Challenges of Headhunting for Blockchain Roles

The introduction of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has disrupted the conventional financial system. Around $50 billion of crypto transactions are conducted worldwide every day. This high volume of crypto exchange creates the need for a robust security system. It is where blockchain technology comes into play; even though it is entirely digital, it requires the actions of physical blockchain experts to build the exchanges and operate the frameworks to facilitate secure and smooth transactions. Since blockchain technology is a new concept, it is difficult for blockchain-based companies to identify and recruit talent for vacant job roles. As the number of crypto enthusiasts is increasing daily, so is the demand for blockchain products expanding.

Crypto recruitment agencies come into play to help these companies with blockchain executive searches. The crypto recruitment agency has a team of blockchain headhunters who do all the recruitment work for blockchain-based companies and provide them with a talented pool of individuals who are well-versed in the specialized work in the crypto industry. They use AI-based technologies to make recruitment faster and more transparent. Blockchain Staffing Ninja is one of the best blockchain headhunters that provides recruitment services to blockchain and crypto-based companies by utilizing its team of expert blockchain headhunters who identify and recruit fresh talent for these companies. In this article, we will discuss crypto recruitment agencies' critical role in the blockchain executive search process.

Growing Demand for Blockchain Professionals 

Blockchain technology has become the answer to numerous technological shortcomings faced by companies worldwide. It is a promising technological innovation that has proven highly efficient and secure. All the benefits of blockchain technology have made it highly popular in the corporate world, increasing the requirement for skilled blockchain professionals.

The primary reason behind the heightening demand for blockchain professionals is that new domains are opening daily with the expansion of the crypto and blockchain world. To manage blockchain operations efficiently, skilled blockchain individuals have become a necessity. This changing landscape has created a demand for a specialized blockchain recruitment agency to headhunt the roles and recruit skilled talent to meet industry standards. These agencies are specialists in the field and have access to a wide, niche talent pool. They use staffing solutions like AI, which traditional recruiters may be unable to use. It makes sorting through resumes easy, and only genuine candidates are hired.

Blockchain roles are some of the most sought-after jobs these days. The positions often require a unique set of skills and expertise across a wide range of subjects:

• Knowledge of Cryptography

• Distributed Systems

• Smart Contracts

• Consensus Algorithms

Challenges in Sourcing Blockchain Talent 

Blockchain technology is one of the hottest topics right now; however, finding and sourcing the right talent with the required skill set to perform the blockchain industry's highly technical operations has become challenging for recruitment firms and blockchain executive search firms. Some major challenges blockchain headhunters face in sourcing blockchain talent are the increased demand for skilled professionals, lack of standard assessing tools, and cut-throat competition among the companies for top talent. The significant challenges the companies providing blockchain headhunting services face are discussed in detail.

• The foremost challenge crypto recruiters face nowadays in blockchain executive search is the shortage of a skilled pool of blockchain professionals. As the concepts of blockchain and crypto are still new, only a few people have gained expertise in this industry. 

• Crypto recruitment agencies face a lack of standard procedures to identify skilled candidates from the bunch. The blockchain industry does not have a definitive pipeline or specified training programs to certify experienced professionals. 

• Lastly, massive competition among blockchain enterprises to acquire and retain skilled professionals adds to the scarcity. Most enterprises are ready to pay any price for developers in the blockchain industry, which brings one’s greed into play and makes them switch companies without thinking twice. This massive cash flow to attract and retain qualified candidates has made the tasks of blockchain headhunters quite tricky. 

Retaining Blockchain Talent

In such a demanding and booming market as the blockchain industry, there is a lack of a competitive workforce most of the time. Hiring fresh talent with prerequisite skills is arduous, as there are no specific standards to test professionals. Thus, retaining a skilled blockchain professional becomes necessary for enterprises as frequently hiring fresh talent is not feasible in this highly competitive environment.

