Writing an effective CV for pharmacy roles: a guide for graduates

CVs (or curriculum vitae, also known as résumés in some countries) are the main method of application for many different industries, including pharmacy^​1–3​. No matter where you are in your career, producing an effective CV is often an essential part of the journey to gaining employment.

Not every job requires a CV to apply. Recruiters advertising on the NHS Jobs website can choose whether applicants must apply using an online application form or a CV^​4​. However, whatever form the application takes, you will find that a CV is a useful record of employment experience and summary of skills that can be referred to. 

Nevertheless, CVs do not get pharmacist jobs — their purpose is to secure an interview. It is your first opportunity to show your skills to your desired employer, who will in turn use your CV to see if you are suitable for an interview. It is your performance during the interview that will ultimately get you the position you seek, but your CV is your first chance to make a good impression. 

Where to start

The first step in writing a CV is to review your skills and talents. This can be challenging if you are writing your first CV and have little employment experience; however, take some time to reflect on your pharmacy-related skills and abilities. Read job adverts, job descriptions and person specifications for jobs in which you are interested and see where they match your skills and abilities. The National Careers Service has a skills assessment that can help you identify your strengths^​5​. If you are updating an existing CV, think about whether you have developed any new skills or abilities since you last updated it. 

Have in front of you a copy of the job advertisement, job description and person specification for the job you wish to apply for. Every CV should be tailored specifically for each job. This may mean you have a core CV, which you then update and modify for each job you apply for. Use the job advertisement, job description and person specification to identify the employer’s essential criteria. Make sure the skills and attributes that relate to these criteria are clearly apparent in your CV. See ‘Figure’ for an example of this.

The basics

A CV should be logical, accurate and concise. Employers spend an average of three to five minutes reading a CV but can also spend as little as 30 seconds^​3​. This means that you need to grab the employer’s attention straight away, as they may not persevere through a poorly crafted CV. 

Layout

Keep your CV short, no longer than two sides of A4. CVs for academic or research-based roles may be longer, as these often require a publications list in addition to other information. However, for most roles, a brief CV is best. Use bulleted lists instead of paragraphs of text to maximise the amount of information that you can include while keeping your CV readable.

There are many possible layout options. All CVs should include these core sections:

• Contact details;
• Skills and employment experience;
• Education details; and
• References.

The most relevant information is your skills and experience, so these should be placed towards the top of page. Education details should be towards the end of your CV; however, if you are a student, trainee or newly qualified pharmacist, you might wish to put your education at the top of your CV, as you will probably have little experience to highlight. You could add any professional memberships or fellowships (e.g. the Royal Pharmaceutical Society [RPS]). Do not include your membership number to reduce the risk of this being misappropriated^​6​.

Templates for pharmacy CVs are freely available online (see ‘Further resources’ section). These can be useful if you are starting from scratch and are unsure of what to include. They can be restrictive, though, so you may prefer to draw up your own layout. If you do use a template, make sure to delete any unused sections. You can also add new sections to customise it to your needs.

Contact details

Most CVs start with contact details: usually name, email address and mobile telephone number. There is no consensus among employers about whether a home address should be included^​3​. Some find that it is irrelevant, whereas others find it useful to know that a candidate is local, especially for early-career jobs or placement opportunities. Do not include your age, date of birth, marital status or a photograph, as doing so could leave you vulnerable to discrimination. 

Personal statement

A CV can begin with a personal statement or profile. When written well, these can help employers get a feel for the person; however, critics find that some applicants tend to write cliched statements^​3​. If you do decide to include a personal statement, make it short — focus on who you are, what skills you bring and what you want from the role^​7​. Make the statement personal to you and tailor it to the job you are applying for. 

Employment experience

Your employment experience details should make up the bulk of your CV. Start with the most recent experience first and work backwards. You may have completed many different roles, tasks and responsibilities during your work experience so far and it can be tempting to list all of these; however, this can lead to the CV becoming overly long, so it is recommended to focus on the skills and responsibilities that are listed in the job description and person specification for the role you are applying for.

If you have an active professional social media presence (e.g. LinkedIn), then you might wish to add links to these profiles. 

Keywords

Some employers use AI-based applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan CVs for keywords. To reduce the chance of your CV being excluded by an ATS, mirror the language used in the job description and person specification. Even if the reviewing is done by humans, using the same keywords will increase your chances of being shortlisted for an interview, as it makes it easier for employers to notice that you have the skills needed to do the job. 

Impact statements

Remember to sell your skills, not just outline the jobs you have done in the past. One way to do this is to use impact statements. An impact statement is a short statement that outlines a vital skill in a context with a quantifiable outcome. For example, ‘Delivered training on upselling of products to all medicines count staff, generating an additional £50,000 of revenue’. The essential skill outlined is the delivery of training; the context is the upselling by counter staff and the quantifiable outcome is the £50,000. Use active verbs (e.g., delivered, achieved) to sell yourself as a candidate. Examples of these are shown in ‘Box 1’.

Training and CPD

You may also want to list other specific achievements or training you have undertaken, but keep it relevant to the job you are applying for. If you have completed or are in the process of completing CPD, you could list that to show you are up to date and committed to ongoing improvement.

References

End your CV with a reference section. If you are short of space, or you do not wish your current employer to know you are applying for a job until you are offered it, use the phrase ‘References available upon request’.

Appropriate use of AI

It has become more common to use generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot) to produce a CV. When using AI, it is very much a case of ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’. So be specific with your prompts and play around with different options. It is worth noting that most of the content that the AI systems have been trained on is from the United States, so the output might not be in the usual style of a UK-based CV. Never use AI to generate the actual content of your CV. It is likely that you will be caught out at the interview stage or later, and this could lead to a job offer being rescinded. 

However, AI applications such as Grammarly are extremely useful for proofreading your CV. Spelling and grammatical errors are often the reason that a CV is rejected. 

Font

A CV needs to be readable, so avoid elaborate fonts: Arial and Calibri are the most readable. A good font size is 12 points^​8​. 

Document type

Although you will create and edit your CV in a word-processing application, submit the final version as a PDF. This avoids unfortunate formatting changes or unexpected line breaks when the document is opened on someone else’s computer. 

Guides and resources

There are lots of guides and resources to help you with your CV (see ‘Further resources’ section). Consider getting a mentor to help you with your search for jobs. The RPS offers a free mentorship scheme for members^​9​. 

Conclusion

Crafting a well-structured and tailored CV is a crucial step for pharmacy graduates entering the workforce. By identifying essential skills, understanding the attributes of an effective CV, and choosing an appropriate layout, you can create a compelling document that highlights your qualifications and experiences. Your CV is your first opportunity to make a positive impression on potential employers and secure an interview. When done well, it is a useful tool to showcase your strengths and suitability for the role.