Learn more about how COVID has changed recruiting and hiring in the cannabis industry with Kara Bradford of Viridian Staffing, and Bryan Passman, Hunter + Esquire. Kara is Co-Founder and Chief Talent Officer of Viridian Staffing. Founded in 2013 as the first professional, full-service staffing, recruiting & HR consulting firm in the cannabis industry. Bryan is the Founder of cannabis industry talent acquisition firms Hunter + Esquire and The GIGG®.

Much has changed in the last year and a half or more. We talk about how the COVID pandemic has changed all of our lives, and this is true in the cannabis world as well, though we were considered an essential business during those lockdowns as well. Workers kept working in the cannabis industry, albeit a little differently.

There was a time when everyone wanted to work in the cannabis industry and hundreds of resumes were coming in. It’s a little different now, and we’re even seeing lower-wage jobs in non-cannabis companies offering much higher salaries/wages and benefits in order to attract employees. We dive into if it’s a candidate’s market now as well as what does that looks like now from the recruiting and hiring standpoint. Our industry sees the traditional cannabis enthusiast applying for jobs of course, but also individuals with advanced skills from other industries coming to cannabis in order to apply those skills from other industries to ours.