{"id":1831,"date":"2021-10-18T23:33:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T23:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=181907"},"modified":"2021-10-18T23:33:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T23:33:47","slug":"how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=1831","title":{"rendered":"How to get hired as a budtender"},"content":{"rendered":"
How to get hired as a budtender – Leafly<\/title> <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.1.2 (Yoast SEO v17.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ --> <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --> <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> <title>Leafly<\/title> <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title> <title>Loading\u2026<\/title> <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You’re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>When a customer walks into a cannabis dispensary, the person they will interact with the most is a budtender. Budtenders are responsible for helping consumers find the right cannabis products for them. The best budtenders are passionate about cannabis, exceptionally knowledgeable about products, and thrive on providing great customer service.<\/p>\n<p>A budtending job is similar to other retail gigs\u2014they are the ones building direct relationships with customers, and a great attitude and strong work ethic are keys for success. But it does have many aspects that set it apart.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of which state market you\u2019re hoping to enter, there are a few basic commonalities to be aware of before sending out job applications. Here are some important things to keep in mind before applying.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-do-background-research-on-companies-that-are-hiring\">Do background research on companies that are hiring<\/h2>\n<p>The cannabis industry has exploded in the past several years and the number of companies to potentially work for can seem daunting. But, at the same time, it allows you to be picky about where to apply.<\/p>\n<p>Do some research before jumping right to applications\u2014with background checks, onboarding procedures, and individual company hiring policies, the process of getting a dispensary job can be long and involved, so finding out about the company you could be working for is crucial before putting in all that effort. <\/p>\n<p>Think about values you\u2019d like your ideal employer to embody. Most dispensaries list their mission statement right on their website and will say if they are minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-led, a local start-up, etc. More information about any company\u2019s licensing, owners, or investors should be accessible through your state\u2019s cannabis control bureau or commission.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/industry\/how-to-make-a-budtending-career-a-reality\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>How to make a budtending career a reality<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-have-customer-service-experience\">Have customer service experience<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" alt=\"Illinois first day of recreational adult use cannabis sales on January 1, 2020\" class=\"wp-image-125854 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-1.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-1.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-1.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-1.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>(Taylor Glascock for Leafly)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the end of the day, a dispensary is still a store, so having some prior experience in a retail or customer service role is crucial to landing a budtender job. Different companies will have different standards for prior experience, but any previous job involving serving customers or selling products should be emphasized on your application.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately you will be selling cannabis products in a traditional retail sense, but a large part of a budtender\u2019s role is to serve the needs of the customer\u2014the ability to make connections, listen and understand dispensary customers and patients, and to have a helpful attitude are essential to becoming a successful budtender.<\/p>\n<p>As a budtender, you\u2019ll build trust and forge bonds with repeat customers and patients. In applications, try to emphasize past experience where you went out of your way to fulfill a customer\u2019s needs and wants.<\/p>\n<p>Be careful with budtender certification programs, at least for now. While a number of existing programs do offer a comprehensive curriculum, some of them don\u2019t thoroughly prepare you for a job in the cannabis industry. <\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re considering enrolling in a certification program, look at the results previous graduates have had before spending money on certification. Does the company have proof that their graduates get hired? If not, it could be a waste of money.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/cannabis-101\/how-to-buy-weed-dispensary\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>What to know before you visit a dispensary for the first time<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-be-passionate-about-cannabis\">Be passionate about cannabis<\/h2>\n<p>This one is a given\u2014you wouldn\u2019t be looking to land a budtender job without some passion for cannabis and the array of products dispensaries offer.<\/p>\n<p>When applying to dispensaries, emphasize the personal effect cannabis has had on your life\u2014whether you\u2019re a medical patient who has found the perfect strain to cure migraines, a hobbyist cook who infuses cannabis into dishes, or maybe you just like to smoke a bowl while relaxing with your friends. Whatever it may be, there\u2019s a reason you connect with cannabis enough to enter the industry.<\/p>\n<p>The best budtenders have rich, powerful stories about the plant that can connect with customers on a personal level, showing the positive influence of cannabis on their lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>A genuine passion and appreciation for cannabis and its uses leads to the best customer connections. Show potential employers how much you care about cannabis and want to share that enthusiasm with others.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-know-your-cannabis-products\">Know your cannabis products<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" alt=\"Legalization 2.0 edibles, topicals, extracts, concentrates, Dosist\" class=\"wp-image-127973 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-2.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-2.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-2.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender-2.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>(Jesse Milns\/Leafly)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to start out as an expert by any means, especially because much of the job involves learning as you go. That being said, it\u2019s important to brush up on general terminology and consumption methods, and have a solid understanding of how the plant is grown.<\/p>\n<p>Become familiar with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Different cannabis effects (sleepy, relaxed, energetic, focused, uplifting)<\/li>\n<li>Cannabis types (sativa, indica, hybrid)<\/li>\n<li>Some of the more common terpenes (myrcene, limonene, caryophyllene)<\/li>\n<li>Concentrate consistencies and extraction methods (shatter vs. wax, butane vs. ethanol)<\/li>\n<li>Vape oil types (distillate vs. full-spectrum)<\/li>\n<li>Edible dosing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While personal experimentation with products is a fun way to gain first-hand knowledge, online resources are your best friend for the more technical learning. Discover thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/strains\/lists\">strains<\/a> right here on Leafly, as well as our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/learn\">Learn<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/cannabis-101\">Cannabis 101<\/a> sections.<\/p>\n<p>You can also visit individual brand websites for information about specific products and production methods.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also important to stay on top of new trends and products, which are always changing in the cannabis industry in order to give customers the best recommendations. One of the best ways to keep up to speed is to monitor social media and industry blogs.<\/p>\n<p>Become familiar with a dispensary\u2019s menu before an interview, especially its top-selling products. To learn this, simply ask the dispensary\u2019s current budtenders or research the location\u2019s menu online at Leafly\u2014the reviews section in particular can be helpful to see which products customers are calling out by name.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/cannabis-101\/how-to-buy-good-weed\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>How to buy good weed: Finding quality in cannabis flower<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-be-adaptable-in-a-quickly-changing-industry\">Be adaptable in a quickly changing industry<\/h2>\n<p>Adaptability is crucial to being a successful budtender, even in more stable, long-running markets such as Colorado and California. With cannabis legislation still evolving, policies and operations in dispensaries can change often.<\/p>\n<p>New laws can add or remove processes to your budtending duties, and state cannabis bureaus often make surprise visits to cannabis dispensaries to make sure all regulations and policies are being upheld correctly.<\/p>\n<p>Many small cannabis companies operate under a start-up mentality, so budtenders need to be flexible and take on many different responsibilities. Entry-level employees and upper management usually work together regularly.<\/p>\n<p>This also offers great opportunities of upward mobility for budtenders, so if you\u2019re interested in advancing in the cannabis industry, don\u2019t be shy in asking about opportunities for growth in the role during an interview.<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender.jpg\" alt=\"Grace Griffin's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Grace Griffin<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Grace Griffin is a freelance journalist based in Massachusetts, with recent work in The Boston Globe and The Berkeley Beacon. For more articles and other musings, follow her on Twitter @GraceMGriffin.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/grace-griffin\">View Grace Griffin’s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly’s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --> <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-10-18 16:33:53 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to get hired as a budtender – Leafly Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You’re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. When a customer walks into a cannabis dispensary, the person they will interact with the most is a budtender. Budtenders are responsible for helping consumers find the right cannabis products for them. The best budtenders are passionate about cannabis, exceptionally knowledgeable about products, and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-get-hired-as-a-budtender.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}