How to Find The Perfect Cannabis Job in 5 Steps
You’re looking for the perfect cannabis job for many reasons: Cannabis is your passion, you know a lot about cannabis, or you think it would be cool to be a budtender. Whatever your desires, finding budtender jobs near you and obtaining the job is similar to many other careers. You’ll want to prepare, research, and network your butt off to become a reliable person in the cannabis community.
We can help you become the ideal job candidate for any of your local dispensaries. By following these five steps and working hard, you can land your dream dope career in no time at all.
Ready for a fresh start?
1. Determine Career Goals & Lifestyle
You’ll want to start by clarifying what you want out of a career in cannabis. What do you enjoy doing? What type of skills do you have that a future employer would want? How long do you want to be in the cannabis industry?
Most dispensaries start budtenders off with temporary contracts. In these temp-to-hire situations, you can get the requisite experience without handcuffing yourself to a specific dispensary long-term. But once you know what you want out of your cannabis career and how you want to live your life, you can determine what you need to do for the next steps.
2. Get Educated
To get a cannabis job, you’ll need to know more about cannabis than simply smoking it. Find out what local regulations and education requirements are necessary to become a high-quality budtender. This can be through formal channels, such as online courses, as well as having a keen interest in the most up-to-date marijuana industry news and products. Some universities, like UC Davis and the University of Washington, offer cannabis degrees and certificates, lending credence to your overall credibility.
Also, consider what skills you already have from previous employment. If you’ve worked in sales, that’s beneficial to you as a budtender salesperson. Once you have the skills and knowledge necessary to be taken seriously, only then can you start dreaming of your job at a dispensary.
3. Locate Local Dispensaries
A quick Google search of “budtender jobs near me” should net you extremely lucrative results. Once you have a local map of where the dispensaries are, you can visit their website or social media and research if they fit your personality and goals. Which products do they carry, what is their mission statement, and what is the work environment like?
Being aligned with a company’s goals and ambitions is critical to feeling good at your dispensary job. That way, even on the tough days, you still enjoy working as a budtender for that specific dispensary due to the overall foundation.
4. Network & Apply
After figuring out what you want, becoming knowledgeable enough, and pinpointing the top 5-10 local dispensaries you’d want to work for, it’s time to put yourself out there. If they have open positions on their website (Careers, potentially at the bottom of their site) or through job posting sites (ZipRecruiter, Indeed, LinkedIn), apply with aplomb. Make sure to put your best foot forward, highlighting both educational achievements/certificates and workplace experience in sales, cannabis, management, etc.
Also, always be on the lookout for networking events in your area. While they might not all be cannabis-related, it doesn’t hurt to know other companies on a personal basis. From there, you can leverage your connections once hired for things like farmers’ markets, expos, providing goods for company retreats, and more.
5. Interview Like a Professional
Once you’re in the room, it’s time to charm the pants off the interviewer(s). Review the listed job duties and expectations, then be able to explain how you check off all the boxes. Plus, with your previous research of the facility you’re interviewing for, you can show how your values align with the dispensary’s values.
Of course, be professional, grateful, and honest in your interview. Dispensaries won’t hire those who seem untruthful or unprofessional to beat the stigma surrounding cannabis. If you put yourself forward as an intelligent, put-together individual ready to positively impact their dispensary, you’ve got that new cannabis job in the bag!
