Is your next job going to lead to a marijuana industry career? Allow us to be blunt…

So you’re dead set on starting a career in the marijuana industry. Maybe you’ve read through our seven emerging jobs list and figured, “Hey, that’s the job for me!”. Where do I sign up?

We’ve gathered a bunch of tips from a certified “cannabis recruiter” and come up with the list below to get you started on your marijuana career.

Keep an Open Mind

Look, this is definitely unconventional. You probably want to consider the pros and cons of getting into this. An open mind is a must because you’re going to be dealing with a business that was, ever so recently, just legalized. If you’re having doubts about how you feel on the subject and this is just some “Breaking Bad” moment for you, you might want to check those at the door. 

Being reasonably young, almost all the players in the marijuana business are going to be new. They are not going to have a full battery of human resource experts and recruiters so you’re going to see a few flubs early in the hiring process. And if you’re a long-time salaryman, there will be things that will surprise you. Like the person who’s interviewing you might be half your age with practically no work experience, heck, even your boss might be! And that’s all right. 

Be Informed, Be Inquisitive

As with any job interview, you need to do your research and establish your opinions on them early. This is both a blessing and a curse when interviewing for a position for a marijuana career because on the plus side, the most current news will often always have news on the marijuana industry – you’ll just need to read through them and form a strong opinion. On the other hand, the opinions will need to be based on facts – so you’ll need to read through a lot of them.

Know the questions you need to ask- like does the company deal exclusively with hemp, marijuana or both? How many states does that company operate in? Does it deal with recreational or medical cannabis? Who backs the company? An interviewer will appreciate well-purposed, hypersensical questions like these because it means that you put serious thought into the subject and are serious about getting in. 

More to the point: Ask questions you are genuinely concerned about. Don’t just ask for the sake of asking.

Expect a Roller Coaster Ride

You’re trying to get into a business that is fighting social stigma. The ink on the laws governing the cannabis industry is barely dry and there is still ongoing legislation as we speak. Expect things to change very, very quickly. 

You are looking at a business that could revamp its entire product line in a matter of days when a new law takes effect. You’re looking at changing whole books of guidelines once a scientific breakthrough has been made. You are looking at a very fast-paced industry that will change very drastically from one day to the next and chuck everything quicker than you can say “Puff the Magic Dragon”.

But on the flip side, if you thrive in this kind of environment, you’re looking at getting on the ground floor of any new discoveries and innovations. Your marijuana career could wind up lighting up bright any day.

GiT GuD

This is gamer jargon for “getting good” and developing your skills. You may be open-minded, know your stuff, ask the right questions and be extremely tenacious, but this is still an actual job. Just because this is a career in the marijuana business does not mean being a random pothead is in the list of qualifications. 

A cannabis chef needs to cook great food. A budtender needs encyclopedic strain familiarity. A dispensary manager needs to actually manage. And a master grower needs to have horticultural knowledge. You need to know what your skills are and what you bring to the table when starting your marijuana career.

And if you don’t? “GiT GuD” or “GGWP” (look it up) might just be something you’d hear from your boss or interviewer.

Be a Jack-of-all-Trades

As startups, marijuana companies will often have relatively small workforces. That means job titles with slashes on them. And even if it doesn’t, there are going to be times when you’re expected to do things outside the job description. 

Again, back to rule number one: Keep an Open Mind. Any experience and knowledge you gain will be indispensable if and when you decide to go further up the ladder or start your own business.

And speaking of which, if the prospect of being an employee doesn’t quite do it for you and you’d rather go at it as your own boss or be an investor, we’ve got tips for that too right here and here. 

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