Jobtober teaches Bitcoiners to 'hack the job market'

When Jobtober kicks off on October 1, Anja Schuetz hopes it will spark a new way of thinking about Bitcoin careers. The free, 21-day online challenge is designed to help job seekers hack the market by becoming more visible and connected in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

“It’s not technical at all,” she emphasized. “It’s for anybody who’s looking for a job – you’re hacking the job market.”

For Schuetz, visibility is everything. “There’s a hard way to find a job, and there’s a smart way,” she told Guardians of Bitcoin. “The hard way is to follow our job feed, apply for jobs, send out CVs. The smart way is to flip the script and ask yourself, 'How can I make the jobs come to me rather than having to chase them?'”

Building a platform for Bitcoin job seekers

That mindset grew out of her experience building Bitvocation. What began as a Telegram feed in 2023 has since evolved into a platform designed to connect Bitcoiners with employers. “We want to empower people to be findable,” Schuetz said. “Because if job seekers in Bitcoin become more findable, everybody benefits.”

Her approach is deliberately lean. “I’m not someone who has huge aspirations to build an empire,” she said. “I have to start something first and then see, from conversations with users or followers, what are the needs that they have.” That pragmatism has helped Bitvocation expand from a simple feed to publishing monthly market insights and supporting initiatives like Jobtober.

Why most Bitcoin jobs aren’t about coding

One of the myths she’s keen to dispel is that Bitcoin jobs are only for developers. In fact, recent data from Bitvocation shows 82% of postings are non-technical, spanning everything from product management and design to legal advisory, operations, and marketing.

Schuetz points to emerging roles like “Director of Bitcoin Strategy” at traditional companies as evidence of Bitcoin’s growing mainstream footprint.

That breadth reflects her own belief that Bitcoin careers are about more than just employment. “Bitcoin gives me hope to stay free, not only financially, but also freedom of speech and all the freedoms that we want and need,” she said. For her, aligning work with values is as important as aligning a portfolio.

Most Bitcoin jobs today are non-technical, spanning roles from product management to marketing, design, and legal. Photo: Unsplash / Campaign Creators

Visibility, networking, and other job hacks

Schuetz’s advice for job seekers is simple but demanding: be intentional and be visible. “Expecting people to read your mind – that is also a mistake I have made,” she said. “A big part of becoming findable is to have intentional conversations, to tell people what you’re up to, what you’re looking for, what you can do.”

She sees in-person connections as especially powerful. “There’s nothing more important than the personal one. If you can meet in person, if you can go to conferences, meetups, do it. Do it. Do it.”

For those building their presence online, LinkedIn remains a key tool. She suggests tailoring CVs to each listing, adding Bitcoin-related keywords to profiles, and signaling affiliation clearly so other Bitcoiners recognize them at a glance.

Employers, Schuetz says, tend to rely on internal referrals and community networks before advertising positions publicly – another reason she stresses participation in the broader Bitcoin community.

Jobtober and the future of Bitcoin careers

With Jobtober starting October 1, Schuetz wants to give job seekers something tangible to work with. Daily prompts, networking strategies, and a growing community are at the heart of the challenge. For her, the success of Jobtober will be measured not in scale, but in how many people walk away more confident about their place in the Bitcoin economy.

“Bitcoin isn’t just an investment,” she said. “We don’t know true financial freedom in the fiat world, as long as a bank or a third party always has power over our own money.”

For Schuetz, bringing that ethos into the workplace is part of Bitcoin’s promise – and Jobtober is her invitation to take part.