Hey there,
It's time for the 5th edition of Line of Work, a bi-weekly newsletter discussing the more human elements of the Bitcoin, crypto & blockchain industry. In this newsletter, we track key hires and departures, rising stars in the industry, growing companies and all elements related to talent. If you've missed any of the previous editions, you can check them out here.
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🧳 Pack Your Bags.... For Wyoming? - Wyoming News
When you think about hotbeds for innovations and jobs in cryptocurrency, you might think of places like San Francisco, New York City, Singapore, London or maybe Berlin. But is it time to start thinking about Wyoming?
About five new “blockchain banks” could bring as much as $20 billion in assets into Wyoming by summer 2020 as applications open for the new type of bank charter Oct. 1... The new charters, colloquially known as SPDI (pronounced speedy) banks, don’t require backing by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., instead relying on a 100% cash reserve for securing all cryptocurrency assets like the well-known, but less widely understood bitcoin.
In reality, it's likely going to take a lot more than five banks with a dozen or so openings each to turn Wyoming into a hotbed for cryptocurrency activity, but it's interesting to see nonetheless.
Within the US, I'm all for diversification of companies and jobs outside of the typical SF, NYC, Boston, LA, Chicago and Austin metro areas, especially into lower cost of living states.
⛓️ Blockchain Experience... Not Required
A common question I hear when speaking with software engineering candidates is, "Do I need prior experience working with blockchain technology?" and the overwhelming answer is... NO. The following are a few excerpts from crypto industry job posts.
Excited to learn and develop blockchain technology, that's all you need
No experience with blockchain yet? Not a problem!
No experience but cryptocurious? Join us
For the vast number of clients I work with at Proof of Talent, the preference is for candidates with experience with traditional tech stacks. For example, a backend engineer who has +3 years working with Java or C++ or a frontend engineer who is an expert in React.
Most companies are happy to support on the job learning for blockchain tech, while they prefer to have experience on day-1 with core technologies.
📝 LinkedIn Users Got Skills - TechCrunch
The idea of skills testing is something that's fiercely debated among job seekers and hiring companies. On one hand, you have companies seeking to verify experience to confirm fit while on the other, you have some candidates who say "My resume and experience speaks for itself and I don't need to spend the extra time to prove what I know."
As companies like TripleByte and HackerRank grow more prominent (thanks to the most annoying ads on Reddit, looking at you TripleByte), LinkedIn is joining the fray. LinkedIn is launching skills assessments, which will provide verified credential badges for users. It's an interesting move that has some potential given LinkedIn's reach, especially if they expand beyond solely software engineering like some of the competition.
Speaking of coding quizes, Joseph Kunzler, an engineer at Tagomi believes that the most important aspect of finding the best engineer is an alignment to passion and product.
I'd tend to agree that finding talent that truly believes in what you are building, especially in the volatile world of cryptocurrency, is more important than finding someone that scores a 95 on a test over an 87... But that's just me.
🏛️ Private <> Public Job Flip Flop - CoinDesk
In the last edition of Line of Work, we discussed Ripple and Facebook hiring lobbying support to navigate Washington DC. Well this time around, the role has been flipped with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) hiring former Coinbase VP Dorothy Dewitt as Director of the Division of Market Oversight.
I expect we will see more talent flow from the public to private sector (IE SEC to Coinbase), but interesting to see that private sector isn't the only place trying to stay one step ahead of the competition.
In other news around the Private <> Public Job Flip Flop, (mostly) everyone's favorite former CFTC Chairman, Chris Giancarlo has recently joined the advisory board of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, whose mission is
" to promote the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies. Through education, advocacy and working closely with policymakers, regulatory agencies and industry, our goal is to develop an environment that fosters innovation, jobs and investment."
I've joked to friends in the past that Chris Giancarlo is going to get paiddd after leaving the CFTC by some big crypto firm, but for now, it appears he's happy supporting the Chamber of Digital Commerce's mission which is great to see!
🎙️ Interview Tip - "Do you have any questions for me?"
We've all likely been there. You've just finished the majority of an interview, you were pelted with questions and your brain is basically mush. Then the interviewer poses the question, "That's all I have on my end, do you have any questions for me?"
You sit there and stumble around in your thoughts until you say, "Uhhhh no? I think we covered everything!". Don't do this.
The "Do you have any questions for me?" ask is a golden opportunity to build rapport, extend the conversation and ask questions that will help clarify the role and company for you.
So what's the interview tip here?
It's simple. Prior to the interview, take the time to write down 3-5 questions that you would like to ask to the interviewer. It can be about the company, about the role, about the culture, about the industry, etc.
Bring the questions you've written down on a notepad into the interview, so when the question in posed, you don't need to use your brain. Simply glance down, refresh your mind on some good questions and proceed to ace the interview.
🔥 Hot Opportunities with Proof of Talent
In case you don't know, I run a recruiting firm, Proof of Talent, that works exclusively with companies in the Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain industry. We currently have over 14 unique roles open, with 10 clients in the US, so if you're interested in working in the industry, feel free to send your resume our way.
Here's a quick run down of the coolest, most unique positions we currently have available at Proof of Talent.
Head of Engineering - A blockchain data analytics company that just received a +$3M seed round is hiring for a Head of Engineering. The ideal candidate is a an engineering leader with experience in big data and analytics product development capable of driving engineering efforts forward. The role is on-site in NYC.
Head of Blockchain Engineering - A domain name and hosting infrastructure company building technology on Ethereum is looking for someone with prior experience working with Solidity, Ethereum and Web3 technology to lead blockchain engineering efforts. The company raised a +$5M Series A in 2019 and has brought in over +$1M in revenue since launch. The role is based in San Francisco.
Head of Trading – An established, well-respected crypto fund based in Manhattan is hiring for a Head of Trading. The ideal candidate has at least 5 years of trading experience on Wall Street trading traditional asset classes, and has either recent experience trading cryptoassets professionally (or deep personal knowledge). The role is on-site in NYC.
SOFTWARE ENGINEERS - We're hiring across the board for software engineers. Backend, frontend, fullstack, SRE, you name it, we got it. If you're a software engineer with +2 years of experience, we likely have a gig for you in NYC, SF or Boston.
Until next time
If you have any tips, stories or information regarding talent in the crypto industry, please send it over and we’re happy to evaluate and include it!
If you found this newsletter helpful or enlightening, we’d be grateful for you to pass it along to your friends!
Best Regards,
Rob Paone
Founder of Proof Of Talent – A blockchain & crypto recruiting firm