How to Make a Cannabis Career Transition
If you’ve been following my content the last few months, you know I’m always looking to share some advice on working in the cannabis industry from my personal experience. I started my career in tech sales in 2011 at Apple selling business solutions. I then transitioned to SaaS about six year later, working as an enterprise sales representative and then moving into enablement training individuals like myself. These experiences led me to Treez. Inc to build their enablement program where I was later laid off. (more on that in my first podcast episode)
Several people have asked me how I got into the industry with my background, so here are my tips to make a cannabis career transition:
Conduct Research - The laws and restrictions vary by state so you want to make sure you are prepared to understand how businesses operate. Medical vs Adult-Use; Plant-Touching vs Ancillary. Having context into the industry landscape will help you in finding the right position for you.
Identify Your Transferable Skills - The opportunities in the industry are vast so being able to articulate your experiences will assist you in recognizing the type of roles you would be a good fit for. Whether it’s leveraging your retail experience as a Budtender or your past sales experience working for a cannabis tech company. Maybe you have a green thumb and would like to be a Trimmer working for a cultivator, being prepared to align your skills with the responsibilities of the role will be your way in.
Craft Your Resume For A Specific Job - Are you prepared to work in a startup environment or prefer a larger organization that is already established? Based on the answer you want to ensure you highlight your strengths for not just the job but the company also.
Network - The old saying that “your net work is determined by your network” could not be truer for the cannabis industry. It’s an excited, yet challenging, time for everyone doing this work so being enthusiastic is natural. Use that energy to go out and attend your local social events or conferences to get to know other individuals that share your passion. If you’re looking for some advice check out my article on Things To Do When Attending Your First Cannabis Conference.
Be Patient - The labor market has been difficult to say the least, and even though there have been over 400,000 jobs created in the legal cannabis industry it has no been immune to layoffs and even company closures. So as you’re on the search consider creating content that demonstrates your abilities and passion for cannabis. Developing your brand is an added way for the next career opportunity to possible find you.
If you’re looking to jumpstart your cannabis job search, checkout https://dopejobs.ai/ where they are connecting dope people with dope jobs.
