Recruiting qualified candidates in the cannabis industry is no easy task.
Despite an overwhelming demand for cannabis employees, there is presently a considerable labor shortage within the cannabis sector. Several factors contribute to the problem, including fierce competition, a lack of experienced applicants, and ever-changing business needs, so how can you attract the best employees to your cannabis business?
Well, one of the best ways to source talent is by going through a recruitment agency, and this is how most large cannabis companies find new employees. Still, the cost of going through a recruitment agency can be prohibitive for small companies that are just starting up. The other method is the old-fashioned way, which involves posting a job advertisement on a job board, receiving and reviewing resumes directly, and conducting interviews.
There are tons of different job boards out there, but they aren't all particularly well suited to the cannabis industry. The mainstream job board industry, which includes the big names in recruitment including Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn, and so on, can sometimes work, but industry-specific cannabis job boards are often a better bet.
In this article, we'll look at why that is and point you in the right direction so that you can find some great new hires by using cannabis job boards.
The problem with using mainstream job boards for cannabis recruitment
In many industries, recruiting via mainstream job boards can effectively source new talent and staff your company.
LinkedIn especially has become the standard for finding new employees. The problem is that LinkedIn relies on employees publishing their background and experience, and this information is publicly available on the internet. As the cannabis industry was only legalized recently, many qualified applicants might only have experience working in cannabis before legalization, and they may not feel comfortable making that information public.
Another issue is that LinkedIn integrates with social media, and as legal and awesome as the cannabis industry is, some people may not want their family and friends to know that they have a lengthy history of dealing with marijuana and cannabis products. As such, it's often better to find new employees on cannabis job boards, which are discreet and specifically designed to accommodate cannabis sector employees who might not otherwise be comfortable using mainstream job boards or LinkedIn.
The best cannabis job boards
There are three cannabis job boards that many cannabis companies use to recruit experienced, qualified applicants. So, let's briefly take a look at each one of them so that you can try them out and hopefully find some great new hires.
1. The Cannabis Job Board
The Cannabis job board is one of the leaders in online cannabis recruitment. The site focuses solely on cannabis industry recruitment and allows cannabis businesses to publish job postings, receive resumes and cover letters, and contact interested applicants. The site is currently undergoing a revamp and will feature many new features in the coming weeks. If you're a cannabis employer looking to find qualified, experienced applicants, this might be a great place to start your search.
2. Ganjapreneur
Ganjapreneur is another job board that specializes in cannabis industry recruitment. The site allows cannabis job seekers to create and post a profile that employers can view, and it also allows cannabis employers to publish profiles and job postings on the site. Unlike some of the other cannabis job boards, Ganjapreneur charges a small fee of $1 per month to cannabis job seekers, which ensures that only those serious about finding work within the cannabis sector will be listed in the directory.
3. Yscouts
Yscouts is another excellent place to find cannabis employees. Yscouts is one of the oldest and most established cannabis job boards and features a ton of resources for both cannabis job seekers and cannabis employers. Yscouts is a bit of a hybrid between a recruitment agency and a job board.
The way it works is that the site pairs vetted candidates with interested companies who have job vacancies, and then your HR team takes over from there. The cost is only a tiny fraction of what you would pay a full-service cannabis recruitment agency, and as such, you should at least consider this option when searching for new cannabis employees.
Cannabis job boards are the way to go
Recruiting cannabis employees can be costly, difficult, and time-consuming, especially when scouring traditional mainstream job boards or searching for new hires on LinkedIn. But, by focusing your recruitment efforts on job boards specifically geared towards the cannabis industry, you can dramatically increase your odds of finding an experienced, qualified cannabis candidate who will be an asset to your company moving forward.
