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After All Of Your Hard Work On The Back End With Tailoring Your Resume And Writing Cover Letters, You’ve Finally Landed An Interview For A Job. First Off, Congratulations! That’s One Obstacle Overcome And Out Of Your Way On Your Journey To Get Your Dream Cannabis Job. Second, It’s Now Time To Get Down To Business And Prepare For That Interview.
We’re going to go over all the basic and must-know details to ensure you’re properly prepared to absolutely kill your interview and make a fantastic impression. That includes things like how to dress to impress, how to properly prepare ahead of time, when you should arrive, types of questions to ask, and more.
This is your opportunity to sell yourself to whatever company you’re interviewing with that demonstrates to them clearly why they need to hire you. Your resume and cover letter are the soft sell; your interview is the hard sell. If you’re going to be successful, it’s absolutely necessary to put in the time and properly prepare.
1. Do thorough background research on the company.
There are plenty of compelling reasons that highlight the importance of taking the time to do in-depth research about the company you’re interviewing with. First and foremost, it shows that you have a genuine interest in the position and the company. This also gives you an opportunity to dive deeper into their mission, values, and culture and determine if those things mesh with you. As an added bonus, this is a great way to craft a variety of questions to ask at the end of your interview.
2. Practice mock interview questions ahead of time.
Having practiced answers to potential questions you may be asked during the interview can do a whole lot for your confidence going into it. Take the time and go through a mock interview (or interviews!) to see where you feel good, and what areas you feel a little shaky and still need some work. You’ve already done your research, so you should be decently prepared, but this will really help you gauge where exactly you’re at and how you can improve.
3. Use the STAR method to prepare for the interview.
Take some time to also prepare for your interview using the STAR (situation, task, action, result) method. This type of preparation is a bit different than the typical mock interview. Using this method helps you demonstrate in a clear and concise manner how you have been successful in past work situations. The STAR system lets you highlight the skills and qualities you possess that make you the right fit for the job.
4. Prepare questions to ask at the end of the interview.
Having questions ready to ask at the end of an interview. signifies to the interviewer(s) that you have done your research, again, and have a genuine interest in the position and company. You’ll definitely have come up with some questions of your own while doing your research, but we also have a few basic ones you should have in your pocket to ask, as well.
5. Plan your outfit ahead of time.
The type of job you’re interviewing for in the cannabis industry will determine how you should plan to dress that day. If you’re interviewing for a job on the ancillary side of the industry, the best route to go is to plan on dressing in traditional business attire. If you’re interviewing for a plant-touching job like a budtender or cultivation master where jeans and a T-shirt may be the norm, you still want to dress to impress.
6. Show up early so you’re not late for the scheduled time to meet.
There is a standard rule of thumb that you should arrive at least 15 minutes before your interview. For one, you don’t want to be rushing in at the last minute and then be feeling all flustered in an attempt to calm down and get settled for the task at hand. Also, if you’ve never been to where this office or business is located before and have no idea what the parking situation is, it gives you a cushion so you don’t show up late.
7. Send out thank you notes after to the interview committee.
Many candidates tend to skip this step as it tends to be thought of as “old school” or “outdated”, but taking a few minutes to send over a short letter of thanks speaks volumes about you as a candidate. Taking a quick 5 minutes of your time afterwards to craft a quick note of gratitude to the interview committee will absolutely set you apart from the competition.
It’s always better to show up over prepared than to walk out and be questioning whether or not you think it went well. Yes, there will be some time you’ll need to carve out of your busy schedule to properly practice in order to be ready, but that’s a small sacrifice to make to nail the interview and land the job. Once you get the interview, formulate your plan, see it all the way through, and be confident you’ve done everything you can to be prepared.
