Third Interview

Since becoming a pharmacist is my ultimate goal, I decided to interview an individual that was very much outside my network and the method I used to contact him was through my direct network. His name is Paul Simons, PharmD. and he is the Regional Pharmacy Supervisor for my district. The duty that Paul posseses is to pick and chose locations where Walgreen's Pharmacies are needed to be open throughout the Northeast suburbs and downtown chicago areas. His career is somewhat similar to what my dream in life is and that is to open clinics in India. This is one of the main reasons I went about to interview him. I spoke with my pharmacy manager and told him the situation and he basically said here's his office number. I gave him a call and told him the reason for my call. Paul was very surprised because he said no one has ever called him for a favor like this. He asked me when I worked next and that he would stop by my store and give me some of his time. I was very delighted and he did actually coming the following weekend.

I started off the interview by introducing myself and once again reminding him of the purpose for the interview. When i asked him what was the biggest motivation that put him in the position he is in now, he responded by saying "stick to your dream and dont let anything get in the way". This felt like a very vague response so I asked him what kind of things shouldnt get in your way. Paul simply said academically you will sometimes not recieve what you think you got, but dont let that discourage you from excelling the next time. He also spoke about certain individuals who will not believe in you and will sometimes pass that negative energy onto you. "The way to overcome that is to stay close to people who truly believe you obtain those skills to achieve your goal". Paul was very positive and even though we had about 15 minutes to talk, he truly protrayed himself as someone who believed hard work and dedication was the key to reaching any dream.

During the end of the interview, he asked me what my ultimate goals in life were and I first told him to get admission into a pharmacy school. Besides working as a pharmacist I told him my dream about going to India and aiding poor neighborhoods by helping to build clinics and medical service buildings. He was very impressed and told me anything is possible as long as you stick to your plans. I somewhat made "brownie points" with Paul because he never knew who I was until this interview so I guess if I ever wanted to move forward with my company I would know who to contact.