However, retaining blockchain talent is difficult as skilled professionals tend to switch companies without a second thought owing to their ambitions, lucrative offers, and work atmosphere. With a high demand for skilled workers in the blockchain industry, enterprises worldwide try to lure talented professionals by offering them generous packages and other complimentary benefits. In such a scenario, the cryptocurrency recruiting firms and blockchain executive search firms must develop some retention strategies and execute them effectively to protect their pool of talented blockchain professionals from slipping away. Some crucial points that blockchain headhunters must address to retain blockchain talent are mentioned below: 

• Competitive Compensation Packages

Blockchain enterprises are advised to offer competitive compensation packages to their employees so they can feel appreciated for their contribution. It will also keep them from getting lured away by other companies.

• Career Development Opportunities

One of the primary reasons blockchain professionals switch companies is the lack of career development opportunities in the industry. Thus, crypto recruitment agencies should enhance the skills of their talent by providing them with career development opportunities such as training, first-hand experience, and appealing bonuses & promotions.

• Positive Work Culture 

One of the best ways to retain employees is by creating a positive work culture they would not want to leave at any cost. Crypto-based organizations are advised to provide their skilled workforce with a holistic work environment where they can contribute enthusiastically and be appreciated for it.

Navigating Regulatory and Legal Challenges

Though the blockchain industry has taken the world by storm, the legal scenario regarding the same is quite complicated. Multiple countries, like the USA, the UK, and India, have yet to wholly accept cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Any cryptocurrency recruiting firm may face legal issues when recruiting a fresh pool of talented blockchain professionals. Blockchain recruitment does not go well with the principles of GDPR that were established by the European Union last year. 

As per the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation, the people have the right to get their personal details morphed or deleted as per the situation. However, blockchain makes it impossible as it saves the transaction history in a ledger where it remains forever. In short, we can say that the current blockchain technology is highly incompatible with international law. Some other legal problems crypto recruitment agencies and blockchain executive search firms face are mentioned below:

• Nowadays, any blockchain recruitment agency must comply with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and  Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations which are government-authorized verification processes to check the authenticity of an individual. Any agency must abide by this to become the best blockchain recruitment agency.

• It is also not easy for blockchain headhunters to verify the authenticity of candidate qualifications due to the lack of an established standard in the field of blockchain. From the job role of blockchain developers, front-end and back-end developers to smart contract developers and crypto community managers, there are no fixed parameters to judge the competencies of the professionals. 

Thus, any reputed cryptocurrency recruitment firm or blockchain headhunter must stay updated with the dynamic scenario of regulatory requirements and comply strictly with the established rules of the recruitment process.

Overcoming the Lack of Industry Standards

As mentioned before, there is a lack of a definite set of standards when it comes to verifying the authenticity of a potential candidate's qualifications and credentials in the crypto and blockchain field. It creates a challenge for crypto recruitment agencies and blockchain executive search firms to holistically assess applicants' skill sets and expertise for a particular job role. Some of the main skills required to excel in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrency are mentioned ahead.

• Cybersecurity / Cryptography

• Data Structures

• Blockchain Architecture

• Smart Contracts Development

• Web Development

Looking at the current scenario of the recruitment process in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency recruiting agencies and blockchain executive firms should develop their criteria to evaluate the skill sets of blockchain applicants. These blockchain headhunting firms can mitigate the challenges and assess the candidates’ technical skills by taking this action.

Conclusion

Overall, we can say that though the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are two of the hottest debates of our time, it is equally tricky for crypto recruitment agencies and blockchain executive search firms to find the human resources to handle the operations of the concerned fields. Blockchain headhunters face major challenges like the need for a more skilled pool, a lack of established standards to assess a candidate's skills, retaining a professional in such a highly competitive environment, and various legal complications.

However, all these challenges can be addressed with strategic actions or by taking the help of experts such as Blockchain Staffing Ninja, an organization solely devoted to the recruitment process in the field of blockchain and crypto. The organization has various checks and standards to create a talented pool of professionals. We recommend companies contact any such blockchain recruitment agency if they are looking to hire skilled professionals without stressing about the recruitment, verification, and assessment processes. Furthermore, as per the current scenario, recruitment agencies must adapt and improve continuously as the blockchain landscape rapidly upgrades. To meet the increasing demands, hiring firms must also upgrade themselves accordingly.