Author: Jenny Lam

Designing Recruitment Ads & Evaluating Recruitment Strategies

Personal Brand Summary

As a potential employee in the health care system, my brand centers on being a dependable, life-long learner, and impact-driven team member who thrives in environments that values multi-disciplinary collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. I bring a balance of clinical and operational skills, enabling me to navigate complex healthcare-system-wide and department-specific problems and constantly being mindful of the system wide impacts towards the pharmacy department. Whether I’m streamlining a workflow, contributing to cross-functional projects, or helping teammates thrive, I approach every task with integrity, humility and adaptability. My goal is not just to succeed individually, but to elevate the collective success of the team, the individual members and the organization as a whole to expand accessible and innovative health care to the greater Portland area.

Personal Wanted Ad

WANTED: A Clinically Curious, System-Savy Pharmacist With a Mind for Innovation and a Heart for People

Seeking a pharmacist who does more than verify orders? Need someone who can connect with patients, collaborate across disciplines, and spot workflow gap before it becomes a problem? Look no further! I’m ready to join a team where clinical and operational excellence meets everyday impact.

I bring a background of 2 years of residency training from an academic medical center. This rigorous training allows me to bring a unique blend of attention to detail, adaptability, and big-picture thinking and innovative patient care mindset. Whether optimizing medication safety processes, educating patients, or contributing to interdisciplinary rounds, I show up with curiosity, compassion, and a commitment to doing the right thing.

I am comfortable in both the clinical and operational arena, I thrive in fast-paced environments and value clear communication, thoughtful workflow improvements, and team-first problem solving.

If your team is looking for a pharmacist who’s clinically sharp, has a strong operational lens, and ready to grow with your mission, let’s connect!

Week 3

When I applied for my Ambulatory Operations Supervisor position, the job posting gave a fairly broad overview of the role. It included a breakdown of the position’s functions and duties, required qualifications, experiences, and job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies. It provided a general framework of what the job entailed, but it was pretty high-level and didn’t dive into the specifics.

That said, I also had access to an internal job description that offered a bit more detail. This version listed both direct and indirect reports and gave slightly more context around the structure of the role. Even then, it remained somewhat general.

I haven’t officially started the position yet, but as a resident, I had the opportunity to observe the team dynamics and get a sense of the day-to-day responsibilities of the managers currently in similar roles. From that experience, I realized that while the job description offered a decent overview, it didn’t touch on some of the more important aspects—particularly the soft skills needed to be successful in the role. It also didn’t give any real insight into the workload, stressors, or common pain points associated with the position.

Overall, I’d say the job description helped me understand the structural and technical aspects of the job, but not necessarily what it feels like to actually do the job. My firsthand exposure as a resident filled in a lot of those gaps and gave me a more realistic picture of what to expect.

This was the job posting:

This position is responsible for overseeing staff while guiding, enhancing, developing, and implementing programs/initiatives designed to support Ambulatory Oncology and Infusion pharmacy services within OHSU Health. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, employee supervision, education and training of staff, residents, interns and students, program development, quality assessment, process improvement, and compliance with accreditation standards and applicable laws and regulations. This position serves as a clinical role model by staffing their service area(s) in order to maintain their content expertise (~40%). In addition they may be asked to serve as Pharmacist-In-Charge for their specific pharmacy operations when applicable. They will rotate on call responsibilities approximately every 6th week or staff approximately every 6th weekend.

Function/Duties of Position
• Responsible for executing all job duties as outlined in the pharmacist position description.
• Supervision of Staff: Recruits, hires, trains, develops, schedules, and supervises assigned staff. Develops performance standards and conducts performance reviews in accordance with hospital policy.
• Program Design & Development: Contribute to the development of programs, initiatives, facilities and systems for continuous departmental improvement. Develop and monitor dashboards and quality metrics related to pharmacy department and service area(s) goals. Participate in the development and implementation of the Department of Pharmacy’s strategic plan in alignment with the OHSU Health’s mission, vision, and values. Develop policies, procedures and treatment guidelines, and improve electronic health record functionality as needed to enhanced patient care.
• Process Improvement: Establish best practices in service area(s) to improve patient care outcomes. Identify and opportunities for value analysis and resolve unsafe conditions and inefficient work processes. Assist in the management of drug shortages and high cost medications by providing clinical expertise related to utilization and alternative therapies.
• Departmental Interdisciplinary Coordination: Facilitate patient care services in assigned areas by collaborating with all pharmacy department staff and other healthcare team members across OHSU Health. Work with external agencies to facilitate continuity of care.
• Teaching: Oversees the education and training of pharmacy residents, interns, and students. Directs the work of students/residents and monitors and evaluates their performance. This position is expected to participate in education and research related to their service area(s)

