Skill guide

HR blockchain hiring

Helps HR and technical recruiters hire for blockchain/Web3 roles — smart contract engineers, protocol engineers, and blockchain security specialists — translating a fast-moving technical space into clear hiring criteria.

Supported tasks

Writing job descriptions for smart contract, protocol, and blockchain security engineer roles
Building a leveling framework for blockchain engineering roles
Creating technical screening questions distinguishing genuine on-chain experience from surface familiarity
Designing smart contract code-review or audit-style interview exercises
Drafting security-focused interview questions (common vulnerability classes, audit process)
Building a glossary of blockchain/Web3 terminology for non-technical recruiters
Creating a skills matrix comparing candidates across chains and languages (Solidity, Rust, Move)
Drafting reference-check questions focused on shipped, audited contracts or protocols
Designing a sourcing strategy for niche blockchain talent (open-source contributors, hackathon participants)
Building compensation benchmarking guidance for blockchain roles, including token/equity considerations
Creating onboarding plans for new blockchain engineering hires
Auditing job postings for outdated or overly hype-driven blockchain terminology

Key prompts

Job descriptions and leveling

"Write a job description for a [seniority] Smart Contract Engineer role working in [Solidity/Rust/Move]."
"Build a leveling framework distinguishing junior, mid, and senior blockchain engineers."
"Explain the difference between a protocol engineer and a smart contract engineer for a recruiter."
"Create a glossary of blockchain/Web3 terms (gas, consensus, L2, MEV) for non-technical recruiters."
"Draft a job description for a blockchain security engineer role focused on smart contract audits."

Screening and technical assessment

"Create screening questions to distinguish genuine on-chain development experience from surface-level familiarity."
"Design a code-review exercise asking a candidate to identify vulnerabilities in a sample smart contract."
"Draft interview questions covering common smart contract vulnerability classes and mitigations."
"Build a skills matrix comparing candidates' experience across Solidity, Rust, and Move."
"Create a take-home exercise brief for assessing smart contract development skills."

Sourcing and evaluation

"Draft a sourcing strategy for finding blockchain engineers through open-source contributions and hackathons."
"Draft reference-check questions focused on a candidate's shipped, audited smart contracts or protocols."
"Create compensation benchmarking guidance for blockchain roles, including how token grants are typically structured."
"Draft onboarding guidance for a new blockchain engineering hire's first 30 days."
"Audit this job posting for outdated or overly hype-driven blockchain terminology."

Tips

Verify hands-on experience through shipped, auditable contract code or contribution history, not just resume claims.
Weight security awareness heavily; smart contract bugs carry outsized financial consequences.
Be specific about the chain/language ecosystem (Solidity/EVM vs. Rust/Solana vs. Move) since skills don't fully transfer.
Keep job postings grounded in concrete technical requirements rather than speculative hype language.

Common mistakes

Treating general blockchain enthusiasm or token trading knowledge as a proxy for engineering skill.
Underweighting security review skills, given the high cost of smart contract vulnerabilities.
Writing vague, hype-heavy job postings that fail to specify the actual technical stack.
Assuming skills transfer freely across fundamentally different blockchain ecosystems and languages.

Prompts

Blockchain Hiring Prompts

"Draft screening questions distinguishing a candidate who has shipped audited contracts from one with only tutorial-level experience."
"Create an interview exercise asking a candidate to spot a reentrancy vulnerability in sample Solidity code."
"Write a job description clearly specifying required Solidity and EVM tooling experience."
"Draft reference-check questions asking specifically about a candidate's role in a contract that passed a security audit."
"Create a sourcing plan targeting active contributors to relevant open-source blockchain repositories."
"Draft compensation guidance explaining how token-based compensation is typically structured alongside base salary."

Examples

Hiring a Smart Contract Security Engineer

Context

A DeFi protocol team needs to hire a security engineer to review smart contracts before mainnet deployment, and wants to avoid hiring based on hype alone.

Step 1: Write the job description

Sample prompt: "Draft a job description for a blockchain security engineer role focused on smart contract audits."

Expected response: A job description specifying required experience with EVM-based contract auditing, familiarity with common vulnerability classes, and prior audit or bug-bounty track record as a strong signal.

Step 2: Design the technical exercise

Sample prompt: "Design a code-review exercise asking a candidate to identify vulnerabilities in a sample smart contract."

Expected response: A take-home or live exercise presenting a deliberately flawed contract (e.g., containing a reentrancy bug) and asking the candidate to identify and explain the vulnerability and propose a fix.

Step 3: Verify experience

Sample prompt: "Draft reference-check questions focused on a candidate's shipped, audited smart contracts or protocols."

Expected response: Reference questions asking a past colleague or engagement lead to describe specific vulnerabilities the candidate caught (or missed) during a real audit engagement.

Workflow summary

The team writes a specific, non-hype job description, tests real security review skill through a hands-on exercise, and verifies claimed experience through targeted reference checks focused on real audit outcomes.