Career skills assessment in a doctor of pharmacy curriculum

Abstract

Objective. To assess students’ knowledge of, perceived importance of, and confidence in six career skills areas (curriculum vitae/resume writing, interviewing skills/business attire, phone interviews, thank you notes, business/dining etiquette, and networking) before, immediately after, and six months after participating in a career skills workshop. Methods. All students in a senior-level seminar course participated in the same simulation/performance-based workshop that was coupled with verbal or rubric-based feedback for each of the areas. Results. Ninety-one students participated in the study and all students’ knowledge significantly increased over the study as determined by study baseline, conclusion, and six-month follow-up assessments. At study follow-up, knowledge increased an average of +7.1 percentage points from baseline. Multivariate analysis indicated significant increases in confidence from baseline to follow-up ranging from +0.15 to +0.29 across the six workshop areas, with resume/CV preparation having the highest increase. From study onset to follow-up, students perceived that the six career skills areas were above the average importance midpoint (3.0). Conclusion. The workshop was effective in increasing students’ knowledge and confidence of essential career skills vital to pursuing post-graduate employment. These career skills are important for helping students distinguish themselves in a competitive job market.