Let's face it, job hunting is a job on its own and this writer has had a fair share.
In Web3, I noticed conversations about what a “Web3 resume” should look like. It is typically different from what an HR would term as a good CV worthy enough to pass the first screening stage through ATS for an interview. It's a simple, one-page document designed with maybe Canva and contains major roles with less attention to “wins” in each role.
For instance, if you decide to announce a vacancy for a role in Web3, maybe for a community manager or discord moderator on X (still called Twitter), and also ask respondents to drop their CV in the comment, you will find something like this:
Or you may just rather get links to portfolios, which I think is even much better because it provides an opportunity for the candidates to showcase their past work and still hint to the recruiter that they have the solution to fit in that role.
Because formal job hunting with resumes is quite annoying, let me let you in on how I ‘discarded’ mine to get a senior role as Head of Marketing and Content at an on-chain gaming company.
My story from the top
Ten months, 1000+ applications, and a brutal 99% rejection rate later, I was ready to throw in the towel. But then, I discovered that I could beat ATS to get interviewed. So, I had to start customizing my resume for each job.
I blocked at least 2-3 hours daily to apply for about five jobs, carefully inserting the necessary keywords and rewriting my resume as well as cover letters. Now, that's a dedicated punishment because I was on it every single day, including weekends.
So imagine that one day I'm to apply for all these roles and I don't have an existing customized CV:
- Head of Marketing
- Marketing Manager
- PR and Communications Manager
- Marketing Lead
- Content Marketing Manager
That means I have to carefully customize each resume before answering all the other questions and then clicking “apply.”
In customizing my resume, I carefully had to edit out previous job experiences that were not relevant to the specific job I was applying for. As someone whose last full-time job experience was in a B2B SAAS company, it meant I had to garner enough Web3 experience to include in my resume. I already had prior experience working in 2 Web3 companies, but they weren’t recent. Most times, HRs carefully look at your recent job experiences to check if they align with the role you applied for. Having that in mind, I became more detailed in customizing each resume per job.
Really, this cycle is the absolute ghetto, especially when you still get ditched after a series of interviews. One life hack, though :
“The more interviews you attend, the more confident you become and the higher your chances of getting a job soon”.
How I Got the Head of Marketing Role
To be frank, possibilities become realities when opportunities meet preparation. I was more than prepared. I learned how to ace interviews after attending 40+ interviews. I binge-watched videos on YouTube, especially on how to ask your interviewer questions so you can have some level of control during the conversation and leave a lasting impression.
For questions specific to my career, I had become way used to hearing them constantly being asked during my interviews that I could answer them correctly without thinking twice. I finally became a boss so much that I became picky with job offers that came my way.
My quest for more led me to LinkedIn.
While I had attained a high level of preparation, I intensified my job search. I used various keywords to search for posts regarding job vacancies on LinkedIn, and that was how I came across the Head of Marketing role. I was doing that before now, but I wasn't so lucky in getting the role of my choice.
The post led me to apply directly on LinkedIn, but I checked the location and saw that my location was about 7 hours behind their time, and I felt applying directly via Linkedin might be a reason for me to be disqualified.
I went through the job description again and noticed an email address included. I sent an email directly, attaching a link to my portfolio made with read.cv. Additionally, I attached a Google document showcasing further evidence of my work with other Web3 projects, highlighting major freelance projects in particular. Thankfully, within 48 hours, I was invited for an interview.
The interview
Like any other interview I showed up for, I took it upon myself to learn about the company and find out things they were doing wrongly for me to adjust if granted the opportunity, so this was no different.
I joined the Google Meet link, and I was interviewed by four people, including one of the co-founders and CEO. For every question asked, I had prompt, intelligent responses to deliver. Not just that, I had answers that I could tie to the Web3 space to prove to them that I can as well duplicate such in the role.
When it was time for me to ask questions, I didn't fail to. I asked them what challenges they were facing and what were their expectations of me to fit into the role, they did answer and promised to get back to me. True to their word, the next day brought a job offer. The entire process unfolded faster than I'd ever seen - no tasks, my shared documents were enough proof, and no CV was needed. My tactical responses, intertwined with the Web3 space, were exactly what my employers wanted to hear.
After getting the job, I then discovered that I had won a tight competition against about five others who applied with a conventional CV.