The Essential Guide To Hiring A Software Developer For Your Web3 Startup

Finding the right Web3 talents for your startup gets harder by the day as we experience an increased adoption of decentralized technologies across several industries. The demand for Web3 skills has been so large that the supply has not been able to expand fast enough. For example, LinkedIn reported a 400% increase between 2020 and 2021 in job titles containing the words “blockchain” and “cryptocurrency,” compared with nearly a 100% increase in the broad technology sector.

Most web3 founders and hiring managers are facing hardship in sourcing the best talents for their organizations. It gets even harder finding talents with the right blend of expertise, skills, experience, and passion for your startup. The perfect combination of these attributes can be very hard to come by in a nascent industry like Web3.

Sourcing software developers with the perfect set of skills, knowledge, and experience for your startup’s needs has always been a hassle. In the beginning, It is even more challenging for startups to find the right technical talent. Sometimes, startup founders and hiring managers may not even know the exact kind of Web3 technical specialist they need to build their company's vision.

Very often, Web3 startups are in direct need to hire software developers. While the hiring experience for some is smooth and easy, for most, it is a daunting and very challenging experience. This is a challenge that is being addressed by the team at Kleoverse quickly and thoughtfully, as we understand that the quality of Web3 hires directly affects the performance of web3 startups, even their products, and services.

As expected with any emerging industry, proficiency in hiring and managing Web3 talents will be challenging. That’s why this practical guide is put together to help aspiring Web3 entrepreneurs, organizations, and startup founders follow the right path and hire the finest-tuned Web3 software developers.

In this guide, we will be addressing some of the most prevalent challenges faced by Web3 organizations. We will provide answers to questions like:

What to do before you hire your first developer?
How to hire a web3 software developer?
Where to find and hire Web3 software developers?
How to hire web3 developers with Kleoverse?

Before You Hire Your First Software Developer

Before searching for web3 developers for your web3 startups or project, you should ensure to do the following:

1. Decide on the desired role

This is the first step to thoughtfully address within your startup to save capital and time.

To build the different products for your Web3 startup, you need to decide on the exact role a software engineer will play in your company. To do this you'd need to answer questions like:

What do you believe are the core team members needed on your Web3 project team?
What is your organization's operational strategy and how does it factor into the hiring process?

Below is an example of a well thought-out role and the organization's operational strategy in addition to its expectations from talents.

2. Identify the required skill sets

Identifying the main hard and soft skills you require from a software engineer working for you is a critical first step to ensuring your hiring and organization's success.

It is important that you tailor both hard and soft skills to fit the desired hiring role and organization's needs.

Firmly iterate on the soft skills developers need to succeed within the role and your startup. Some important soft skills for web3 developers are, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, creative and analytical thinking, and understanding the essence of Agile methodology and Scrum project management approach.

3. Write a highly specific job description

The most important thing when you hire a Web3 developer is to write a clear and detailed job description. Your goal is to find the right person, so try to describe your company and project as accurately as possible.

An excellent template to follow is:

Describe your company and project
List the technologies you plan to use
Describe the candidate that will be a perfect fit for you, but make sure there are no biases
Add value, describing the perks and benefits your company can offer.

Below is an example of a software developer job ad that perfectly illustrates the points described above. It provides useful information about the company, covers the candidate’s responsibilities, describes the perfect candidate for the role, lists the tools and technologies they should be skilled with, and provides the benefits the company offers.

4. Prepare interview questions and assign test tasks

The next step is to prepare a series of interview questions and formulate a test task for your best-fit candidates. These series of questions should be crafted accurately to verify your candidate’s knowledge of Web3 and the operations of your company.

After evaluating their knowledge, you want to test their work experience with a test task. The test task should be related to the job/responsibilities they’re applying for so that you can evaluate their proficiency after joining the project. Also, it should be a simple task that doesn't take much time – for example, you can ask your candidates to code a simple smart contract.

