Hydrolife Magazine February/March 2017 (USA Edition)

grow

EXPERIENCED

GROWERS NEED

by Kent Gruetzmacher

ONLY APPLY:

Translating Your

Personal Cannabis

Growing into

Resume Format

In decades past, the

prospect of including

your home growing

experience on a

resume was a fantasy,

afterthought, or simple

impossibility. However,

times are a-changing.

Here’s a guide on how to

interpret your personal

cannabis cultivations and

previous work experience

into language you can

use to land a job.

THE ERA OF THE MODERN

PROFESSIONAL GROWER

HAS ARRIVED

Instead of remaining a secretive

enterprise, cannabis cultivation

is rapidly transforming into a

legitimate and respected profession.

Knowledgeable, disciplined, and

versatile cannabis growers are highly

pursued assets in the contemporary

business world. Of course, cultivators

ready to make the transition into

hydroponic and cannabis industries

require a solid resume to gain these

employment opportunities.

COMPETENCY-BASED

HIRING AND RECRUITING

When crafting a resume for a legitimate

cannabis business, applicants can

use the competency-based model of

hiring and recruiting to generate an

informative and up-to-date document.

Instead of focusing on previous

employment, this model highlights

skills and knowledge obtained through

practical experience—even if that

experience was underground cannabis

growing. For example, a familiarity

with regulating climactic fluctuations

in a greenhouse environment would be

considered an occupational competency.

This model also allows applicants

to highlight behaviors that would

contribute to success in the workplace.

HOME GROWING

IN RESUME FORMAT

Constructing an informative resume

for the hydroponic and cannabis

industry is a different process than

building a traditional resume. After

all, this is a novel job market and

most candidates do not have formal,

commercial, cannabis growing

work experience. As a result, hiring

companies are most attracted

to candidates who explain their

cultivation talents effectively.

Cannabis growers should be

as specific as possible in their

resumes to highlight applicable

skill sets for any given position.

This is because, according to the

competency-based model, potential

employers are most interested in

specific previous actions that are

applicable to future occupations

and endeavors. For example, an

experienced greenhouse cultivator

interested in acquiring a head

grower position in a commercial

greenhouse setting should show that

he or she has competent, in-depth

knowledge concerning pest control.

To elaborate, that he or she knows

pest control in a cannabis garden

involves both the foresight to avoid

potential problems in the operation

with sanitation, as well as the ability

to effectively solve issues as they

arise with effective spraying.

20

grow. heal. live. enjoy.

myhydrolife.com