Fellowship Inquiries

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Burhan1234

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Hello everyone!

I am seeking out individuals who had or who are currently in industrial fellowship programs (Rutgers, USC etc.) I am currently in pharmacy school in my 1st year and was wondering what I could do during my years attending pharmacy school to make myself a better applicant when interviewing for these fellowship programs. Also does an individual who attended a well known pharmacy program have a better chance to get accepted into a fellowship position as opposed to a person who attended a low tier pharmacy school. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

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Students at my school are known to do fellowships as well as its Boston. Most if not many did research papers and were part of the honors program. If you can get research and publications under your belt like the ones who ended up matching with a fellowship, thats your best bet.

Schoolwise Im not sure how things rank. I just know Rutgers and MCPHS have huge fellowship opps.
 
What you could do

Goal: Better understand the pharmaceutical industry and what positions you are interested in by ...
  • Completing internships in the pharmaceutical industry
  • Completing rotations in the pharmaceutical industry
  • Speaking to fellows and employees in different groups to better understand their jobs
  • Read pharmaceutical industry publications to keep up to date on current events and trends (FierceBiotech, FiercePharma, FirstWord)
Other things that will make you a competitive applicant:
  • Leadership experience in extracurricular organizations
  • Research experience (posters, etc.)
The school that you go to and your grades have very little bearing on whether you receive a fellowship or not. It is dependent on the interview, of which a significant portion is you explaining why you are interested in this position/company and demonstrating strong leadership/soft skills
 
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Hello everyone!

I am seeking out individuals who had or who are currently in industrial fellowship programs (Rutgers, USC etc.) I am currently in pharmacy school in my 1st year and was wondering what I could do during my years attending pharmacy school to make myself a better applicant when interviewing for these fellowship programs. Also does an individual who attended a well known pharmacy program have a better chance to get accepted into a fellowship position as opposed to a person who attended a low tier pharmacy school. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Research is the big one. It definitely helps in the long run and gives you plenty to talk about during your interviews. Summer internships in industry would be the next one.

Lastly join an organization with ties to the industry. IPhO is a new one with good exposure. DIA & AMCP are a few more.

Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
What you could do

Goal: Better understand the pharmaceutical industry and what positions you are interested in by ...
  • Completing internships in the pharmaceutical industry
  • Completing rotations in the pharmaceutical industry
  • Speaking to fellows and employees in different groups to better understand their jobs
  • Read pharmaceutical industry publications to keep up to date on current events and trends (FierceBiotech, FiercePharma, FirstWord)
Other things that will make you a competitive applicant:
  • Leadership experience in extracurricular organizations
  • Research experience (posters, etc.)
The school that you go to and your grades have very little bearing on whether you receive a fellowship or not. It is dependent on the interview, of which a significant portion is you explaining why you are interested in this position/company and demonstrating strong leadership/soft skills
This is great.

At the end of the day, no matter what career you go into, there are 3 general dimensions people look for in prospective hires:
1. Desire: Do you show interest and knowledge in what we do, and will you stay interested?
2. Competency: Can you do or will you be able to learn the job?
3. Likeability: Can I work with you professionally and get along with you personally?

Fellowships are very much about the soft skill component as their function is to equip promising candidates with the skills needed to succeed in the industry. Hard skills are not necessarily needed.

Your first step is to work on component #1 by finding out from current professionals whether you may like industry, and further hone into what fields you might like to pursue within it through informational interviews and internships. Ask previous PharmDs. If your school has alumni in the industry, however few, seek them out and ask for advice. Alumni, even those not from your school, are often willing to help students and pay it forward, and it may lead to some interesting opportunities.
 
Publications always look good, but I think internships/rotations are really important.

A lot of candidates that come through midyear have no experience in industry and just see it as a non-retail job option. Just understanding the functional area you are applying to will bring you up to the top 25% of candidates, after that publications, experiences, and soft skills will land you the spot.
 
See: Table 2 (Influencing Factors on Program Acceptance)
https://pharmafellows.rutgers.edu/resources/4ee21b6d1fd12d39116c18a0c6a0cf3d.pdf

Experience in the pharmaceutical industry or ancillary industries is the #1 driver for acceptance (2.05 - 3.8 Odds ratio), outpacing leadership in extracurricular activities (1.355 Odds Ratio), research (1.244 Odds Ratio), and other degrees (1.053 Odds Ratio). Note that having these experiences ALL increase your chances of obtaining a fellowship, but (based on this study), experience in the pharmaceutical industry is the highest driver of success in obtaining a fellowship for all of the reasons previously discussed
 
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Many students have figured out what they need to cram into their resumes/CV's to stand out as candidates. Soon the checklist of items Argentium references will become standard. Get out in front of your competition by pursing differentiation that is unique to you. How to differentiate yourself is a challenge for you to solve.
 
Hi, former fellow here!

The best advice I can give is to:

- Join industry or industry-related organizations, as someone previously mentioned (IPhO, AMCP, DIA) and actually participate in them
- Look for unique, non-clinical opportunities that your classmates aren't doing - internships, fellowships, research, volunteering. Even if the experience is not directly industry-related, stepping outside the clinical sphere is going to give you a lot to talk about when it's time for interviews. Think industry, public health, managed care, health communications...

And of course, networking is critical throughout all of this. It's great that you're only a P1 so you have lots of time ahead of you to learn and build strong connections.
 
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