Pharmacy Technician Skills
The key hard and soft skills required for a pharmacy technician job in 2023 based on our database of over 10 million real job listings.
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Pharmacy technician skills include preparing prescription orders, verifying prescription information, and communicating with patients. They typically work in pharmacies, hospitals, and labs and play a critical role in ensuring patients receive the correct medication and dosage.Pharmacy technicians need to have strong attention to detail and possess excellent communication skills. They also need to be able to work efficiently under pressure and manage their time effectively, especially during busy periods.
Overall, being a pharmacy technician requires a combination of technical skills, patient care abilities, and a commitment to accuracy and safety in medication management.
How we got the data
The data in this report was pulled from Jobscan’s database of more than 10 million job descriptions and 17 million resumes.
We analyzed the job descriptions to find the skills that employers want the most. Then we analyzed the resumes to see which skills appeared most frequently.
Armed with this knowledge, job seekers can easily tailor their resumes and cover letters to highlight the most relevant skills for each job they apply to.
top 10 pharmacy technician Hard Skills
top 10 pharmacy technician Soft Skills
top 10 pharmacy technician Skills on Resume with High Match Rate
- Customer Service
- Professional
- Communication
- Accuracy
- Dispensing
- Organized
- Retail
- Data Entry
- Billing
- Patient Care
Top 10 pharmacy technician skills
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume
- Maintained and updated patient profiles, ensuring confidentiality and accuracy of records.
- Streamlined prescription filling procedures, resulting in a 30% reduction in average wait times for patients at the pharmacy counter.
- Conducted medication inventory checks, monitored expiration dates, and ordered supplies as needed
- Resolved billing discrepancies with insurance providers, resulting in a 15% increase in timely reimbursements.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Handled patient inquiries, complaints, and concerns while maintaining a positive and professional demeanor at all times.
- Explained medication usage and side effects in clear and concise terms, contributing to patient understanding.
- Consistently received positive feedback from patients, reflecting exceptional customer service skills and dedication to patient care.
- Provided exceptional customer service and support, resulting in a high level of patient satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Conducted weekly inventory checks of medications and supplies to ensure sufficient stock levels and prevent shortages.
- Implemented a new inventory tracking system which resulted in a 25% reduction in stockouts and a 15% decrease in waste.
- Monitored expiration dates of medications and disposed of expired items according to established procedures.
- Developed and maintained relationships with suppliers to ensure timely and accurate delivery of medications and supplies.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Greeted customers, answered questions, and provided information about products and services, resulting in a 90% satisfaction rate.
- Utilized point-of-sale (POS) systems to process transactions, refunds, and exchanges.
- Implemented effective merchandising strategies, resulting in a 20% increase in sales of over-the-counter products.
- Trained new pharmacy technicians on retail operations and inventory management.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Achieved a 100% accuracy rate in medication dispensing, minimizing potential errors and ensuring patient safety.
- Maintained strict adherence to all regulatory requirements, resulting in zero compliance issues during routine inspections.
- Conducted medication therapy management (MTM) sessions with over 50 patients.
- Implemented an inventory tracking system, minimizing inventory losses by 10% and optimizing inventory turnover.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Communicated with patients and healthcare providers to ensure that prescriptions are filled accurately and efficiently.
- Implemented a new system to streamline communication between the pharmacy and nursing homes.
- Maintained up-to-date patient records, ensuring clear communication of medication history and allergies between healthcare providers.
- Communicated effectively with patients to identify and resolve medication-related problems.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Developed and implemented policies and procedures for prescription filling, dispensing, and inventory management.
- Coordinated with insurance providers and managed care organizations to ensure compliance with billing and reimbursement policies.
- Conducted regular audits to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, resulting in zero policy violations.
- Updated the pharmacy’s policies and procedures manual, resulting in improved clarity and consistency across the team.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Ensured pharmacy compliance with state and federal regulations by conducting daily inspections, resulting in zero violations.
- Trained newly hired technicians on HIPAA, OSHA, and other compliance regulations, ensuring the pharmacy met all compliance requirements.
- Conducted regular medication expiration checks, reducing waste by 25% and ensuring patient safety and compliance.
- Improved adherence to safety procedures by conducting safety audits, which resulted in a 20% increase in compliance.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Consistently completed medication inventory checks and order placements, resulting in a 99% medication stock level accuracy rate.
- Proactively followed up with patients to ensure they were taking medication as prescribed.
- Volunteered for extra shifts and assisted colleagues during busy periods, demonstrating a strong work ethic.
- Consistently met or exceeded daily medication dispensing targets.
Examples of how to write this skill on your resume:
- Improved dispensing accuracy by 15% through effective use of robotic dispensing systems.
- Utilized compounding equipment and technology to formulate over 500 specialized medications with zero errors.
- Implemented a patient education program utilizing medication reminder apps.
- Enhanced prescription accuracy by 25% through effective use of drug utilization review (DUR) software.
5 tips for writing a pharmacy technician resume
Create a bulleted resume skills section
Use a simple, clean format that highlights your skills and experiences. Focus on readability by using bullet points and short phrases to present your skills. Properly organize your resume into education, experience, and skills sections.
“Adding a skills section to your resume is a great way to draw the recruiter’s attention to your most relevant strengths and competencies.”