Some examples of web3 interview questions for software developers include:

How do you understand Web3 and what’s the difference between Web1 and Web2?
What’s the difference between fungible & non-fungible tokens?
What are the differences between L1 & L2 blockchain networks?
What is the blockchain trilemma?
Can you explain what smart contracts are?
Why do you think Ethereum will be successful?
How do you see Web3 development changing in the next five years?
What is the most difficult part of Web3 development for you?
Explain Ethereum Virtual Machine
What is the function of the consensus algorithm?
What is the first item you need to define when creating a solidity file?

How To Hire A Software Developer For Your Web3 Startup

When looking to hire a software developer for your Web3 startup, it's essential that you understand that Web3 is not just a skill to learn like other programming languages, but a set of concepts that encompass decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics. Therefore, finding talents for your Web3 startup requires hiring specialists with different profiles, experiences, and skill sets depending on your startup's specific needs.

The best way to go about hiring a software developer for your web3 project is to attract the right candidates with the required skills and the required level of enthusiasm for Web3 technology, specifically for what you are trying to build.

To accurately evaluate if a candidate is a good fit for your company, you’d have to consider candidate's:

1. Familiarity with Web3 technologies

A strong understanding of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and decentralized applications is a critical selection criteria for a Web3 software engineer.

To pick the best candidate, it is important to look out for those who have experience working with the web3 technology stack your company uses and can demonstrate a clear understanding of how they work.

When sorting for candidates who have experience working with your required web3 technologies, you can use the following strategies to identify the right candidates:

Use concise Job postings: Craft job postings that concisely describes the required technical skills and experience with web3 technologies. This will help you attract candidates who have experience with these technologies and help you narrow down your pool of applicants.
Search for keywords on resumes and LinkedIn profiles: Use keywords such as "blockchain", "smart contracts", "Ethereum", "Polkadot", "Cosmos", "Solidity", or other relevant terms when searching for resumes and LinkedIn profiles. This will help you filter through a large pool of candidates, also helping you find those who have experience working with these technologies.
Attend blockchain and web3 conferences and events: Top web3 talents are big-time fans of web3 events, conferences, and hackathons. Attending these events to network with candidates who have top tier experience working with your technologies is an excellent hiring strategy. You can also consider sponsoring or hosting events to attract potential candidates.
Use Web3 talent platforms and marketplaces: Web3 talent platforms provide a network of web3-specific talents. Web3 talent marketplaces help eliminate the uncertainty that comes with vetting candidates. Talent platforms like Kleoverse, Metaintro, and Intropia provide a wide pool of web3 talents to find the best candidates who have experience working with these technologies.
Review open-source contributions: Reviewing open-source web3 projects is an excellent strategy for finding the best-fit talent for your startup. You can find these contributions on platforms such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. We advise that you look for candidates who have contributed to open-source web3 projects, as this demonstrates their skills and knowledge in particular areas of choice.
Use assessments and coding challenges: Use assessments or coding challenges to evaluate a candidate's technical skills and ability to work with your web3 technology stack. You can create your own assessments or use existing ones from platforms such as HackerRank or Codility.

A combination of some or all of the above strategies can be used to identify candidates with the unique experience best fitted for your projects.

2. Experience with Web3 development frameworks and protocols

Sourcing candidates with the exact skills and experience to work with your development frameworks will save you a great deal of time in the hiring process.

We advise you to look for candidates who have experience working with the exact Web3 frameworks and protocols you’re building on. They should have a deep understanding of how to develop and deploy decentralized applications on these platforms.

Verifying a job candidate's experience with some web3 development frameworks can be done by:

Asking for references: Ask candidates for references who can verify their experience with web3 development frameworks. You should reach out to the references they provide and ask them specific questions about the candidate's experience working with web3 development frameworks.
Reviewing past projects: It is important to review the candidate's past projects and code repositories to see if they have worked with some of your web3 development frameworks. Look for evidence of experience with specific smart contract development, dApps, or blockchain integration they will be working with.
Asking technical questions: During the interview process, ask the candidate technical questions related to web3 development frameworks. Ask them to explain the concepts behind specific smart contracts, decentralized applications, or blockchain integration. Their ability to explain these concepts in detail can provide insights into their knowledge and experience.
Giving coding challenges: Provide coding challenges related to your exact web3 development frameworks to test the candidate's skills and knowledge. You can include building a simple smart contract or a decentralized application.
Checking online presence: Check the candidate's online presence, such as their LinkedIn, GitHub, or other online profiles, to see if they have contributed to open-source projects or written articles about web3 development frameworks.

