Recruiting for the cannabis industry is an exciting but complicated task. Job boards like Indeed may be a staple for hiring managers, they don’t cater to every market equally. Certain challenges limit how efficiently Indeed can work for a cannabis business in particular.
Despite being named the top-rated job site in 2019, the site is still behind platforms dedicated to recruiting cannabis industry talent. State laws restrict key features in user searches, company profiles, and the marketing of marijuana-related content.
Specifically, Indeed faces three issues that keep it from meeting the growing demand for cannabis jobs, namely:
- Recruitment is more challenging without a dedicated partner
The main reason Indeed doesn’t work as well as dedicated career networks is a lack of specialization. Everything the site does has to make recruitment easier for every industry and user it accommodates, which means building tools for general use.
Indeed is good at helping employers advertise and boost visibility on their listings. On the job seeker side, CV screening and other evaluation tools are better at highlighting general but transferable skills, usually at the expense of niche expertise like greenhouse growing.
A dedicated recruitment agency isn’t just optimized for a specific industry; it also takes a more hands-on approach to connecting employees and employers. It focuses more on curating the right opportunities and working directly with clients on both sides of the hiring process.
- Indeed is governed by Texas state law for US users
Legality often comes up in discussions about the future of the cannabis market. Nowhere is this more relevant than recruitment, which must comply with advertising, communication, and employee management regulations.
Listings related to cannabis are technically allowed by Indeed’s content guidelines, but there are exceptions. The Indeed Paid Ads Program states that users shall not “advertise anything illegal” in any state or country where the ad is displayed. Since marijuana hasn’t been legalized at a federal level, paid ads are subject to state laws.
According to Indeed, legal disputes with the company’s policy are governed by Texas state law for US users. Disputes from any other location are subject to the laws of the Republic of Ireland.
Texas state law still prohibits the possession, distribution, and sale of marijuana. Indeed’s terms of service require all parties to “consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the federal or state courts located in Travis County, Texas, U.S.A.”
This can leave cannabis businesses in a legal grey area when searching for budtenders, product managers, and salespeople on Indeed.com.
- Indeed reserves the right to remove any content
Even if a company profile and job listing are fully compliant, Indeed still reserves the right to “reject, remove, or limit visibility to any User Content. . .for any or no reason without notice.” This includes disabling any account if they feel it's in their company’s or user’s interest to do so.
While this is generally a sound practice, cannabis still bears a stigma that can make it a target of this rule. Complaints from users, sponsors and investors can pressure any site into heavy or unfair moderation, especially on a platform with over 300 million visitors like Indeed.
Partner with a platform that knows your industry
Cannabis jobs are rising, and finding the right talent takes a keen eye. At EzHire, we help match dispensaries and other businesses with their ideal candidates. Our mission is to curate the best opportunities for employees at every level. We don’t just make hiring easier; we build connections that drive the cannabis industry forward.