– Ashley Watkins, NCRW, NCOPE, Job Search Coach
For example, a pharmacy technician’s bullet points might look like this:
- Prescription processing
- Inventory management
- Customer service
- Communication
Hitting all the top job requirements with your skills list will help you rank highly for a keyword search within an applicant tracking system. But don’t stop there. Add context for every skill elsewhere in your work experience.
If a recruiter is excited by your inventory management skills, for example, the first thing they’ll do is skim your work experience to figure out when, how, and how much you used that skill.
Highlight skills and accomplishments in your work experience section
As you list your responsibilities, it’s also important to highlight your significant accomplishments wherever you can.
“For soft skills, it’s often more effective to demonstrate them in the context of your past work experience. Instead of merely stating “excellent team player”, you are better off saying “collaborated with a cross-functional team of 6 on a new product launch that boosted sales by 30% in one year”. Examples of specific accomplishments or business outcomes speak louder than buzzwords.”
– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor
For example, if you reduced denied claims, be sure to mention this accomplishment.
Instead of saying,
“Collaborated with physicians’ offices to obtain prior authorizations for high-cost medications.”
You could say,
“Collaborated with physicians’ offices to obtain prior authorizations for high-cost medications, resulting in a 30% reduction in denied claims.
This demonstrates your level of expertise with the skills you listed. It gives the recruiter more reason to be interested in you as a result.
Break resume skills sections into categories
If you’re applying for a role requiring a broad skillset, categorize your skills.
“If you opt to include a designated skills section on your resume, include up to 10 of your core competencies. Excessive skills lists are overwhelming and sometimes confusing to the reader.”
– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter
For example, someone applying for a role as a pharmacy technician might benefit from segmenting their skill lists as follows:
Technical Skills:
- Pharmacy software and hardware proficiency
- Prescription processing
- Inventory management
Organizational Skills:
- Attention to detail
- Ability to multitask
- Accurate record-keeping
Quantify your achievements
Use numbers to quantify your achievements wherever possible. This helps potential employers understand your abilities and the impact you can have on their organization.
“Recruiters and hiring managers are looking for relevancy of how and when you applied those skills, so provide examples of this in your experience section. Bonus tip: Don’t just insert the skill like a task–include results.”
– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter
Instead of saying,
“Implemented a new inventory tracking system.”
You could say,
“Implemented a new inventory tracking system which resulted in a 25% reduction in stockouts and a 15% decrease in waste.”
By using numbers, you give hiring managers a better sense of your value.
Tailor your resume to the job description
Read the description carefully and emphasize the relevant skills and experiences. Highlight the skills that the employer seeks and provide examples of how you’ve used those skills in your previous roles. Doing so can demonstrate that you’re a strong fit for the position and increase your chances of being invited to an interview.
“The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach doesn’t work when it comes to your resume. For every job application, tailor your skill set to match the job description. Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that filter candidates based on keywords and skills listed in the job description. So, research the role you’re applying for and distill the skills required.”
– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor
In order to do this, “you must first understand what skills are most important for the target role,” says Ashley Watkins.
Here’s an example of how to tailor a pharmacy technician’s resume to a job description:
Job Title: Pharmacy Technician
Requirements:
- Processing and dispensing prescriptions accurately and efficiently.
- Managing pharmacy inventory and supplies.
- Providing excellent customer service and patient care.
Tailored Resume Description:
- Processed and dispensed an average of 100 prescriptions per day, ensuring accuracy and compliance with all relevant laws and regulations
- Monitored pharmacy inventory levels and ordered supplies as needed to ensure adequate stock of all medications and supplies
- Collaborated with other healthcare providers to provide excellent customer service and coordinated patient care.
“Focus on the sought-after and in demand skills. A great way to figure out what is currently in demand is by researching current job openings from your preferred companies and reading through the posting. Pay close attention to the preferred requirements section and build your skills section based on this list.”
– Chelsea Jay, Career & Leadership Development Coach – Seasoned and Growing
Bonus Tip: Use action verbs
Start each bullet point with an action verb. An action verb expresses an action, such as “create,” “build,” “manage,” “lead,” or “implement.”
Action verbs grab the reader’s attention and paint a vivid picture of what you accomplished at work.
Action verbs make your resume more interesting to read. They also show the kind of can-do attitude that employers are looking for.
FAQs
Pharmacy technicians need the following skills: customer service, retail, dedication, collaboration, communication, and policies and compliance.
A pharmacy technician with these skills can excel in their role, ensuring that patients receive the proper care and medications they need.
Here are some skills that a hospital pharmacist should list on their resume:
- Pharmacology
- Communication
- Attention to detail
- Problem-solving
- Time management
- Technology
- Regulatory knowledge
- Collaborative skills
It depends on the state. In some states, pharmacy technician certification is not mandatory, but it may be preferred by employers. However, in some states, certification is required by law to work as a pharmacy technician.
One of the most important qualities of a pharmacy technician is attention to detail. Pharmacy technicians are responsible for preparing and dispensing medications accurately, and even a small error could have serious consequences for a patient’s health.
- Prescription processing
- Medical terminology
- Inventory management
- Pharmacy software
- Medication safety