šŸƒ AMA With Rudy Ellenbogen Founder of WOKE Talent Weds January 30th 11 AM PST

it is a 2 way street and some employers are more Woke than others, but also some employees are more woke than others. The important concept is to realize that it IS a relationship.Building trust is key to any relationship. All that being said, I have seen in many industries that owners or managers donā€™t appreciate and trust their people enough. There is a sens of entitlement from the top down.

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Hi man, doing what we love always pays off. Changing industries may require some steps back in pay also because of the learning curve. As far as the transition I donā€™t think the stigma is there to hire people coming out from the shades. maybe its a matter of finding the right company that aligns with your values

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I agree. I think many here can say they have experienced this lack of trust before in their time working in the cannabis industry. Do you feel any of that stems from some of the industry origins in the black market?

You use this language a lot. Can you explain what it means to ā€œBe Wokeā€?

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What do you feel has been the most challenging part of starting off Woke Talent :woman_technologist:t4:

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congrats on the higher education! thats great.
Newer states do offer better pay so keeping options open is positive. Iā€™ve seen good opportunities in Ohio, Massachusetts and some newer coming up in Connecticut and Missouriā€¦
regarding extraction or R&D it is a personal choice of what moves you and where your talents can be best valued. happy to discuss more in private!

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Thank you and that would be great! Whatā€™s the best way for me to get in touch with you?

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oh yes, thanks for the reminder. Woke Talent is the name of my company.
Woke comes from the work awakened and it refers to people that are trying to constantly grow from the inside on their awareness.

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Sure, rudy@woketalent.com

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hi there, it is definetly finding those companies that care for their people. That truly want to build a win-win relationship and that understand that itā€™s in everyoneā€™s best interest to invest in their people. But they are out there! Im building a 20,000sf extraction lab team in Ohio right now and itā€™s super exciting to do that as opposed to place 1 or 2 people at a timeā€¦

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Email sent. So glad that youā€™re here to do this AMA today. I thought the Woke quiz was very interesting when I took it.

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The mind set of some of these business people is they worked in the black or grey market that makes them not trust worthy. Instead of looking at it as we worked in an industry that should have never been illegal

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So being Woke could imply being organic as wellā€¦is that correct?

You specifically focus on helping people finding jobs in the industry that are organic. Iā€™s awesome that you have focused on sustainability as a basic tenet of your recruiting practices. When and how did you realize that you only wanted to match these kinds of sustainable careers? Why only organic jobs? Do you fear that you may be missing out on some really good jobs by forsaking the hydro and synthetic positions?

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right, and some of those judgments come from people who have a hard time relating to experiences different than their ownā€¦ people who you may not want to be working with :wink:

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Happy Wednesday @Rudy! Thanks for hosting this AMA!

What do you find is the biggest disconnect between employers and job seekers in this industry?

Have you noticed any general misunderstandings from job seekers towards employers?

Thanks in advance!

~ :green_heart:Kareenabis~

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I agree i have worked for some people like that but at the end of the day that is why this is legal so we can get those people out and the hard working dedicated people in

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Yes i do focus on organic and it is because most people that care about a more natural product and the environment tend to be mindful and that is truly what i care the most about.
I recently had an opportunity with a Cali company that wanted me to hire an assistant grower for them, 100k position, so big commission money but i turned it down because itā€™s not about quantity, itā€™s about quality and being true to yourself. It was a hard call and my wife helped for sureā€¦ but im glad i passed. I did try to help them with their company culture but they were not interested in growing in that way so not the right fitā€¦

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I have well over 10 years of experience in the industry in Nor Cal. It has been black market medical, organic, regenerative, etc. Iā€™m having a really hard time obtaining work in the industry at all, let alone finding a company that fits my values and would appreciate the experience I bring to the table.

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EXPERIENCE is the biggest disconnect.
Most companies recruiting try to match a job description with a resume and they leave for last the alignment of values. After hiring over 100 people myself over the past 4 years I can say there are only 2 things that matter to me when hiring:

  1. Who are this personā€™s values and do they align with the company culture?
  2. What is this person truly passionate about

if the personā€™s values dont align with the company then their experience wont matter it wont last.
if the person is not truly passionate about the role they are given then they wont give their best

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why do you think this has been your experience so far?

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How often do you see instances of discrimination in todayā€™s cannabis industry and itā€™s hiring practices?

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