Marijuana Business Magazine November December 2018

BACKGROUND Shaw has different background criteria based on the product that’s being produced. For example, if the candidate will be creating a new edible, experience working in a kitchen as a sous chef would be desirable because that person has worked with ingredients and recipes and can create repeat- able results. “That attention to detail is sought after when you’re creating a new product,” Shaw said. “I want to make sure that if you buy our branded product here in Massachusetts or out west in Nevada, you’re going to get the same experience, both in dosage and taste.” In Albarran’s case, a web- development background is ideal, particularly business-to-business experience. Albarran said he doesn’t rely much on resumes but instead prefers experience. A good hire might not have gone to college or worked at a well-known company but could still do a good job, he added. Pride would like to see a potential hire with experience in the canna- bis industry, but she knows that’s hard to come by. “Most people don’t have a back- ground that’s applicable to this space,” she said. WHERE TO LOOK Shaw has had good recruitment success using online job boards such as LinkedIn and ForceBrands. He’s finding a lot of candidates who are coming from successful careers in mainstream industries such as medicine and finance and are looking to get into cannabis. Those new hires are the result of referrals in his network. “A lot has been word-of-mouth IDENTIFYING RED FLAGS C haracter traits or actions that might disqualify a candidate for a job as a product development lead are similar to those that would work against someone applying for any typical job. “Just the normal things that flow through all industries” also apply to a product development lead, said Tim Shaw, COO of MariMed. The multistate marijuana company in Newtown, Massachusetts, develops, owns and manages cannabis facilities and branded product lines. Shaw would decline a candidate who: • Showed up late for an interview. • Wasn’t dressed appropriately. • Couldn’t speak well during the interview. • Seemed to be there only for the paycheck. “We’re all pulling on the same rope to get to the same goal,” he added. For Steve Albarran, CEO and co-founder of Confident Cannabis, a Palo Alto, California-based company that provides software to marijuana companies to simplify wholesale and testing, the easi- est filter is the candidate’s desire to work in the marijuana sector. “They have to want to work in this industry,” he said. A candidate who can’t write a helpful, thorough email won’t make it far with Albarran. “If they don’t do little things like suggest times with the time zone in it if they’re in a different time zone,” that is a bad sign, he said. “Or just really short, incomplete sentences that come across as rude, those are all huge red flags.” April Pride, founder of Van der Pop, a Seattle-based cannabis lifestyle brand, wouldn’t be willing to hire a person who lacks a collaborative spirit. “Absolutely not,” she said. She also would throw out the resume of a pos- sible new hire who seems like a control freak. “That kills it,” she said. “They might be a fan- tastic designer but not a good product develop- ment lead.” – Bart Schaneman April Pride is founder of Van der Pop in Seattle. 152 • Marijuana Business Magazine • November/December 2018