Hi everyone I am a new poster to bitcointalk but have been following other posts/alt-coins for a while from a personal perspective (yes, I own some coins).
However, I've noticed in my day job (as an IT recruiter) there's a growing demand for blockchain skills in the corporate sector where I've traditionally recruited and there's not enough skilled labour out there. I've also noticed repeated requests from my candidates to find them jobs where they can gain experience in emerging technology and many have specifically mentioned bitcoin/cryptocurrency.
Many start-ups have limited capital to offer paid employment in the early days but can offer an exciting experience to anyone wanting to break through the noise and really learn about Bitcoin and it's derivatives/alternatives. There are lots of services out there offering to teach you in return for expensive enrolment or seminar fees, but not much by way of training or hands-on experience amongst a community of likeminded individuals.
So in my attempt to do something about this gap between supply and demand, I've created a Linkedin group for the volunteering community where you can up-skill yourself on blockchain projects in return for experience you can include on your CV/resume, therefore making yourself more employable if you want to specialise in emerging technologies.
I know this won't suit everyone, since Linkedin is generally aimed at corporate industries but for anyone wanting to make a career from their interests in cryptocurrencies, it may be worth checking out?
Think of it as time for experience (like time for print (TFP) in the photography world) trading your skills for work you can list on your portfolio.
I've literally just created the group and although I'm London based, this group is for global users.
All are welcome to join – students, graduates, developers, testers, marketing consultants, SEO, bloggers you name it!
Please feel free to drop me an invite and post the skills you have to offer versus as an alt-coin startup, the project work you'd like to offer on a pro bono basis. Since this is pro bono work, I'd suggest the work on offer is small chunks of milestone/project related work that the community can work on in their own free time without any commitments. Naturally, you can also use this community to approach people for longer term paid work in either coin or cash. If you need my professional help as an IT recruiter, you can work with me but again, there's no pressure to do so. The main focus of this group is to give startups with limited funds the support they need, upskill the community and generally give people a chance who would normally be overlooked for employment in the corporate sector as they haven't got any experience/enough experience.
On my path to close the gap, I will soon be advertising on my website the fact I'll take alt-coin/bitcoin payment for my recruitment services. Again this is separate to the volunteering group I've created but It's to promote the use of cryptocurrency as a valid currency in the recruitment sector.
Here's a link to the group
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8609925 and a link to my LinkedIn page if you wanted to verify if I'm legit!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alethakellond
One final note to add is that although my background is IT recruitment and that's where I've noticed the skills gap, this group is for everyone - marketing, sales, legal, support you name it. And one final, final note (I promise I will shut up now ;oP), Is that I will also be researching and posting free courses, community events as and when I find them (such as coursera etc) and I'd invite others to do so too.
Hope to see you around!
Aletha
