5 Tips for Creating a Great Cannabis Resume

You’re unique, creative, and a nonconformist. That’s awesome. Do you want to showcase that in your cannabis resume? Hold on a hot second. Before you send out a home-spun resume to try to break into the biz, you need to make sure your resume can be easily sorted and sent to the right recruiters. 

Let’s look at why that’s important: The cannabis industry is growing more competitive every year, which means you need a resume that stands out from the crowd and gets you noticed. For example, in 2021 the legal cannabis industry added some 100,000 jobs, which brought the total of legally employed cannabis workers to approximately 428,000 by early 2022.

So what does that mean for you as a job-seeker? Well, for one thing, it means opportunity. But it also means that as the industry matures and more companies enter the marketplace, both employers and candidates need to adhere to higher standards for employment processes and documentation. 

And for you, that means having a professional resume that puts you in the best light for both human recruiters and the automated recruiting platforms employers often use to screen candidates for jobs.

Here are some tips to help you have a great cannabis resume:

1. Be professional: Yes, you’re applying for a job in the weed business, but it’s also an industry on the cutting edge of agriculture, technology, and the culture at large. If you approach the job application in a professional manner, employers are more likely to associate your professionalism with your ability to be a productive, reliable employee, critical criteria for getting that all-important interview.
2. Adjust your resume for each job: It’s tempting to have a standard resume and use it every time you apply for a job. But recruiters and hiring managers don’t have time to sort through irrelevant information to figure out if your background is truly a fit. Therefore, tailor your resume to show that you have what it takes for the job. Be sure to list skills and responsibilities in your background that match the job requirements.
3. Focus on transferable skills: There are plenty of jobs in cannabis that don’t need industry tenure. But if you’re applying for a role that requires cannabis know-how and you don’t have that industry-specific experience, your resume needs to demonstrate how your skills will transfer and benefit the employer. Describe both your relevant hard and soft skills and also show how you can replicate your prior successes in the new role.
4. Keep it simple: Recruiters read hundreds of resumes and need to be able to quickly discern if you’re appropriate for an interview. Use a simple, clean font in an easily legible font size of at least 10.5. Remove extraneous information that will distract from your primary qualifications and try to keep your resume to one page. Recruiters do understand, however, that applicants with a longer work history may need two pages.
5. Make sure your resume is ATS-compliant: Many employers use sophisticated applicant tracking systems (ATS) to streamline the recruitment process. These automated programs sift through resumes and filter out the least-qualified candidates while identifying top applicants for the job. 
   
   How does an ATS do that? Primarily by looking for specific keywords that match the job’s skills or experience requirements. Which means you need to include those keywords in your resume. To do this, carefully read the job description, and if you have the relevant skills or experience the employer needs, make sure you use the same terminology in your experience and skills list.

If getting your resume right sounds a bit overwhelming, don’t sweat it. Higher Growth Search can provide pointers to help with your cannabis job search. To talk with one of our recruiting specialists, contact us today. We’re here to help you succeed!

You don’t want your resume to land in the internet equivalent of a black hole. So do your homework to be sure your special talents are seen by the people who want to hire you.

Want to talk to a recruiter about finding a role in cannabis?  Contact our team today. We're here to help.