How one startup is making the most of the marijuana industry’s ‘high’ employment figures

Thanks to the recent wave of cannabis legalization, the newly budding marijuana industry is booming in the US and and it feels like not a day goes by that there isn’t a new weed themed story hitting the headlines.

There are the positive headlines, like the “weeds for weeds” initiative in Maine, started by a medical marijuana businessman with the aim of clean up his town. Dennis Meehan decided to offer weed in exchange for bags of trash collected in the local area.

And the ridiculous, like when a weed dispensary in Colorado published a fake story about pot shops accepting food stamps, and a Republican lawmaker was gullible enough to believe the false story and introduced a bill to put an end to the fictitious practice.  

This young industry is not only stimulating Doritos sales and providing cheeky stories, but has stimulated a huge surge in jobs. It is expected to be the next big industry in the USA, with some predicting the legal weed market will create more than a quarter of a million jobs by 2020, overtaking once well established industries such as manufacturing.

Read More: New kiosks in weed dispensaries will hook you up with medical marijuana cards in 30 mins

With a huge demand for workers, some companies have seized the opportunity to help fill these vacancies. One company which is feeding the industry’s growing demand for workers is Chronic Jobs.

This Hawaii-based company specialises in connecting marijuana business with individuals looking for employment within this field of work. The company was founded by single dad and serial entrepreneur Steve Monas. He created the company to enable those who are passionate about the medical and recreational use of Marijuana to find a job in this industry which, until recently, received a lot of negative stigma for many years.

Monas believes that many individuals can take their experience from other industries such as sales, chemistry, and cooking, and apply them into this expanding field of work.

“It has been proven that people wanted to have a place where they can take their passion and work for a company in a burgeoning industry. If they had to start at the bottom, at least there is an enormous amount of growth within the industry that they can take the experience (which was unavailable previously) and move into another position at another company or take their current experience in management, sales, book keeping, business law, chemistry, cooking or other related fields and apply it to this industry – all on one website,” explains Monas.

For employers, the site allows them to create job fairs and invite users, by location, to their events or for a face to face meeting instead of just a virtual resume. Moreover, for those seeking employment, the site allows users to add a video of themselves and link to their resume, which helps improve the selection process for potential employers. Users also have the options of login in with their Linkedin profile which can automatically populate their online resume.

The site is free to use for both employers and employees. There are also options to promote posts within the site for a small fee. Employers can pay extra to have their job featured ($15 for 15 days), or for those seeking work, a user can pay to have their resume feature on the site (also $15 for 15 days).

While many industries and well known companies struggle to survive in today’s modern economy, it appears the marijuana industry has a some promising years ahead. As legislation continues to spread, it is fair to assume this industry will continue to provide an increasing amount of jobs, giving websites like Chronic Jobs an even greater opportunity to connect employers and employees.