From Residency to Career: What Should Your First “Job” Be?

Career Advice from Recent Residents

Cambree Fillis, PharmD, BCOP
Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Molly Graveno, PharmD
Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Grace Hsu, PharmD, BCOP
Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Catherine Johnson, PharmD
Oncology Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

It is that exciting, yet daunting time of the year again. The search for your next professional endeavor is underway.

Is there an ideal first job for someone coming out of residency? What is the right type of job? Should I specialize or sub-specialize right out of the gates? Is it ok to jump into a management or academic position right away? To answers these questions, we received the advice of recent residents, a Post-Graduate Year 2 Oncology residency program director, and a hiring manager.

Identify Priorities
Similar to searching for the best-fit residency program, job hunting requires research and reflection of professional and personal priorities. It is important to identify what is most important to you. Start by asking yourself where and how you want to practice. Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and move across the country for your future job? Do you prefer to practice solely inpatient or outpatient or would you rather have the opportunity to rotate? Is it important for you to practice as a sub-specialist among a large group of colleagues at an academic medical center or would you prefer to be the oncology pharmacist caring for patients with a variety of malignancies at a community hospital?

Also be sure to ask questions to others. Speak to individuals familiar with the institutions you are applying to and gain as much insight as you can on the position and the institutional culture. These tactics will aid you in identifying positions that will positively challenge you and promote your career growth through opportunities for teaching, mentorship, research, and leadership.

Get to Know Hiring Timelines
There is no set timeline or designated match day for positions after residency. This can be challenging, as some programs recruit in early winter and others wait until late spring. Knowing the different timelines will allow you to coordinate multiple interviews around the same time and prevent you from having an offer on the table requiring a decision to be made earlier than other upcoming interviews. Most importantly, do not worry if you do not have a position lined up by March. Oncology pharmacy positions are always being posted, and you will find something that aligns well with your aspirations.

Seek Mentorship
During the job search, use and build your network. Find two to three mentors who have taken similar steps in their career, know you as a person, and can give you their honest opinion. Discuss your priorities and timeline with them. Learn the tips and tricks they used to navigate the job market, and adopt the ones that work for you. Seek their feedback on your CV, letters of intent, and prepared presentation if they are required by the institutions you are applying to.

Overall, as you search for the position best for you, be mindful of your priorities, timelines, and available mentors- keep in mind that your first job does not have to be your last job. There will be plenty of time to find your dream job. You may even find that your definition of a ‘dream job’ changes with your priorities. Throughout the process, keep an open mind, stay organized, and apply to institutions where you can see yourself thrive.

Career Advice from a Post-Graduate Year 2 Residency Program Director

Wendy Ying Ci Hui, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Oncology Pharmacy Specialist
PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency Director
Kellogg Cancer Center, Northshore University Health System – Evanston Hospital
Evanston, IL

When it comes to the ideal first job out of residency, the answer is definitely different for everyone. The ideal job depends on your skills, interests and personal priorities.

Whether you are preparing to look for a job during your oncology residency or you have worked a few years post residency and are now looking for a change, it is important to conduct a self-assessment and examine your skills, interests and goals. This may bring back memories of the pre-residency questionnaires you have completed. Some of your responses may have changed, so it is good to reevaluate.

Some self-reflective questions to help guide you through the process may include the following:

Rank your answers: which are must haves and which ones are negotiable?
Once you have a clear picture of your professional and personal goals, discuss with your trusted advisors: residency program director (RPD), preceptors, mentors, family, friends, etc. They will provide helpful insights as you review potential oncology pharmacist positions.

The next step is to start the search. You can look for opportunities at your current institution, through pharmacy organization websites (career pages), online recruitment services, institutional website job postings, pharmacy friends/mentors’ referrals, etc.

What if you are not offered the ideal position after residency? Should you settle for any job?
Urgency to accept a job offer depends on many factors. Do you have an interim job that will sustain you financially as you continue your search? If you are able to stay as a resource pharmacist in your current institution, then you may able to wait longer for the ideal job.

If you need a job right away, then weigh your offer with current needs and future considerations.

• Does the position offer the must haves?
• Is there potential to develop the position into your ideal job?
• Will this job help further your professional development?
• Are there more positives than negatives?

It is important to recognize there is no perfect job. An ideal position may still have features you are less enthusiastic about. Do not be too quick to conclude whether an opportunity is good for you or not If you are interested but unsure if you have the required qualifications or if the position meets your needs, then apply and see how things turn out. Most of the time, you will not know until you are actually working in that position. There is always something to learn from an experience, so keep an open mind. Your goals and priorities may also change with time. Therefore, the first job, even if less than ideal, will prepare you for the position that you will find fulfilling for the long run.

Career Advice from a Hiring Pharmacist

Jessica Unzaga, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP
Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator, Malignant Hematology & Stem Cell Transplant
Miami Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida
Miami, FL

Graduates of a post-graduate year 2 (PGY2) residency program enter the workforce with a dynamic and well-rounded skill set in clinical oncology, administration, teaching, and research, to name a few. In the winter and spring months PGY2 residents are busy searching for their next steps, and are often looking for sub specialization in a specific area of interest aligned with their exposure as a resident or even in student rotations.

As a coordinator that contributes to hiring decisions at my institution, I feel that the most important quality in an applicant is the concept of job fit. Job fitness is determined by combining the prospective employee’s strengths, motivations, and experience and how they match with the needs of the position and work environment. Employees that fit well into the role, department, and institution are highly satisfied, productive, and contribute to a positive work culture.

PGY2 graduates come with a solid foundation of oncology pharmacy practice and when looking for their first role after residency it is important that they take the time to reflect on their strengths, opportunities, and goals for the next 5 years and how that matches their role of interest. Furthermore, oncology practice models differ across the country and different roles and practice settings call for different skill sets.

It is important that during the application and interview process the applicant seeks to fully understand the entity, department, and position for which they are applying. Is the position new to fill an unmet need or does it replace a pharmacist that was previously integrated in that role? What are the key deliverables? How will I be evaluated? These are some great starting points for an applicant to ask future employers when assessing job fitness.

Another significant factor for PGY2 graduates to consider is that pharmacy practice, even more so, specifically oncology practice, is rapidly evolving. We should expect that a decade from now oncology pharmacy practice may look a bit different than today, many institutions have established protocols and/or collaborative practice agreements, and in the future pharmacists may obtain nationwide provider status. Employers looking to hire new practitioners are seeking candidates that are internally motivated to continue learning, optimize patient care, and build and maintain strong interdisciplinary collaboration, in addition to transparency, flexibility, and resilience when faced with change. Establishing boundaries and work life balance is also key to maintaining positive mental and physical health. Mentors are also great resources that can offer valuable insight to help guide residents through the job search process.