Applying these strategies is required to ensure your candidate has the necessary skills and knowledge in web3 development frameworks.

3. Coding skills

A software engineer should have a strong foundation in coding skills, such as proficiency in programming languages like Solidity, JavaScript, Rust, etc.

Evaluating their past work provides you with insights into how they work, think, and coordinate themselves. You should also ask specific questions, and provide coding challenges to ensure they are a good fit for your web3 startup. Strategies to use in validating a job candidate's web3 coding skills include:

Ask for a code sample: Ask the candidate to provide a code sample of a smart contract they have built. Review the code to see if it is well-structured, efficient, and follows best coding practices.
Review past projects: Review the candidate's past projects related to smart contracts. Look for evidence of their knowledge of smart contract development, such as the ability to write secure and efficient smart contracts, or to use tools like Truffle or Remix.
Ask technical questions: During the interview process, ask the candidate technical questions related to smart contract development. Ask them to explain the concepts behind smart contracts, such as state variables, functions, or events. Their ability to explain these concepts in detail can provide insights into their knowledge and experience.
Give coding challenges: Provide coding challenges related to smart contract development to test the candidate's skills and knowledge. This can include building a simple smart contract or debugging an existing one.
Check certifications: Check if the candidate has any certifications related to smart contract development, such as the Certified Ethereum Developer (CED) certification offered by ConsenSys Academy.

A combination of any or all of these strategies will provide enough feedback to ascertain if a candidate is the right fit for your web3 startup.

4. Understanding of Web3 security best practices

Security is a top concern for Web3 startups, and a software engineer should have a good understanding of security best practices, such as secure coding practices, encryption techniques, and threat modelling.

Validating a software engineer's understanding of security best practices to become a core developer for your company is critical as it ensures that the products they develop are secure and do not expose the system to vulnerabilities.

It's important to evaluate a software engineer's understanding of security best practices to ensure that they are capable of developing secure smart contracts. Here are some strategies that can help validate a software engineer's understanding of security best practices:

Ask about security-specific experience: During the interview, ask the candidate about their previous experience working with security in software development. Request that they provide examples of security measures they have implemented, such as encryption, hashing, or access control.
Ask about OWASP Top 10: Ask the candidate to explain the OWASP Top 10, which are the top 10 vulnerabilities in web applications. This will help you evaluate their knowledge of the most common security threats and how to mitigate them.
Ask about secure coding principles: Ask the candidate about secure coding principles such as input validation, output encoding, parameterized queries, and error handling. This will help you assess their understanding of the most important secure coding practices.
Review past projects: Review the candidate's past projects to see if they have implemented security best practices, such as using SSL/TLS, implementing authentication and authorization mechanisms, and input/output validation.
Give security-focused coding challenges: Provide coding challenges focused on security to test the candidate's skills and knowledge. For example, ask them to implement a secure login system or a system that prevents SQL injection.
Check certifications: Check if the candidate has any security-specific certifications, such as the Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) certification.

5. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Web3 startups are fast-paced and dynamic and work in these environments. Working in a startup environment requires grit, flexibility and stamina, and a software engineer should be able to work efficiently under tight deadlines and quickly adapt to changing requirements.

A proper understanding of your candidate's ability to work in a fast-paced environment is crucial to ensure they can handle the demands of the fast-growing nature of web3 startups and the industry.

