A Washington-based company specializing in pre-roll cones and commercial packaging solutions recently posted an opening for the Ultimate Stoner Dream Job, prompting widespread news reports and a flood of cannabis enthusiasts applying for the job.
Within the first day of announcing the job opening, Custom Cones USA had more than 25,000 people apply and interest has continued to rise as the company seeks the right candidate to help market its new direct-to-consumer brand, DaySavers.
Marijuana Venture spoke with Custom Cones USA CEO Harrison Bard about the job opening, because there has to be a catch … right?
Marijuana Venture: What’s the catch? For many consumers, it sounds too good to be true: Getting paid a salary to smoke weed?
Harrison Bard: The catch is that it’s a real job, not just sitting around and getting high. We actually do expect the person we pay to work full-time. This is a real position on our marketing team. We’re looking for someone who has actual, professional experience in social media content creation and management, which is why we’re asking candidates to have a portfolio we can check out to help us make a final decision.
MV: What will the job actually entail — and what are the best qualifications an applicant will have?
Bard: The ideal Ultimate Stoner Dream Job candidate will have experience with social media management, potentially for a company/brand, but definitely for themselves as well. We want to see someone who is comfortable being in front of the camera and the best candidates will be skilled behind the camera too — able to take photos, videos and do art direction. We are looking for someone who has been in the industry and would be comfortable representing us at events and being a fearless networker.
The ideal applicant will not only have cannabis experience, but experience in marketing, writing, photography, graphic design and deep knowledge of the various social media platforms.
The person who gets this job will also join us for at least one major trade show each year, whether it’s MJBizCon in Las Vegas or at another major show in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.
MV: What has the response been like so far?
Bard: It’s been crazy. The Ultimate Stoner Dream Job has gone viral in a way even we didn’t see coming. After it broke in Forbes, the story got picked up by news sites, TV stations and radio shows across the county, including Fox Business. We received more than 25,000 applications on the first day alone and have been getting more each day. It’s been a lot of fun to watch this spread and very exciting for the DaySavers brand.
MV: Have you received any particularly interesting attempts by people to get hired for this job?
Bard: Great question. Yes, people have been trying all sorts of ways to get their name to the top of our list. To officially apply, you need to go through the application process on the DaySavers website, but ever since the story broke our customer service team has been inundated with calls and emails. We’ve had a ton of celebrity name drops, with people telling us they know Beyonce or the Wu-Tang Clan, or talking up their cannabis podcasts. Many people tell us how long they’ve been smoking, some with selfies of themselves smoking to prove their qualifications! Others try tugging on heartstrings, telling us how bad they need a job, or sending pictures of their puppies. One guy sent a picture of his VW bus, “Bluey,” promising it could be a “cool vibe” at events and another offered to do it for less than we offered. We even had one guy show up at our office to drop off his card.
Please don’t do that, by the way. Use the application form on the website!
MV: How is the DaySavers brand different than Custom Cones USA’s other products?
Bard: What we realized is that there is a huge gap in the consumer space, and consumers also deserve the same level of attention, transparency and testing as businesses. There are no standards for rolling papers. You might remember a few years back, SC Labs in California tested a bunch of rolling papers and cones and found that 11% of the papers they tested would fail that state’s testing regimen and that 90% of rolling papers contained heavy metals, with nearly 10% containing them at a rate above the allowable limits.
So we doubled down on our pre-roll knowledge and launched our DaySavers, Fill-a-Blunts and Smoke Temple smoking accessory brands, all with the same focus on testing and compliance, so consumers never have to worry about what might be hiding in their pre-rolled cones, blunt wraps or rolling papers.
MV: Anything else pertinent/interesting about the job hasn’t been previously noted?
Bard: I just want to reiterate that while we’re calling it the Ultimate Stoner Dream Job, it is still a real job. Yes, we want you to smoke weed, but this is not just about smoking. There is a real salary attached to this position and we do expect the person we hire to create actual social media content to highlight our DaySavers, Fill-a-Blunts and Smoke Temple products, as well as manage social media campaigns, help out at events and much more.
We really are looking for a professional candidate with a background in marketing and content creation. The position will be open until 4/20 and then we’ll select multiple candidates to participate, with one person getting the full-time gig. But even if you’re not selected for the role, applicants will receive exclusive discounts on DaySavers products.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.