As the first day of work at my new Epic pharmacist position draws closer I’m getting more and more nervous.
It’s not because I think I can’t do the job… I just have some jitters that I know I will only get over after I walk in on Day 1.
Moving on…
Yesterday I explained what was involved in Step One of the 4-Step Interview Process for my new Epic pharmacist position. As promised, here’s what happened during Step Two.
New Epic Pharmacist Position Interview Process
Step Two
I felt like I sailed through the first part of the recruitment/hiring process – I have a Pharm.D degree and I had worked for more than three years in various pharmacy settings. I was feeling quite happy with myself and my prospects.
About a week later I received a call from a different recruiter who informed me that I had passed the initial phase of the process. He let me know that I was being invited to take a technical/aptitude test for the Epic position.
Okay… Freak out time… A test? A technical test? An aptitude test?
He went on to explain that the test was an Epic-generated test which was simply designed to assess how I think and how I process technical and non-technical information.
I asked how the results would be interpreted and he said that they were sent back to someone at Epic (or someone trained in Epic systems for interpretation).
I felt like a specimen of some sort…
He explained that based on my responses they would be able to determine whether or not I would be a good fit for the Epic analyst position.
Scary…!
The day of the test arrived and I got to the facility, fully expecting that I’d be just one of a handful of test-takers.
Imagine my shock, and then subsequent dismay, when I saw a huge LCD screen in the reception area with the following announcement (or words of similar import):
“Epic Certification Testing In Progress 9am-5pm”
What…? They were conducting these tests all day long…??!! My first thought was “oh for crying out loud… How many of us are vying for this position…?” I was truly disheartened.
Yes, I realize that that was a very selfish thought and it’s not to say that I don’t want anybody else to become an Epic pharmacist but hey, I’m only human and after all, they DID say there was only one available position…
I was escorted to a testing room with three computer stations and my proctor informed me that she’d be in the room with me for the duration of the test to ensure that I didn’t commit any infractions… You see, there are some rules against looking up info on your smart phone, etc. Naturally, I was fine with that.
The test was made up of three segments and you had the option of starting with whichever one you chose to. I decided to start with the one I felt least comfortable with and work my way up to a happy ending i.e. the one I thought I’d find easiest to fly through.
I began with the technical assessment and all I’ll say is, I gradually saw my dreams of Epic certification fading into darkness… I moved on to the mathematics segment and initially began to feel less incompetent. Finally I tackled the English portion and actually enjoyed it.
I cannot give any specifics about what questions were asked as I signed a waiver saying I wouldn’t, so that’s that. The Epic folks are obviously very protective of their intellectual property and I can’t afford to cross them 😉
The bottom line is that I left that testing room feeling very unsure of the outcome and the fact that another candidate was escorted in about halfway during my test, and seated at one of the vacant computer stations didn’t exactly give me the assurance that I was still in the running for the position.
So as William Shakespeare said, “All’s Well That Ends Well“…
Two weeks later I received another call from said recruiter informing me that I had attained “a favorable test result” and was cleared to move on to Step Three in the recruiting/application process.
My curiosity got the best of me and I asked what my score was or how the results were interpreted… They couldn’t tell me but that was fine by me, I was just happy to be moving forward, especially after I thought I wasn’t going to make it.
Come back tomorrow to find out what Step Three of the interview process for this new Epic pharmacist position was all about.
[…] Join me tomorrow for Step Two. […]