Headhunter Interpretation: What Kind of Talent Does Web3 Need? What Changes Are Currently Taking Place?

Author: Mankun Brand Department

The unique value of Talentverse: Purity, Technology Empowerment, Global Delivery. Lawyer Niu Xiaojing: The theme of this interview is what kind of talent the Web3 industry needs and what its future prospects are, and whether it is worth for outstanding talents to join. First, please introduce Talentverse and what unique values you think it has? Can you summarize it with a few keywords? Teacher James: Of course. I have three keywords in mind: 1. Purity: In the headhunting industry, people are involved in various fields, such as consumer goods, the internet, finance, real estate, etc. But we are very pure; we can say that we are a headhunting company that only focuses on the Web3 and blockchain industry, with all consultants and business concentrated in this vertical field. 2. Technology Empowerment: There are some so-called Web3 headhunting companies in the industry, but their methods and business processes lean towards traditional or operational models. In addition to having a certain scale of consulting team, we have also built our own talent pool. Over the past several cycles, we have accumulated about 50,000 talents who specialize in Web3 and blockchain or are interested in it, forming our talent pool. At the same time, we actively explore and apply AI technology, utilizing AI tools in both sourcing talent and communication processes, so we are a very technology-empowered organization. We also have a community of over 3,000 people with exclusive channels on Xiaohongshu, WeChat, and Telegram. 3. Global Delivery: Although we originated in China, thanks to many Chinese entrepreneurs going abroad or participating in the globalization process in the last and current cycles, we have also made global layouts. Currently, our consulting team is not only in mainland China but also distributed in Japan, North America, Southeast Asia, and other places. In the past few years, the positions we delivered covered several major continents and markets except Africa, with many successful cases.

What kind of talent does Web3 need? Lawyer Niu Xiaojing: You mentioned 'twists and turns', which makes me curious. Many young people may not be able to clearly plan their lives when they first graduate and don't know what industries or positions are suitable for them. What specific or personalized advice do you have for those about to graduate or just entering society? Are they suitable for choosing an industry like Web3? Teacher James: I have interviewed tens of thousands of people in my career, from high-level executives with annual salaries of tens of millions to excellent students. If I were to give students some advice, although we are discussing Web3 today, I believe there is a universal principle: You must start from your own interests and talents to choose an industry that can accumulate long-term. The path and duration of career development are long; it must be a field you like and are willing to invest in. If you can combine your talent with your position, whether in Web3 or other industries, the working and living atmosphere and growth will be the best, and the return on investment will also be the highest.

Age Restrictions and Career Change Opportunities. Lawyer Niu Xiaojing: Many internet giants are laying off employees over the age of 45, with high salary expectations and unclear futures. Is there still a significant age restriction for those over 40 in the Web3 industry? Teacher James: This is a trend change. In the past, especially in the last cycle until last year, the degree of age unfriendliness was even more pronounced than in traditional industries. Most projects were founded by young founders who had good educational backgrounds, bilingual abilities, and trendy ideas, which attracted venture capital support. People born in the 80s or before the 70s were slower to recognize and accept Web3 compared to younger individuals, leading to a gap in abilities and age.
New Trends in Talent Supply and Demand. Lawyer Niu Xiaojing: Currently, from the perspective of talent and projects on both supply and demand sides, is it a talent shortage or saturation? Are there any new rules? Teacher James: This question is very interesting and affects our business strategy adjustments. I look at it from two dimensions: First, before 2021, such as in 2017 or earlier, the entire market had a talent supply that was less than demand, and everyone's requirements for talent were higher. When I was at Binance, there were few practitioners in Web3 and blockchain, especially technical personnel, and we spared no expense to poach people from large internet companies and traditional financial institutions. Now, with the continuous influx of global and domestic talent, the structure has changed; the first criterion for finding talent is no longer just the background from large internet companies but rather whether they have relevant industry experience. If not, we then expand to the internet field; the level of supply is much better than in the previous two cycles.

Salary, Risks, and Employment Models. Lawyer Niu Xiaojing: Given the high risks associated with Web3, are salaries more attractive than in traditional industries? What high-paying positions can you share from the past year? Teacher James: Salaries ultimately depend on market supply and demand and total asset scale. In the previous cycle, transitioning from traditional industries to blockchain with a 30% increase was considered low; everyone felt the risks were high and the possibility of unemployment made higher increases reasonable. However, in this cycle, due to layoffs in the internet sector and business impacts, many people are unemployed, and salary expectations have dropped to be on par with the internet, with increases not as exaggerated as in the previous cycle.

Insights from Success and Failure Cases. Lawyer Niu Xiaojing: You have interviewed so many people; do you have any successful or failed cases to share? For example, cases of transitioning to or joining Web3 that turned out well—what were the reasons for success? And what pitfalls or subjective and objective factors led to failure? Teacher James: Successful cases, for example, those who joined Binance, OKX, or Bybit in 2020 or earlier, as long as they persisted until now, have seen good results in terms of ability, industry recognition, or income; this is an opportunity provided by the times. The same will be true in the future; joining the industry early allows one to reap the early benefits. Personal effort is important, but industry support is significant. Looking at individuals, successful people have several traits: First is proactivity; for instance, a graphic designer who was not originally in Web3 took on operational tasks that others avoided, treating work as learning, and this attitude greatly helped his growth. Second is a growth mindset; when encountering problems or mistakes, some people shirk responsibility, while those with a growth mindset reflect on their shortcomings, make changes, or lead others to change, receiving high evaluations in cooperation. Third is a strong curiosity; Web3 develops quickly, and those without strong curiosity are unlikely to want to enter unless compelled. Curiosity allows discovery of new opportunities, meeting challenges, and excitement at seeing new things, leading to strong self-motivation. Recently, a case involved a 32-year-old programmer laid off who had been looking for a job for over six months. We recommended him to a top Web3 company, but he chose an offer from Xiaomi. I advised him to try Web3 since he has experience from a big company, where salaries are high, and risks are lower, providing a broader path. He is still considering.