By Emily Landon

Edited by Benjamin Schiller.

In an overwhelming job market, leaning into personal networks and connections are more important than ever. Emily Landon, CEO of The Crypto Recruiters, outlines what is happening in the crypto job market and how you can position yourself or your company in 2024.

1. The Crypto Job Market is Hot

This headline may be an understatement. A recently posted job on LinkedIn for a Crypto Product Marketing Manager received more than 500 applicants in just five days.

As Web3 becomes more mainstream, there is an incredible uptick in the demand for roles in crypto and blockchain companies. While this demand will only continue to grow, there is also a positive trend in companies growing their teams. Crypto Jobs List, a jobs board, recorded about 600 new crypto and blockchain job listings in the month of July 2024.

The reason for the crazy job market? It could be a sprint after a long bear market for many industry professionals (the ones that made it through) and their excitement to get the flywheel moving again while productivity and funding is on the rise. The increased adoption of crypto and blockchain is also contributing to the increased supply of people looking to be involved. As mentioned before, all the money flowing into the space after many years of withholding investing in crypto after the FTX scandal has created an ideal opportunity for founders to hire the top talent they need.

2. A Lack of Good Product & Marketing Talent

Crypto Twitter has expressed a clear lack of true talent in the product and marketing departments.

The challenge with product and marketing in a young industry is the lack of quality of candidates that have put in the time and proven their worth. There are many young and hungry people in the space that are “doers,” but how can we prove they will get the job done when they can’t get to the next level in the first place?

There also may be a gap in technical skills as we have a lot of product and marketing professionals dipping in from other industries, as companies prefer experience to technical knowledge.

Internal recruitment teams and founding teams are struggling to find people that are reputable and trustworthy to execute on the responsibilities of their role.

Perhaps there are contests that can be held to prove innovation capabilities and strategy for product and marketing, but how can one prove they will execute long term without a track record? Hence, the vicious cycle and why executives are cherry picking from other industries.

3. VC Funding Effects on Hiring

The funds are flowing to crypto companies and the data shows. According to PitchBook data, crypto focused VCs shelled out $2.01 billion in the first three months of 2024, already surpassing the $1.9 billion raised in the entirety of 2023.

This has created a direct boost in the demand for hiring as companies are trying to reach those goals and bring those products to market.

As funding continues to flow, we hope to see a continued hiring streak and, in the meantime, we can all work on polishing the talent in the crypto market to get people where they need to go. The sentiment and hope for companies to deliver on the products and services they promise is high and we need the people power to get it done.

4. Institutions Building Out Their Digital Asset Teams

Many of the large financial institutions have been or are beginning to build out their digital asset and blockchain departments. These teams are quietly growing, but the general timeline for institutional adoption feels further out per the Crypto Summit 2024 hosted by Coinbase.

But the largest financial institutions are getting involved, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Swedish Central Banks, HSBC, State Street and Morgan Stanley.

Although full institutional adoption is far out, the growth is happening and we will see how this evolves over the years, hopefully increasing the supply of blockchain job opportunities.

5. Finding Your Next Role in Crypto

The job market is very difficult right now. It’s crowded, people are scrambling for jobs, and companies are scouring the field for the right people.

Job seekers: Less is more. Focus on a few jobs you are highly qualified for and passionate about. Tailor your resumes to the roles you are applying for. Make it easy for hiring managers to immediately understand that you are a perfect fit for the opportunity at hand.

Hiring managers: Invest in employer branding, make sure your marketing team is active on LinkedIn, and you have relationships with recruiters that work with the best people in the industry. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Ben Horowitz have all emphasized the importance of hiring the best people. In markets like this, lean on experts to help you get to the right people.

Job seekers: Keep your head up and keep digging. Work on your skills and personal development in the meantime.

The job market is crazy, so give yourself some grace. Personalization is more important than ever in this world flooded with AI and people desperate for opportunity. Lean on personal connections, reach out to The Crypto Recruiters for open roles, and build that personal brand.

Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.