The Australian cannabis industry is in infant stage, it’s really only just getting started. Now is definitely the time to start getting involved for those of you wanting to be a part of, quite possibly the biggest boom we’ll see in our generation.
Here's a few tips to help you get cannabis jobs in Australia.
Get some experience in the garden!
If you’ve grown marijuana before, in a grow tent, your backyard or up in the hills you’re obviously going to have a bit of an advantage as you will be able to talk the talk and walk the walk to some degree. Make sure you include your cannabis cultivation experience on your resume, even if it hasn't been legal. We are slowly coming out of a prohibition period, cannabis companies need experienced growers no matter where they've come from.
If you’ve never grown weed before and want to be a part of Australia’s growing legal cannabis industry now is NOT the time to start growing at home. The way the legislation sits in Australia at the moment is if you have a criminal history involving drugs, you are not welcome in Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry and will not be allowed to work for any ODC licensed company.
Your best option is to get some horticulture experience and there should be plenty of options in that department. You might not want to be growing tomatoes or veggies but that experience looks fantastic on your resume when you’re applying for a job in a greenhouse at one of Australia’s medicinal cannabis producers.
Take an online course.
You may already have a vast amount of knowledge about cannabis but if you’re looking for that advantage over the other applicants this is a great one to have up your sleeve. If you send in a certificate from one of the online cannabis courses along with your resume when applying for a job it tells your employer that you’re really serious about joining the cannabis industry and will help you stand out from the other candidats who have applied.
Don’t sound like a fucking stoner!
When applying for the job you really want to avoid sounding like a stoner, which can be easier said than done if you do love the plant. You’re best off saying how much you love the industry and the positive change that cannabis is bringing to the world. It’s also not a bad thing to say that you’re in it for the money, the cannabis industry will be huge so don’t be shy in telling your employer that you want in at the ground level so you can earn yourself a big piece of the pie later. That’s something they’ll definitely be able to relate to.
Broaden your horizons!
With a limited number of cannabis farms across Australia you’d have to get pretty lucky if one popped up in your suburb. Don’t be scared of moving cities for a career change that could change your life. I recently moved from one of the most beautiful and popular areas of Australia to a quiet country town on the way to the outback, just so I could get an official start in Australia’s medicinal cannabis scene. It’s not the most exciting place to live but working with Mary Jane every day makes up for it.
Check out the Australian cannabis jobs on Seek, type in Cannabis as the keyword and remove your location filter from the search to see what’s on offer in our country at this present time.
Things you should mention in your application
- Any horticulture experience you’ve had.
- That you think there is a huge future in cannabis and you want to be a part of it.
- Any experience you’ve had with construction, there’s always a great need for handy people on the farm.
- You will be doing lots of repetitive work, make them aware that you understand and expect that.
Questions you should ask in your interview
- What do you consider to be the biggest challenges in this role? Lookout for opportunities to show how you are uniquely suited to face the challenges.
- What does the career path for this role look like? Will there be opportunities to advance within the company?
- Do you offer any training to support your employees career development?
- Do you think I would be a good fit for the company or do you have any reservations that I could try to address?
- What are the next steps in the hiring process?
Have you got any other tips that will help someone get their foot in the door of Australia's cannabis industry? Leave us a comment below!
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