Ask about their previous experience: During the interview, ask the candidate about their previous experience working in a fast-paced environment. Ask them to provide examples of situations where they have had to work under tight deadlines and high pressure.
Give scenario-based questions: Give the candidate scenario-based questions to assess their ability to work in a fast-paced environment. For example, ask them to describe a time when they had to quickly adapt to changing priorities or deal with an unexpected challenge.
Check their multitasking ability: Check the candidate's multitasking ability by asking them how they prioritize tasks and handle competing demands. You can also ask them how they handle interruptions and unexpected tasks while still meeting their goals.
Check their learning agility: Check the candidate's learning agility by asking them how they handle unfamiliar situations and how they learn new skills quickly.
Check their work style: Check the candidate's work style by asking them how they manage their time and how they organize their work. You can also ask them about their work-life balance and how they manage stress.
Check with references: Check the candidate's references and ask about their ability to work in a fast-paced environment. You can also ask for feedback on their ability to handle stress, prioritize tasks, and manage their workload.

By using a combination of strategies, you can validate a candidate's ability to work in a fast-paced environment and ensure they are a good fit for the role.

6. Communication skills

A software engineer should have strong communication skills, including the ability to clearly communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical team members.

It's important to evaluate a software engineer's communication skills to ensure they can effectively collaborate with team members, stakeholders, and clients. Validating these communication skills is crucial to ensure they can effectively collaborate and co-create within your company. Here are some strategies that can help:

Ask about their previous experience: During the interview, ask the candidate about their previous experience collaborating with team members, stakeholders, and clients. Ask them to provide examples of situations where they had to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Give scenario-based questions: Give candidates scenario-based questions to assess their communication skills. For example, ask them to describe a time when they had to communicate a complex technical concept to a non-technical team member.
Check their writing ability: Confirm the candidate's writing ability by reviewing their documentation, such as technical reports or user manuals. Test for their level of proficiency in technical and non-technical writing. This will give you an idea of their ability to communicate technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.
Check their active listening skills: Confirm if a candidate is an active listener or not. Evaluate this skill by observing how they respond to questions during the interview. Do they ask clarifying questions? Do they paraphrase what you said to ensure they understand your point of view?
Check their presentation skills: Evaluate a candidate's presentation skills by asking them to give a technical presentation. Watch for specifics. This will help you assess their ability to communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience.
Check references: Check the candidate's references and ask about their communication skills. You can also ask for feedback on their ability to collaborate with team members, stakeholders, and clients.

7. Passion for the technology, industry, and your startup

Your candidate’s assessment isn’t complete if you miss this. It is necessary to look for candidates who have a passion for web3, as well as your startup, and who are interested in the potential of Web3 to transform industries and drive innovation. Validating a job candidate's passion for web3 is important because it fuels their drive to work and ensures they are motivated and enthusiastic about the work they will be doing.

Here are some strategies that can help you find passionate candidates:

Ask about their previous experience: During the interview, ask the candidate specific questions about their previous experience working in web3. Also, give them the opportunity to describe the projects they worked on and their level of enthusiasm for the work.
Give scenario-based questions: Feed candidates scenario-based questions to assess their passion for web3 technology and the industry. For example, ask them to describe a situation where they were particularly excited about a project or technology.
Check their industry involvement: Check the candidate's involvement in the industry by asking them about their participation in web3-related events, conferences, or communities. You can also check their social media profiles to see if they follow or engage with industry leaders or publications. This should help you understand the degree to which they are involved in the space.
Check their personal projects: Check the candidate's personal projects, such as their GitHub or personal website, to see if they have any projects related to web3 technology or related industries. This strategy can give you an idea of their level of interest and motivation.
Ask their references: Consult with the candidate's references and ask about their passion for web3 technology and the industry. You can also ask for feedback on their level of enthusiasm and motivation for the work they do.

Overall, it's important to evaluate a job candidate's passion for web3 and your company to ensure they are motivated and enthusiastic about the work they will be doing.

Additionally, having experience in the web3 industry can be a plus for software engineers, but it's not always necessary nor are there always available talents with experience. A candidate's passion and interest in the industry can be just as important, and you can assess this through their level of enthusiasm and willingness to learn more about the industry. This can serve as selection criteria for candidates lacking enough experience.

Where To Find And Hire Web3 Software Developers

Whether you’re seeking Web3 developers to hire for a long-term project or a small engagement, knowing where to find the top talents for this specific set of abilities will significantly shorten your search time.

If you’re looking for a place to find top-quality Web3 developers, the following platforms are definitely worth checking out.

