The excellent cannabis resume you’ve written prompted a phone screening and now you have a cannabis job interview scheduled. So, it’s time to prepare yourself for the hot seat. However, keep in mind that the cannabis industry is unlike any other before it. Therefore, you should adjust your preparation to make a lasting impression.
To help you in earning the open cannabis position you’re going after, we’ve created a guide on how to ace a cannabis job interview. Although there are tons of cannabis jobs available in the space, these tips will help with an interview for any position.
Be Authentic
Pleasing your cannabis employer’s expectations, or what you think their expectations are, creates anxiety and robs you of your own preferences. And it demands more effort, as you’re hiding your true self. According to a study by the Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, people who behaved authentically in their interviews are 26% more likely to get the job compared to those who pleased their interviewer’s expectations. By being yourself, you’ll find out if the cannabis company is truly right for you. It may go against the standard approach to job interviews, but being authentic is beneficial for both sides. It allows you to be comfortable in your skin and leads to better communication.
Research the Cannabis Company
Take your cannabis company research even further than the website and job description by checking the organization’s social media channels. Analyze the company by looking at what they post on social media to learn about their voice, company culture, and how they handle customer/client interactions. You can also reach out to current or past employees and ask them about the company culture. Additionally, you can go to sites like Glassdoor or Career Bliss and find out what others have said about the cannabis company. Use all your resources to create a complete snapshot of the cannabis company, so you get a real sense of who they are.
Practice Common & Behavioral Interview Questions
To ace a cannabis job interview, you have to practice both common and behavioral interview questions. You have probably run into several common interview questions before but cycle through them a few times anyway. Behavioral interview questions, which help employers get a glimpse of how you perform or react in certain situations in the work environment, should get the most attention. Employ the S.T.A.R Technique, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. With this method, you’ll explain the scenario, the main goal, the steps you took to complete the task, and the positive results of your action. Remember to focus on your contribution, and don’t forget to give yourself some praise. Use our list of common behavioral interview questions and practice them with the help of a friend. For both common and behavioral interview questions, try to create a realistic interview setting and dress the part as well.
Get in the Right Mindset
Getting in the right mindset is crucial to ace a cannabis job interview, and it starts with taking care of your primary biological needs. You need to get the proper amount of sleep, eat healthy meals at the right times of the day, and stay hydrated. After your primary needs are met, you can enter a positive mindset by reviewing your authentic strengths. Thinking of your strengths will help you get into the right mentality and prime you to talk about them, presenting the best version of yourself during the interview. And if you’re nervous, tell yourself you’re excited instead. Your body responds to nerves and excitement in the same manner, so interpret your nervousness as excitement to stay in a positive mindset. There are plenty of available cannabis jobs out there. But you have to get into the right mindset to land one.
Find Common Ground with Interviewer
According to the similarity-attraction effect, people tend to like others who share corresponding attitudes or beliefs. So, it’s in your best interest to find common ground with the interviewer to ace a cannabis job interview. However, to stay in line with being authentic, make sure you find a genuine common interest. Bringing up something cannabis-related may spark conversation about similar interests, so start there. If you know who your interviewer is ahead of time, do some research to find out about his/her hobbies and skills, so you can work it into the discussion if you share some of the same interests. And you can also find some related interests or hobbies if nothing direct is on the table.
Go Off-Script
Listen to the interviewer’s questions and repeat some of the keywords in your response to go off-script. This will help you avoid rote answers and listen to the questions more attentively. You want to be prepared, but you don’t want your answers to sound too rehearsed. Hiring managers will typically go off of a structure for the interview as well. So, if you take them off-script, you can tell them something about yourself that isn’t on your cannabis resume. Perhaps you worked as a personal trainer in the past. And, although it’s not on your resume, it helped you build certain skills needed for the position.
Dress the Part
Although the cannabis industry is more relaxed, you still have to dress the part to ace a cannabis job interview. Research the company and consider the position to decide whether you’re going for business casual or professional. Stick to solid, dark colors, and make sure your outfit is clean and wrinkle-free. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that your attire is comfortable, so you’re not distracted during the cannabis job interview. Not only will dressing the part help you make a good first impression, but it will also boost your confidence.
Prepare Thoughtful Questions
Every job interview is a two-way street. The interviewer gets to evaluate you, but you should also be prepared to evaluate the company. Prepare questions for the cannabis job interview that will help you analyze whether the organization is right for you. Ask about the company culture, the management style, what’s expected in the role, and anything else that will help you paint a comprehensive picture of the cannabis company. Prepare questions that show you’ve done your research and allow you to dig deeper. If you’re in a panel interview, you might consider asking questions about interests and hobbies–once you get the more significant questions out of the way and if there’s time.
This article was originally published by CannabizTeam.
