Hi,
My previous employment as a PCN pharmacy technician ended after a dispute with the employer which resulted in me being dismissed after a few months into the job.
I would have quit the job as they lied to me about duties/career progression (basically promised training etc but I found out I was just going to be used as a locum replacement (so NO training)), but before I could quit, they did a surprise (& illegal) dismissal. They paid compensation after I threatened legal action and agreed to give a *basic* reference as part of the legal agreement.
The basic reference consists of start date/end date/position, but most pharmacy employers seem to want a personal reference eg scoring on personal characteristics such as attendance, honesty, reliability etc, from the previous employer. Obviously they will not provide this!!
So my question is how do I get my career back on track without any real (personal) references.
Should I apply to locum/temp agencies ? Does anyone know if they are more lenient in the references dept?
Should I try just going to a few local pharmacies and asking for work or take lower pay or lower paid work like pharmacy assistant?
Should i volunteer somewhere? But where and what field?
Should I do something else that is similar eg clinical trials work / phlebotomy / etc and build my work history back up that way?
I am really stuck in this catch 22 situation. I am a pharmacy tech of 5 years and have no ability to provide references so don't know how to go about getting another job. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Thanks