Required Qualifications
• BS or PharmD
• PGY1 residency or 2 years of relevant experience
• Proficiency in an area of clinical pharmacy practice
• Professional communication, written, and verbal
• Contemporary Practice of Pharmacy
• Licensed Pharmacist in Oregon
• Compliance with Code of Conduct, Respect in the workplace and Applicable policies, procedures and agreements related to position, department or OHSU as a whole
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation

Preferred Qualifications
• Work history demonstrating involvement in leadership projects
• Publications in peer reviewed journals or presentations at state or national pharmacy conference. Two years of precepting and lecturing experience or ACPE accredited teaching certificate.
• Board Certification or Fellowship in area of clinical pharmacy practice

Week 2a: You come across a news article reporting that your favorite company was faced with a public lawsuit in which they were accused of widespread discrimination against individuals from an ethnicity, culture, or belief system you associate with.

My thoughts…If I read that my favorite company was involved in a lawsuit accusing them of discrimination against individuals from an ethnicity, culture, or belief system I associate with, I would certainly be disappointed and question my future relationship with this company. I would do my part in researching more about the situation, is this caused by one outlier (one bad employee), or is this the value supported by the company as a whole and I would evaluate the company’s reaction and response to this accusation. As a minority, I always valued companies that promote inclusivity, equality, and diversity, so learning that one I support is involved in such accusations would feel like a betrayal of those principles.

If these accusations are in fact true and it wasn’t just caused by one outlier, I would feel uncomfortable continuing to purchase from them. I’d be torn between enjoying their products and upholding my personal values. The idea that my money could potentially be supporting an organization that discriminates against people based on their ethnicity, culture, or belief system would be hard to ignore.

In terms of applying for a job there, I would likely reconsider. I am a minority female myself so it very important that I work in an environment that foster DEI and celebrates diversity. I would question whether the company’s internal culture truly aligns with the values they publicly promote. If the accusations were so bad to the point it made public headlines, I can only imagine how bad it could be internally and behind closed doors.

Ultimately, how a company handles this lawsuit would be a critical factor in determining whether I continue to support them. If they take accountability, make meaningful changes, and actively work to correct any discriminatory practices, I might reconsider my stance. I am someone that values humility and transparency, it’s okay to make mistake but it more important on how the mistake is handled.

Week 1b:

1. Organizations often prioritize marketing and product design over recruitment and selection because effective marketing can directly drive sales, while innovative products can establish a strong market position, contributing to long-term growth. Companies may also leverage their brand recognition to attract talent, reducing the immediate need for extensive recruitment efforts. The ROI from marketing and product design is more easily measurable, while recruitment is seen as a longer-term investment. In competitive industries, staying ahead in product innovation and market positioning is crucial, leading to resource allocation in those areas. High investment into recruitment and selection may lead to failure of the position (i.e search cost, lost productivity, and wasted salary dollars).
2. The potential strengths of an organization’s decision to not prioritize recruitment and selection in favor of a focus on other aspects of the business are: strong market presence or innovative product (investment in R&D), have measurable results (i.e. sales) and increase competitiveness. The potential weaknesses of an organization’s decision to not prioritize recruitment and selection in favor of a focus on other aspects of the business are: talent gap and skill shortages, decreased long-term sustainability and difficulty adapting to change with less younger hires being targeted.

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Week 1: Reflection on my first job interview in Feb 2025

4/3/25

1. Job application process can be soul sucking. Navigating through the online application can be very tedious. For example, despite uploading a CV/resume, I still have to manually add in each of my education and previous/current jobs and experiences, line by line. Leading up to the interview, I prepared by reviewing common interview questions and learning about the team and company culture. When the interview schedule itinerary was shared with me, I did some research of each member and create relevant questions for each person.
2. The hiring managers (director and manager) reached out to me prior to talk to me about the position and what they are looking for in an applicant. Also sharing their thoughts on my skillsets and what I can do in this position and how I could also grow in this position. The interview was in-person, so it was very personable, I value face to face time with the future team. The interview itself was engaging, with a mix of behavioral and situational questions. I appreciated the transparency from the interviewers about the company’s goals and challenges. Since this was all in-person and seeing the engagement the staff had with me, made me feel reassured that everyone cared about the operation and prospective of the team grow and development for the future.