Edit | Wu Shuo Blockchain
Colin, the founder of Wu Shuo, chatted with Sam and Miya from New Jin Cheng Human Resources about interesting stories related to cryptocurrency industry recruitment. New Jin Cheng has been engaged in blockchain headhunting and recruitment since 2016, successfully helping over 2000 candidates find jobs.
The audio was transcribed using GPT, so there may be errors. Listen to the full podcast:
Xiaoyuzhou:
Youtube:
Fewer and fewer distributed positions, with most offices centralized in Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen
Sam: Distributed offices used to be a mainstream model in the cryptocurrency industry, but it has gradually decreased. Based on our findings, remote work was more common in China in the early days, and then expanded to places like Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong. However, there are now very few companies in China that truly support remote work. Most companies either require employees to work in a centralized office or adopt a mobile office approach overseas. One of the main reasons for the decrease in distributed offices is that this approach is relatively inefficient and difficult to manage. Additionally, we have encountered some issues, such as remote employees working part-time or even cases of impersonation.
Many cases of impersonation, and some individuals outsource their work
Sam: There are also cases where individuals outsource their work and then engage in other activities themselves. We have indeed encountered such situations. As for the changes in centralized offices, from the early days of multiple locations in China to gradually relocating to Singapore, many companies have now moved to places like Thailand and Malaysia due to cost considerations. Hong Kong and Shenzhen have also formed a connection, with many project owners or executives in Hong Kong conducting recruitment activities in Shenzhen. This model is still quite common.
Miya: Let me share some interesting cases we have encountered. For example, once a candidate had someone else attend an interview on their behalf. We discovered this when checking identity information through WeChat and other means. Although some people at the hiring company were aware of this situation, they seemed to have accepted it, possibly because remote work costs less. Additionally, some project parties sometimes use the resumes we provide to recommend candidates to other companies, which creates a chaotic situation in terms of rules.
Sam: I'll add another case where we were harmed. There was a senior technology leader in the industry who, after becoming a CTO of a company, also established a small headhunting company on his own. We collaborated with him to recommend talent, but he was actually using our services for free to serve his headhunting company. We later found out that all the resumes of the candidates we recommended were actually forwarded through his headhunting company. Eventually, the CTO was dismissed by the company, and the issue was resolved by HR.
Many executives and employees work remotely or even establish their own companies
Sam: For some positions in the cryptocurrency industry, especially in business development (BD), the remote work model is particularly susceptible to abuse because these individuals are not often present in the office. They often use their resources to serve their own companies first and then provide the remaining resources to the company they are currently employed by, or even work part-time at several companies simultaneously. This is one of the reasons why more and more companies now require centralized offices, as it allows for better management of employees. As for cases of embezzlement of company assets, we have only heard of them and have not directly encountered them. This situation may be more common in the West, where remote workers, once trusted by the company, suddenly steal company assets. However, in the Chinese community, such cases are relatively rare, perhaps due to stricter laws and regulations or a more cautious culture. Our company mainly recruits for high-end positions, such as department directors at P6 level or above, or expert-level positions, which are quite common in the cryptocurrency industry. For example, OKX uses a job ranking system similar to Alibaba's, while Binance has its own set of standards.
It's becoming increasingly difficult for individuals with a pure Web2 background to enter the blockchain industry; a background in the cryptocurrency industry is required
Sam: In the early days, especially from 2017 to 2018, it was very difficult for us to recruit talent from outside the industry. However, after the Dragon Boat Festival in 2022, the industry's attitude towards talent from Web2 has changed, and the entry barrier has been raised, especially in terms of requiring relevant industry experience. Therefore, since 2022, despite many layoffs in the internet industry, there are almost no opportunities for Web2 talent to enter the cryptocurrency industry, especially for non-technical personnel. This is mainly because the cryptocurrency industry is relatively independent, and employers prefer to hire people with industry experience. So, although we needed to supplement talent from Web2 or other traditional industries in the early days to fill the talent gap, the situation has changed significantly since the bear market, with the industry starting to downsize. It has become very different, and it is now very difficult for Web2 talent to enter this circle.
