How to get hired at Coinbase

By Grant D’Arcy, VP of Talent and Learning

There’s no doubt Coinbase is one of the most exciting places to work right now.

Crypto is at a defining moment — public adoption is at an all-time high and growing, and the explosion of Web3 applications is uncovering new possibilities every day. As the first publicly-traded crypto company and the world’s most trusted exchange platform, Coinbase is at the epicenter of the industry.

In just the last 12 months at Coinbase, we’ve tripled our headcount, expanded into new markets, and brought new crypto innovations to our customers — and we’re just getting started. We recently announced our plans to continue to scale globally while we add 2,000 technical roles, which are just a fraction of the 6,000 total hires we aim to make across the business this year.

In addition to a once-in-a-career opportunity in a rocketship company, we offer competitive, transparent compensation; unique benefits like multiple company-wide recharge weeks; and a remote-first environment where >95% of our roles are not tied to any particular office or location.

Interested in joining us as we work to increase economic freedom in the world? Keep reading to learn what to expect if you apply for a job at Coinbase — including tips from our recruiters on how to improve your chances of success.

We advertise open roles on our Careers page, as well as through LinkedIn. Our application is pretty standard (name, email, resume, LinkedIn profile, etc.), but it also asks whether you have used any Coinbase products in order to give us a sense of your experience with crypto. Once submitted, your resume will be assessed for skill fit with the role you applied for, typically (though not always) within 48 hours.

So things look like a fit on paper, what’s next? The recruiter screening is a quick informal conversation, which aims to share info in both directions. For us, it’s an opportunity to learn more about your skills, experiences, timeline, what motivates you in your career search, and to confirm your alignment with our mission-focused approach. Equally, it is an opportunity for you to better understand the role and team you’ve applied for, as well as ask us about anything on your mind, like our mission, culture, or compensation and benefits.

At Coinbase, we approach compensation a little differently, and we’re transparent about it. Our standard compensation is highly competitive and we provide outsized rewards for top performers, so we eliminated negotiations on salary and equity. We aim to create a more egalitarian approach to pay by removing this traditional hiring practice, which disproportionately leaves women and underrepresented minorities behind. Employees in the same position, in the same location, receive the same annual salary and equity offer. No exceptions.

For a successful candidate, the time from this initial call to offer can take up to 6 weeks. This time frame may vary depending on the volume of applications and candidate availability but your recruiter will keep you updated throughout the process.

Our recruiters say: “Preparation for the recruiter screening can be fairly light compared to later-stage interviews, but it is beneficial to come into this call having done at least some research on our company and your potential role. This is a great time for you to ask questions about us; our culture, mission, strategy, etc. Don’t take it for granted.”

Depending on what role you’re interviewing for, this step will vary. For some roles, you’ll experience a technical challenge, and for others it might be a conversation or two with your future manager or team members focusing on your fit for the role. This will be your first opportunity to make a (virtual) face-to-face impression with the team.

In case you’re curious about how some of our interview processes diverge at this point, check out these posts from our Software Engineering and Product teams.

Our recruiters say: “Don’t use interview time to cover what is already apparent from your resume. At Coinbase, we favor clear communication, so be direct and succinct. You should be prepared to answer at least one question about why you’re interested in crypto and Coinbase.”

For any open role, we expect that only a handful of applicants will make it to this final stage. It’s more intensive, and it’s where you have the greatest opportunity to show us what you’ve got. It’s usually made up of 4 to 5 short interviews, sometimes ending with a work trial presented to your panel of interviewers.

The 1:1 interviews will often be scheduled as back-to-back calls with a short break in between, replicating the experience of an in-person interview day. You’ll be given the name and title of each panelist ahead of time, as well as what they’ll be focused on during their time with you.

For some roles (and your recruiter will let you know if yours is one), you’ll go through a work trial based on the real work required in the role. The work trial could be a presentation or project that you prepare ahead of time, or it could be a live collaboration or coding challenge. This is an opportunity to ‘walk the walk’ and show us the skills and ideas you’d bring to the challenges we deal with every day at Coinbase.

Our recruiters say: “Spend time preparing for this stage, and ask your recruiter lots of questions about how to best prepare. We want you to succeed! Look up each of your interviewers on LinkedIn and think of questions that might relate to their work and experience at Coinbase. Also, read the job description carefully and come to the interview with clear examples of how your past job experiences will make you successful in this specific role at Coinbase.”

After all candidates have finished their onsites, the hiring panel will meet within a few days to make a decision on the best candidate for the role.

If you get an offer, we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to ask any outstanding questions to help ensure Coinbase is the right place for you. You will have the opportunity to chat with your future manager as well as other team members, as well as thorough conversations with your recruiter to walk through our compensation, benefits and pay for performance philosophy in great detail.

We go to extraordinary lengths to get top talent in every seat at Coinbase. So, for those who make it through our rigorous, but proven, interview process, we’re feeling confident and excited to welcome you to the team. The work has just begun — come join us.

Not true. We look for people who are motivated by our mission to increase economic freedom in the world, curious about crypto, and love building. At Coinbase, we give you the resources and opportunity to learn more about the space through our L&D stipend, internal crypto education and more.

Not true. We believe that great people know great people, so we encourage our employees to refer talented people in their network for open roles at Coinbase. However, more Coinbase hires come from applications through coinbase.com/careers than from employee referrals (or any other source).

Definitely not true. We receive hundreds of applications per open role and unfortunately we cannot hire, or even speak with, everyone. If you didn’t receive a call or offer for one role at Coinbase, keep looking for and applying to other roles that interest you and fit your background.

How to get hired at Coinbase was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.