Web3 Talent Platforms

Web3 talent platforms are web3-native marketplaces that connect blockchain professionals and talents with organizations and companies seeking their skills. These platforms serve as intermediaries between businesses and skilled individuals who are interested in working on blockchain and related technologies.

These platforms are excellent places to find your next web3 hire. Kleoverse, Braintrust, Metaintro, Intropia, and Talent Protocol are some trusted places to hire software developers for your web3 project.

For web3 startups, Web3 talent platforms are the perfect place to start the search for the best-fit talent. These platforms are relatively easy to use, often just requiring you to create a company or Job profile in one click. After creating a profile and job description, talent can access a customized feed of your job opportunities matching their skills and experience.

Web2 Talent Platforms

Web2 talent platforms are well-known traditional hiring marketplaces that connect employees with work and career opportunities, including resources for professional growth. These platforms provide an efficient way for employers to find qualified candidates for a variety of roles while giving job seekers access to a large pool of job opportunities.

Here are some examples of popular traditional web2 talent platforms:

LinkedIn - a social network that allows professionals to connect with one another and find job opportunities.
Indeed - a job search engine that aggregates job postings from various sources, making it easy for job seekers to find open positions.
Freelancer - a platform that connects businesses with freelancers for a variety of services, including web design, graphic design, writing, and software development.
Fiverr - a platform that enables freelancers to offer their services in areas such as writing, design, and digital marketing.
Guru - a freelance marketplace where businesses can find skilled professionals for web development, design, writing, and more.

These platforms provide a range of services for companies and startups, including job postings, skill assessments, project management tools, and payment processing, enabling businesses to easily find and hire top blockchain talent.

Similar to web3 talent platform in business operations, these platforms can help you share job opportunities for skilled individuals to find work with your web3 startup.

Cryptocurrency Job Boards

Cryptocurrency job boards provide a unique opportunity for web3 startups to attract top talent with expertise in blockchain and web3 development.

The web3 space is rapidly evolving, and traditional job boards may not be effective in attracting talent with the required skills and experience. By using cryptocurrency job boards, web3 startups can directly target professionals with expertise in the field, making it easier to find the right candidates for their specific needs.

Some examples of cryptocurrency job boards include:

CryptoJobsList - a job board that focuses on job opportunities in the cryptocurrency industry. The platform offers various roles such as developers, marketers, product managers, and executives.
CryptocurrencyJobs.co - a job board that lists job openings in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. It includes roles such as engineers, marketers, designers, and more.
Crypto-Careers is another tech-focused blockchain and crypto jobs platform that, like CryptocurrencyJobs.co, focuses on technical blockchain job listings published by large-scale enterprise organizations.
BitcoinJobs.com - is a new job board, focusing on Bitcoin-only companies. The job board generally features jobs from Bitcoin companies in the exchange, mining, and media space. Jobs range from full-time to hourly.
Crypto.Jobs - highly active cryptocurrency focused job platform that presents a broad range of crypto and blockchain job listings.

Sourcing talents from cryptocurrency job boards provides you the unique opportunity to attract top talent with expertise in your defined web3 role.

Hire Top-Notch Web3 Talents with Kleoverse

Since Web3 is an emerging technology, the demand for Web3 developers continues to grow, but is still in short supply. Sourcing web3 talents from a global talent marketplace is not the best hiring strategy. This is because of the specific and deeply technical skill set web3 talents should possess.

At Kleoverse, we understand this hiring need like no one else, and that’s why we have developed a web3-dedicated approach to sourcing top web3 professionals with on-chain verifiable credentials for web3 organizations, startups, and projects.

Kleoverse is the Web3 Talent Platform, revolutionizing talent measurement, signaling and discovery on the web. Kleoverse profiles boast of 83,000+ web3 talent profiles with Web3 Portfolios and Proof-of-Talent for top-tier blockchain developers which makes the process of hiring Web3 software developers very easy in terms of speed and cost.

We help web3 organizations to hire talented professionals and organize their work web3-natively.

Find your next web3 talent with Kleoverse. Contact us now and get your next top-tier web3 talent ready immediately!