The cryptocurrency industry has high educational requirements, and it's not understood why some people think otherwise
Sam: I have always believed that this industry has relatively high educational requirements. This industry is essentially a combination of financial technology and blockchain technology. The traditional financial industry already has high educational requirements, and with blockchain being a relatively new technology, the educational requirements are naturally high as well. Even for front-line positions, such as marketing operations, overseas study experience is often required, especially if you are in BD and need to interact with foreigners or overseas markets. Therefore, the educational requirements have always been strict. I don't understand why some people think that this industry has low educational requirements. In reality, many bosses in the cryptocurrency industry are highly educated individuals or have returned from studying abroad, and they have certain educational requirements. Additionally, as the industry shifts towards overseas markets, the requirements for English and even minor languages are increasing, as this is related to the effective conduct of international business, especially during the bear market when the focus is mainly on contract trading, which requires coverage of more overseas markets.
In addition to a high level of English proficiency, there is also a high demand for small languages such as Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, and Persian
Sam: In terms of language requirements, in addition to English, we also have a special need for Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, and even Persian. These requirements mainly stem from the large number of cryptocurrency users in these countries, so there is a high demand for these minor languages. If a position does not require proficiency in a minor language, then English proficiency must be very good. For those who want to enter the blockchain industry, whether they are college students or already working, if you are a technical professional, you can leverage the blockchain knowledge or related technology you have learned in college, especially since many universities now offer blockchain-related courses. This field particularly needs blockchain development talent, whether it's for public chains, Layer2, or other technologies such as ZK (zero-knowledge proof). If you are a non-technical professional and want to enter this industry, you should first improve your language skills, whether it's English or other minor languages. These skills are crucial for entering the cryptocurrency industry. In terms of recruitment, there is the greatest demand for technical and market resource development (BD) positions. For applicants, even internship experience is very important, as it can help you accumulate relevant industry experience. There are many excellent WEB3 project teams in China, and even working in large consortium chains is a good opportunity to gain experience.
Miya: As for interesting things, we encounter many small incidents every day during the recruitment process. For example, at lunch today, I encountered a bizarre situation where a candidate with a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan had reached the offer stage but spent an hour arguing with me because he needed to advance 10,000 yuan to buy a computer (although the company would reimburse him).
There are quite a few cases of resume fraud; we once encountered a person with 5 different fraudulent resumes
Miya: In the cryptocurrency industry, the proportion of resume fraud is indeed not low, and many people's resumes may have some exaggeration. Although there are still many honest individuals, there have indeed been several cases where there was a significant difference between the front and back of the resume. Some larger companies use specialized third-party background check companies, or engage headhunting companies like us to conduct industry background checks, but this is a relatively rare occurrence. For smaller or less formal companies, they may not conduct such background checks.
Sam: We once received a candidate's resume, and he sent different versions of his resume to different consultants, with a total of five versions, and even different names. In the cryptocurrency industry's remote work environment, the probability of resume fraud is indeed higher, as there are relatively few companies conducting background checks, and the cost of fraud is also relatively low. However, as the industry gradually becomes more standardized, I advise candidates to appropriately embellish their resumes, but never to falsify them. Because although this industry may seem large, it is actually quite small, and everyone knows each other. Once you leave a bad record, there may be no one willing to hire you in this industry in the future.
In the early days, 50% would receive token incentives, but now it's rare, only executives have them
Sam: Token incentives are relatively rare now, mainly because tokens may not be considered valuable in the current bear market. Although it may be the early to mid-stage of a bull market, discussions about token incentives are still relatively rare. In the early days, over 50% of companies would discuss token incentives during recruitment, but now we have encountered fewer and fewer such cases, and it may only be relevant to a few executive positions. This situation also reflects the industry becoming more standardized. Compared to token incentives, companies are more inclined to directly provide salaries or sell tokens to investors, as it is simpler. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult for situations like the overnight wealth accumulation through token incentives in the early days to occur.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
