the hiring manager. Give them your most impressive skills and qualifications up front to catch their attention and motivate them to keep reading. Recruiters and managers typically spend less than a minute reviewing job applications, so use that time wisely.
Be specific about past achievements and top responsibilities.
Avoid repeating the same information that’s on your resume and focus on talking about top achievements or major responsibilities you had in your previous role. Generally, pharmacists have the same tasks, so choose something that will make you stand out from the crowd and show prospective employers the type of professional you are.
Tailor your letter to the specific job.
Not every pharmacist's job is the same, so the requirements will vary depending on the work and organization you’re applying for. Whether you’re applying for a job as a retail pharmacist, industrial pharmacist or nuclear pharmacist, make sure to read the job description carefully to tailor your cover letter to the job.
Present a mix of hard and soft skills.
To be a well-rounded pharmacist, you need to have a combination of hard skills — technical abilities related to the job — and soft skills — personal traits and qualities that contribute to your effectiveness as a professional. Feature a balanced mix of both in your cover letter, showing employers that you know all about pharmacology while also being a great communicator and problem solver.
Proofread for grammar and accuracy.
Nothing can tank your job application more than a typo or grammatical error. Read your RN cover letter a couple of times to make sure it doesn’t have a miswritten word and ask someone with fresh eyes to proofread it for you.
Write a pharmacist cover letter in 5 steps
Write a professional pharmacist cover letter with this advice:1. Heading
Your starting point needs to be a great cover letter heading. Include your name, phone number, email address and job networking links, including LinkedIn.
2. Salutation
Can you say Dear Hiring Manager in a cover letter? Instead of addressing the letter to “Dear Hiring Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern,” find who the hiring manager is and address it to them. This will help your cover letter come across as personalized and more professional.
3. Opening paragraph
Catch the hiring manager’s attention with a great hook. Include your years of experience in the first paragraph, as well as what position you’re applying for.
4. Second paragraph
Now that the hiring manager is reading, you can use the second paragraph to provide more information about why you’re the best candidate for the job. Include quantifiable metrics when possible and focus on achievements instead of daily tasks.
5. Closing and sign-off
You need to close the cover letter with a call to action. This is the place in your cover letter where you get a chance to actually ask for the job interview, which is one of the reasons it’s so important.
For more tips, read our How to Write a Cover Letter article.
Key skills for a pharmacist cover letter
These are some hard skills and soft skills you can include to write a compelling cover letter:
- Medication dispensing
- Pharmacology knowledge
- Pharmacy law and ethics
- Patient counseling
- Medication therapy management
- Compounding
- Pharmacy information systems
- Inventory management
- Quality assurance
- Health promotion and disease prevention
- Communication skills
- Empathy
- Interpersonal skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Attention to detail
- Time management
- Adaptability
- Critical thinking
- Leadership skills
- Detail oriented
Create your pharmacist cover letter (and resume) with our help
Update your professional cover letter and resume using our professional resources and tools.
FAQ: Pharmacist cover letter
Have questions? We’re here to help.
What should be included in a cover letter for a pharmacist?
- Header:
Include your full name and contact information, along with the date you’re writing the letter and the recipient’s contact information aligned to the left.
- Salutation:
Address the cover letter to the hiring manager instead of using “Dear Hiring Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern.”
- Introduction:
Start your pharmacist cover letter with a strong opening statement that’s eye-catching. Express your interest in the role and a brief statement about what attracted you to the position.
- Body paragraphs:
Use one or two paragraphs to highlight your strengths and relevant experience. Focus on key accomplishments that match the job’s requirements and provide examples — with metrics when possible — of how you have excelled in areas such as medication dispensing, patient counseling, etc.
- Closing paragraph:
Briefly explain why you want to work for the employer before thanking them for their time. Invite them to contact you to discuss your experience and skills further.
How do I start an application letter for pharmacy?
Start your cover letter by researching the company. Instead of writing a generic letter, tailor it by using the job description as a guideline and understanding the organization. What are their goals? What is their mission? How do you align with the company and what they want to accomplish? Center your cover letter on what you can do for the employer instead of what they can do for you.
How do I write a cover letter for a pharmaceutical company?
To write a cover letter for a pharmaceutical company, it’s important to tailor your approach to highlight your experience, skills and qualifications in a way that aligns with the specific needs and values of the company and shows you’re the ideal candidate.
- Research the company:
Understand their products, services, mission, values and any recent news or developments. This will help you tailor your cover letter and how you write it to demonstrate your understanding of the company and industry.
- Address the hiring manager:
Find the name of the specific hiring manager or recruiter who will be deciding whether you get hired and address your cover letter to them.
- Highlight relevant accomplishments:
Demonstrate your suitability for the role and company by highlighting your strengths and relevant accomplishments. Use specific examples to illustrate your achievements.
- Express enthusiasm:
Convey how excited you are for the opportunity to contribute to the company’s success and make a positive impact in the pharmaceutical industry.
Should a pharmacist have a CV or resume?
Pharmacists may need both a CV and a resume, depending on the nature of the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a clinical position, industry role, management position or a pharmacy job in retail or a hospital, you might need to submit a resume.
Pharmacists often use a CV when applying for academic positions, research roles, fellowships or other opportunities where a detailed account of your qualifications and accomplishments is necessary.
Be sure to read the job description carefully to follow the employer’s instructions.
Do I really need a cover letter to get a pharmacist job?
It’s always a good idea to include a cover letter for any job you’re applying to. Especially in the health care industry, your pharmacist resume will include your work experience and a list of skills, but isn’t a great insight into who you are as a person. The cover letter, on the other hand, allows you to talk a bit more about your personal beliefs in the field, showcase your key achievements and ask for an interview. You can use the Cover Letter Builder from ResumeHelp to create a cover letter that accompanies your pharmacist resume perfectly.
How long should my cover letter be to get a pharmacist job?
Typically, you should write a cover letter anywhere between half a page and 3/4 of a page. A cover letter shorter than a page may look like it’s lacking information, and a cover letter longer than 3/4 of a page might look crowded. Try to keep it to one page for a cover letter, and ideally less than 3/4 of a page, which is around 250 to 350 words on average.
Can I use this cover letter example if I don’t have a lot of work experience?
Yes. Even if you don’t have a lot of experience in the job field, you can still use this cover letter format. Just use any and all the experience you do have, including academic, internship and volunteer experience.
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