With the legalization of recreational cannabis just around the corner, cannabis recruitment in Canada is exploding! Currently, there are over 700 postings for job opportunities in the cannabis industry. With a variety of positions in high demand (pun intended), cannabis employers face tough competition for top talent. How will your company stand out amongst the weeds to attract and engage top talent in the competitive cannabis market?
Check out these 6 easy tips to make your job ads more human and engage job seekers:
1. Put Job Seekers At Ease
Lifelong travel ban to the US, anyone? Cannabis legalization in Canada has led to a number of question marks, especially with our friends to the South. We’re still not sure how they will handle it, but the stories and hypothesizing about “what if” are enough to scare off even the bravest of souls. Put job seekers’ minds at ease. Anticipate the questions and the uncertainty, and address it directly in your job ads or right on your career site. Include disclaimers about your commitment to people’s privacy, and give confidence that you will have your peoples’ backs. If nothing else, this will demonstrate that your organization understands the potential concerns, uncertainties, and risks associated with pursuing a career in this exciting – but still very new – industry. Job seekers will thank you – and the volume (and quality) of applications will reflect your commitment to people and transparency.
2. Speak Human To Me
When is the last time a job seeker told you that they felt like your job ad was speaking to them? This should be your goal – every single time. Great job ads tap into job seekers’ emotions, demonstrating a clear connection between their motivations and what your organization can offer. You’re a pot producer or store owner with your own unique culture, there will be lots of aspect of your business that will resonate with candidates. Make sure to talk about the candidate more than you talk about yourself. Avoid corporate speak and jargon. Instead, use the same language you would use in a conversation. Test yourself by reading sentences out loud. Ask yourself if that is how you would talk to a candidate face to face. Let your personality shine through! Our Candidate Persona Tool can help you determine your target audience.
3. Step Away From the Skills Laundry List
It’s important to focus more on the who than the what. Because the recreational cannabis industry is so new, there are some roles coming to light that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Focus on hiring people who align with your goals, culture and values, rather than people who tick boxes on a list of specific skills and experience. The right person can learn skills and be taught how to complete tasks. You cannot teach personality, motivation, or force value alignment. Avoid long lists of tasks. Instead, focus on key areas of accountability that highlight outcomes and deliverables. This helps to get job seekers excited about the impact they will create through the role!
4. Formatting Functions Exist For A Reason
There’s nothing worse than fighting your way through a massive block of text or trying to interpret information filled with grammatical errors. To enhance readability, make use of
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- Lists
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Headings
- Bolding
- Italicizing.
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Presentation matters. Use appropriate spacing and formatting to clearly communicate information and generate excitement with job seekers! Job ads that are hard to read will be quickly overlooked. Especially on job boards that present a bottomless pit of job opportunities.
5. Picture This
Have a great shot of your last staff outing? A picture of an event your company has sponsored? Images show job seekers what it’s like to work with you rather than just telling them. If you’re a new company, even images with a simple “We’re Hiring” text overlay are a great way to stand out. They really pop in a LinkedIn of Facebook feed when you share job ads socially. Don’t have any fancy graphics or real image? Start by including your company logo to break up the boring text and be more memorable for potential candidates (and then contact us to help you make things jazzy!). Entice job seekers away from their traditional companies to take a leap of faith into an exciting new industry!
Disclaimer: ensure your images comply with advertising regulations about cannabis.
6. Honesty Is Always the Best Policy
No workplace is perfect. Be candid in your job ads and paint an authentic picture of your organization – the good, the bad and the ugly. We recently started including a very candid “What it’s really like to work with us” section in our job ads that paints a vivid picture of our reality. If a candidate is not interested in the reality of your environment, it’s better to have them self select out of the hiring process. This helps to optimize your time in recruitment, manage candidate expectations, and minimize turnover. It’s better to know sooner than later if candidates aren’t the right fit.
The cannabis sector is undoubtedly a fast-paced industry. There’s a lot of ambiguity in this new industry – on the flip side, it’s also highly regulated and structured. This is a unique environment that won’t be suited to everyone, but for the right person they could thrive.
Ready to level up your recruitment skills? Download our Job Advertisement Tool today!
Our Job Advertisement Tool provides you with guidelines, tips, and tricks to create an enticing job advertisement. With the right roadmap, you will be on your way to attracting top talent!
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