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The following behavioral based interview questions with suggested follow ups come from a group case completed in the PLA (Pharmacy Leadership Academy) Module Two Leadership Influence by Sumaira Ansari, Alison Smith, Valerie Smith, Jon Ternus, William Turner, Marianne Whittaker and Ronald Williams.

Pharmacy Technician

Sample interview questions with possible follow-up questions:

► I see that you currently work at CVS.  Can you tell me about a time that you went out of your way to take care of one of your patients? Follow-up question: That is great example of outstanding customer service, do you feel that going above and beyond is a common service practice of yours? Skill or ability tested: Customer service

► In your time at the Children’s Mercy Hospital, have you had a disagreement with a coworker?  How did you handle that situation? Follow-up questions: That is certainly a great way to approach the situation, did it rectify the situation? How is your relationship with that employee now? Skill or ability tested: Interpersonal relations

► How would your co-workers describe you?  Follow-up question: Would you say that this is a fair assessment? Skill or ability tested: Interpersonal Relations

► I see that you have worked both retail and hospital pharmacy.  Name your favorite thing and least favorite thing about each.  Follow-up question:  You state that your favorite thing about retail is working with the customers.  Please tell me more about this.  Skill or ability tested: Customer Service

► During your time at Walgreens, did you ever encounter a patient who was extremely unhappy? How did you handle this situation? Follow-up question: Would you say that the patient was fully satisfied with the end result? Skill or ability tested: Customer Service

Clinical Pharmacist

Sample interview questions with possible follow-up questions:

►Describe a time when you were asked by a superior to do something that you didn’t view as an important part of your job.  What was your approach to this situation? Follow-up questions:  Looking back, would you have done anything differently?  Skill or ability tested: Adaptability/flexibility, team work

►Describe a time in your professional life when you were successful in communicating with someone (such as a physician) that you personally did not like (or did not like you).  What are other things you could have done to have to make this more successful?  Skill or ability tested:  Interpersonal relations, communication

►Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a physician regarding a medication therapy for a patient.  How did you handle this situation?  Follow-up questions: What if the physician was absolutely insistent that the therapy prescribed was what he/she wanted, no matter what?  How would this change your approach to communicating with this person?  When would you escalate this situation and what steps would you take?  Skill or ability tested: Communication, tolerance for stress, problem solving and judgment

►What tools or resources do you currently utilize to expand your clinical knowledge or skills?  Follow-up questions: What is your approach to translating this acquired knowledge into your clinical practice?  How do you share this learned information with others who may benefit and/or use it to improve processes for patient care?  What areas would you like to focus on developing in the next 5 years?  Skill or ability tested:  Continuous learning and growth, initiative

►What strategies do you incorporate into engaging an unmotivated student on rotation?  Follow-up questions: How do you tailor your teaching and feedback style to individual students?  Describe an instance where you had to give negative feedback to a student regarding their performance.  How did that go?  What would you do differently next time?  Skill or ability tested: Communication, flexibility/adaptability, inspiring and guiding others, appreciating and valuing diversity

Central Pharmacist

Sample interview questions with possible follow-up questions:

► You’re working a shift in the main pharmacy and the pharmacy buyer alerts you that the formulary 5-HT3 antagonist (ondansetron) is on manufacturer backorder and there are only about 50 doses left in the entire hospital.  How would you handle this situation?  Follow-up questions: Have you dealt with a situation like this at a previous job?  If so, how was it handled and what was the outcome?  Would you do anything differently?  Can you suggest a process for addressing backordered medications in the hospital setting?  What would you do to ensure patients received adequate anti-emetics during this shortage? Skill or ability tested: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving

► While checking IV admixtures, you observe a technician that routinely uses poor aseptic technique.  Other employees have also observed this technician’s poor technique but instead of addressing the problem directly with the technician, they talk about it behind her back.  What would your approach be to solving this problem?  Follow-up questions: Tell me about a time when you’ve had to correct someone else’s error.  How did it go?  Tell me about a time when you’ve faced a conflict on the job.  How did you resolve the conflict?  Would you do anything differently?  Skill or ability tested: Coaching, Crucial Conversations

► Tell me about a time when you took the lead on a task or project involving a group of people.  Follow-up questions:  When working on a task / project as part of a group, tell me how you motivate people to make the task / project a priority?  Can you give me an example of a time when you worked as a part of team, but weren’t the team leader?  What was your role on the team?  What did your team accomplish?  What were the struggles you faced?  Skill or ability tested: Leadership, Team Work

► Tell me about a time when you received some constructive feedback.  Follow-up questions:  Did you agree with the feedback?  Did you do anything to change your behavior or actions as a result of the feedback?  If so, what did you do?  Receiving constructive feedback can be challenging, especially when you do not agree.  Tell me about a difficult conversation you’ve had with an employee or co-worker.  How did the conversation go?  What would you do differently given the chance?  What did you learn from this conversation?   Skill or ability tested: Emotional Intelligence

► Give me an example of a time when you’ve had to juggle conflicting demands.  How did you determine what to do first and how to handle all the tasks?  Follow-up questions:  What techniques do you use to stay calm during stressful situations?  As a pharmacist, conflicting demands can make it difficult to focus on the task at hand.  Yet we know that detailed attention must be paid to avoid making a mistake.  What techniques do you use to ensure accuracy when performing pharmacist related tasks during stressful situations?  Tell me about a time when it was really busy at work and you went above and beyond to help take care of patients.  Skill or ability tested: Multi-Tasking, Prioritizing, Staying task oriented

Pharmacy Resident

Sample interview questions with possible follow-up questions:

► As a resident, you are responsible for managing multiple projects and tasks at once.  Given an example of a time when you had two important projects competing for your time.  Follow-up questions: How did you handle this?  Looking back on the scenario, can you provide some insights on how you might have changed your actions to better manage your time?  Skill or ability tested: Adaptability

► You are currently half way through your Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences, and have encountered a variety of rotation settings.  What processes or techniques have you learned to make a job easier, or to be more effective during these rotations?  Follow-up questions: What was your discovery process?  How would you have implemented or how did you implement your idea?  Skill or ability tested: Exercising initiative

► I see that you have completed a number of presentations during your APPEs.  Describe the most significant written document or presentation you’ve written or presented.  Follow-up questions: Who was your audience?  What was the outcome of your communication/presentation?  Skill or ability tested: Communication (oral)

► In pharmacy, there are a lot of “grey” areas in clinical practice.  Can you describe a time during your rotations when you had to make a difficult decision with the information you were provided?  Follow-up questions:  How do you familiarize yourself with a topic that is unknown to you?  How did you come up with a recommendation?  Skill or ability tested: Critical thinking skills and decision making

► Since you are pursuing a residency, completion of a PGY-1 program is clearly a short-term goal for you.  Can you tell me about your future short-term and long-term goals?  Follow-up questions: How do you plan to measure these goals?  How did you establish a goal baseline and targets to meet those goals you have set?  Skill or ability tested: Goals – setting and measuring