Pharmacy technician interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Tell candidates they'll often be the only person in the pharmacy, with the pharmacist off site but reachable by phone [where your state board allows it], and that clinical questions always go to the pharmacist.
• Show the posted schedule: [shift times], weekends on [your rotation], and [any early starts before the morning medication round].
• Say that every count is checked and every gap is reported, never fixed quietly, and that the job comes with a background check and a drug test under [your state's law and your policy], and when they happen.
• Explain that the job includes clean-room garbing and handling hazardous drugs, with training and protective gear provided.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Controlled-substance integrity

   You're checking in the wholesaler's controlled-substance tote, and one item on the invoice isn't in it. What do you do?

   It shows whether they record what really arrived and report the gap, or sign for the paperwork and hope the rest turns up.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you check before you decide it's missing?
   • What do you sign for, and what do you keep?
   • Who do you tell, and when?

   5Strong

   Recounts, checks the seal and the packing slip, and records only what arrived. Keeps the tote, seal and paperwork as found, puts away what came under your procedure, and tells the pharmacist that day so they can take it up with the wholesaler.

   3Mixed

   Records only what arrived and tells the pharmacist that day, but has already thrown out the tote and packing slip, or didn't note whether the seal was intact.

   1Weak

   Signs for the full invoice and assumes it'll come on the next delivery, or puts stock away without counting it.

2. Situational · Controlled-substance integrity

   Emptying a cabinet's return bin, you find a controlled-substance vial with a loose cap and less in it than the label says. What do you do?

   Tampered returns are a sign of diversion, and what the technician does in the next few minutes decides whether anyone can find out what happened.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you do with the vial?
   • Who do you tell, and what do you say?
   • What would you say if a coworker asked what you found?

   5Strong

   Doesn't return it to stock or throw it out. Secures it as found, the way your procedure says, notes where, when and from which cabinet, and tells the pharmacist right away. Sticks to facts, accuses no one, and keeps it between them and the pharmacist.

   3Mixed

   Pulls it from stock and tells the pharmacist right away, but passes it around or doesn't write down where and when it was found.

   1Weak

   Puts it back in stock, throws it away, or tells coworkers who they think did it.

3. Technical · Aseptic technique

   Walk me through how you get ready to make a sterile IV dose in the hood, from the anteroom to handing it off for the pharmacist's check.

   Asking for every step in order shows whether they work by habit and the written procedure or cut steps when it's busy.

   Follow-ups

   • What would make you stop and start over?
   • What do you leave with the finished dose so the pharmacist can check it?
   • When were you last tested on garbing and aseptic technique, such as gloved fingertip samples or a media-fill test, and how did you do?

   5Strong

   Washes hands and garbs in the order the procedure sets, cleans the hood, wipes items going in, checks each ingredient's name, strength, date and condition, keeps hands out of the airflow over critical sites, labels, and keeps the used vials with the dose for the check.

   3Mixed

   Names the right steps in the right order, but can't say why hands stay out of the airflow over the vial and syringe, or forgets to keep the used vials for the check.

   1Weak

   Skips garbing or cleaning steps, touches critical sites, or throws out the vials before the pharmacist checks.

4. Situational · Staying in scope

   The pharmacist is off site tonight. A nurse calls and asks whether two IV drugs can run in the same line. What do you say?

   Technicians who want to help sometimes answer clinical questions from memory, and that's a call only a pharmacist or provider should make.

   Follow-ups

   • What if you're fairly sure you know the answer?
   • How do you reach the pharmacist, and what do you pass on?
   • What do you tell the nurse while they wait?

   5Strong

   Doesn't answer it. Gets the on-call or remote pharmacist right away, passes on the patient, drugs and question exactly, and tells the nurse when to expect an answer. Follows up if the answer doesn't come.

   3Mixed

   Doesn't answer it, but gives the nurse the pharmacist's number and leaves the nurse to make the call, with no follow-up.

   1Weak

   Answers from a chart or memory, or says it's usually fine.

5. Behavioral · Reading and checking

   Tell me about a time a pharmacist caught a mistake in your work. What was it, and how has your routine changed since?

   Everyone makes errors at the check. You want the person who finds out how it got past them and changes a habit.

   Follow-ups

   • How did it get past your own check?
   • What did you do right after it was caught?
   • How do you know the change worked?

   5Strong

   Names the exact error, such as a wrong strength or a label on the wrong item, owns it, explains how it slipped past their own check, and describes a specific habit they changed, like scanning every item or reading the label at pick and at fill.

   3Mixed

   Owns the error, but the lesson is to be more careful, with no change in how they work.

   1Weak

   Can't recall one, or downplays it because the pharmacist caught it anyway.

6. Behavioral · Reading and checking

   Think of a job, class or volunteer role where small details had to be right, like counts, dates or lot numbers. How did you make sure they were?

   It lets candidates new to hospitals show the checking habit the job runs on.

   Follow-ups

   • What system did you use to check yourself?
   • Tell me about a time it caught a mistake.
   • What did you do when you weren't sure something was right?

   5Strong

   Names the task and a system, such as a checklist, a second count or a scan, and describes a mistake the system caught and how they fixed it.

   3Mixed

   Has a system, but can't name a time it caught anything, or relied on someone else to check.

   1Weak

   Relies on memory, or can't describe any way they check their own work.

