One of the biggest challenges we are facing at the moment is compensation. As a smaller & newer industry, the talent pool of individuals with the specific skill sets & experience we require can be difficult to find. This, naturally, leads to a higher compensation expectation amongst those who have the relevant qualifications. 

As a result we are looking towards candidates who have transferable skills, and a tolerance for risk. Ideally, someone who has experience in Full Stack/ Development in blockchain or even just a keen interest in the blockchain industry. 

Diversity can definitely be a challenge and is a key concern for us right now. The Talent Landscape of those with experience in C++  is undoubtedly male dominated. This requires us to change the language around requirements on our job descriptions to attract more diverse talent. 

We use a variety of methods to try to increase the diversity of our teams, including running panels & reaching out to individuals through phone conversations. 

Our CTO/VP of the last 4 years here at MobileCoin is female and she features frequently in our marketing to increase visibility of diverse members of our industry in the hope of attracting others. 

I cannot say what is emerging sector wise, but, here at Coinbase we are seeing Flutter & Rust skill sets coming to the fore. 

Flutter is software development kit (SDK) used both in crypto & non-crypto companies alike, which can be used to build beautiful UI and apps on multiple platforms with a single codebase. Rust, is a reliable, flexible, and efficient language for writing highly efficient and fast code with safety in mind. 

Ideal candidates for upskill in these up & coming areas would have C++ and java experience.

At the moment in the crypto industry, the majority of companies are looking for engineers and product engineers who are comfortable with the ambiguity and have the willingness & ability to carve a path for themselves. An understanding of the landscape is also a helpful asset.

Blockchain has issues for instance around privacy, carbon emissions, costs etc and there’s a reason that we haven’t replaced a lot of payment rails and stuff with Blockchain. So if you can find a solution to these issues, which MobileCoin does Crytpo is getting somewhere which I truly believe or else I wouldn’t have joined MobileCoin. 

However, a lot of things need to settle and there needs to be more acceptance across the industry. The Biden Executive Order on Cryptocurrency told us where we are and where we are going and basically told us we needed more time to sort things out.

Some of the brightest,  smartest and best people have left their jobs and come to Crypto.  

A lot of money is going into Crypto companies. Coinbase raised like $65 million at a $1 billion dollar valuation from very top notch investors. So I think that’s also pretty telling. Alot of Venture Capitalist money has gone into crypto and a lot of people truly believe in Crypto.

Understanding the landscape, understanding people’s concerns and addressing them. Be able to address them. Get comfortable with the industry. 

It’s also really important to have a great relationship with the hiring managers, for example the VP of Engineering, CTO, or whoever is making the decisions on hiring, and really getting clear on prioritisation. Get clear rules and specs on what hires are needed. Be diligent and smart with resources.

Like any sector, the most important thing is coming and understanding the landscape.

Understanding concerns and being good with ambiguity. It’s also important to understand the company. I am still learning how to talk about MobileCoin!

There are so many different types of people coming through, and it’s always gonna have a different audience. 

This is especially important if we’re going into some sort of, crypto winter. We want to be very, very careful and mindful of the hires that we’re making. It is crucial to be diligent, thoughtful and smart with resources. That’s probably the key success factor for us right now.