7. Technical · Stock and outdates

   A recall notice names a lot of an injectable drug you stock. Walk me through how you find and handle every unit in the hospital.

   In a small hospital the same drug sits in the pharmacy, the cabinets, the ER and the crash carts, and a missed unit can reach a patient.

   Follow-ups

   • Where would you look besides the pharmacy shelves?
   • What do you do with the units you find?
   • How do you show later that every place was checked?

   5Strong

   Tells the pharmacist, checks lot numbers in every location, including cabinets, ER stock, crash carts and code trays, pulls and labels the units, follows the notice's return steps, and records what was found where and that each place was checked.

   3Mixed

   Checks every location and pulls the lot, but keeps no record of where they looked, so no one can show later that each place was checked.

   1Weak

   Waits for someone else to handle it, or checks only the main shelf.

8. Situational · Stock and outdates

   Restocking a crash cart after a code, you find a drug in the sealed replacement tray that expires before the next scheduled check. The pharmacy has no other in stock. What do you do?

   Crash carts are opened when there's no time to read dates, so the technician's check is the one that counts.

   Follow-ups

   • Who decides what happens next?
   • What else would you check?
   • What do you write down?

   5Strong

   Doesn't put the tray back quietly. Tells the pharmacist right away so they can decide on a swap or a borrow, checks the other trays from the same batch, and updates the expiration log.

   3Mixed

   Tells the pharmacist and logs it, but doesn't check the other trays made at the same time.

   1Weak

   Leaves it because it hasn't expired yet, or puts the cart back without telling anyone.

9. Situational · Working with nurses

   You're partway through making an IV dose in the hood when a nurse calls, upset, about a first dose that isn't in the cabinet. What do you do?

   It shows whether they protect a sterile step under pressure and still fix the problem the nurse is calling about.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you do with the dose in the hood?
   • How do you find out why the dose wasn't there?
   • What do you tell the nurse, and when?

   5Strong

   Finishes the step or stops safely as the procedure says, never rushing it. Calls the nurse back quickly, finds out why the dose was missing, gets the pharmacist if the order isn't verified yet, gives the nurse a time, and logs the cause.

   3Mixed

   Gets the dose to the unit fast, but doesn't find out why it was missing, so it happens again.

   1Weak

   Rushes out of the hood mid-step, or tells the nurse to wait with no time or follow-up.

10. Behavioral · Working with nurses

    Tell me about a time people from another team were frustrated with you or your department. What did you do?

    Nurses who stop trusting the pharmacy start keeping their own stashes and workarounds, and that's where errors and losses begin.

    Follow-ups

    • What was the real problem underneath?
    • What did you change, and who did you bring in?
    • How did you know things got better?

    5Strong

    Listened, found the cause behind the complaint, such as late restocks or a pocket that kept running empty, fixed the need that day, and changed something with their lead so it stopped.

    3Mixed

    Smoothed things over that day, but didn't find or fix the cause.

    1Weak

    Argued, blamed the other team, or says it never happens.

Work exercise: fill and check

Hand finalists a made-up restock pick list of [12] items, a tray of empty, labeled training packages, and a made-up controlled-substance count sheet. Plant [five] problems: a wrong strength, an expired item, a look-alike name, a quantity on the pick list that can't be read, and a count that doesn't match with no explanation. Give them [20] minutes to mark each problem and write what they'd do. No real drugs and no real patient records.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• When a controlled-substance count didn't match on their shift, what did they do, and how fast did you hear about it?
• How often did the pharmacist's check find errors in their work, and what changed after one was found?
• How did nurses describe working with them on a busy day, and did the units run out of anything they should have seen coming?
• Would you hire them again for a job with access to controlled substances? What gives you pause, if anything?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipWhat medications are you taking right now?

  AskTell every candidate the offer depends on a drug test under [your state's law and your policy]. Before an offer, you may ask whether they currently use illegal drugs.

• SkipHave you ever been arrested?

  AskRun a background check with the candidate's written consent, at the point your state's fair-chance rules allow, and give the federal notices before you act on it. DEA's own rule bars a hospital from giving controlled-substance access to anyone convicted of a felony involving controlled substances, or who lost a DEA registration for cause, unless DEA grants a waiver. Ask your lawyer how your fair-chance law treats that.

• SkipHow much do you make at the drugstore now?

  AskAsk how they've been paid before, such as hourly with shift pay, then say: this role pays [range]. How does that fit what you need?

• SkipCan you stand all shift at your age?

  AskAsk every candidate the same way: the posted duties include standing and walking most of the shift and pushing carts to every unit. Can you do that, with or without reasonable accommodation?

Common mistakes when hiring a pharmacy technician

• Treating the certificate as proof of clean-room skill

  A national certification shows the candidate passed an exam. It doesn't show they can garb, keep their hands out of the airflow or make a clean IV dose. Don't let them compound alone until they've passed your own sign-off, built on your written procedures and USP <797>.

• Rewarding the fastest filler

  The candidate who finishes the exercise first can look like the best hire. Score what they caught, not how fast they finished. In this job, speed without checking is how a wrong strength reaches a unit.

• Letting the technician fill the pharmacist's gaps

  When the pharmacist is off site, it's tempting to let an experienced technician answer nurses' questions or release doses. Your state board decides what a technician may do while no pharmacist is on duty, so read its rules and write them into the job.

Pharmacy technician interview FAQ