Jane Sorkin

What is your background?

From film to software engineering to community building, I’ve lived a career adventure of a lifetime in so few years. I started off my early career wanting to edit movies, immersed in the movie world 24/7. Long story short, I didn’t love the siloed-ness around editing. As most young people do, I went to figure out wtf I wanted to do in life.

I transitioned into performance-based marketing which then led into a rabbit hole of design optimization. During the time I was a designer, I got interested in software engineering and spent a grueling year learning how to code. I successfully transitioned to the technology side and became a full-stack engineer for four years, building complicated enterprise applications.

Craving creativity again, I created a freelancing business where I designed and developed for businesses who needed to “webonize:” “Intentional Kreative — Where Art Meets Keyboard.” That led me to finding my first C-level role at just 26 as Chief Product Officer where I was leading the charge of technology, product, and seven awesome people. Jumping around was starting to confuse me — I liked so many things! I was the jack of all trades and master of none.

And so the quest began again. I was trying to figure out who what really important to me: 

Title?
Money? 
Perks?

The ‘aha’ moment came when I thought about the thing that was lacking everywhere else: a place with a culture-first attitude.‍

How did you become interested in web3?

Ah, enter The.com. 

Web3 became the household lingo only a mere seven months ago which in web3 time is 170 regular years! The.com web3 community-centric ecosystem had been built into the foundation of the company before I had even joined and so leading the community initiative, I inevitably dove into this world. As most web3 journeys go, it started with one topic and went into the never-ending rabbit hole of various topics: decentralization, ownership and creator economy ethos, NFTs, and DAOs. At the core of it all was community. 

Being community-first is about a shared ecosystem and building together; that the collective goal is more powerful than the goals of the individual. It’s a mindset that's taking over how the new web is approached, and its energy is contagious.‍

What is your role and what do you do?

I work as the Community Lead at The.com. With a variety of hats in my closet, no day is the same. Some days I do design, and some days I might code. One day I might wear my product management hat, and another day I wear my marketing one. The common embellishment that I wear is community. 

I talk to people every single day. By talk I really mean I get to know people; what they are working on, what they did on the weekend, what their hobbies are, etc. Like I would a friend. Most of my days usually revolve around talking to at least 50–100 people from all backgrounds and interests. By doing so, I establish authentic relationships with people in the community.‍

How did you approach your web3 job search?

When I realized what I was really looking for was a company with a great culture, I inevitably found a company who also was community-first. The external goals and values were authentically being reinforced within the company. Web3 is an idea, not a thing. To me, it’s a movement around people. I was never looking for web3 (at the time, I didn’t know that existed), but by looking for a value-based company, I found this world. ‍

What was the hiring process like?

The hiring process was relatively short. At The.com, we value culture more than anything else. We want to love the people we work with and take pride in creating a strong, talented, and authentic team. When I met with the founders, it was immediately evident that the culture fit was there on both sides!‍

Any tips for people looking to make a similar transition?

1. Immerse yourself in the web3 world now. You don’t have to get a job to start gaining experience. Dip your toes into a variety of topics and see which ones you are most passionate about. Get to know the landscape. Once you figure out what you want to transition your night hobby into a daytime career, start searching. Oh, and ask the community!

2. Have conversations with people who made the transition! I am available to chit chat at anytime and am happy to help → https://twitter.com/JaneSorkin

3. When I was on the job search I wrote in a journal all the things that I wanted in my dream job. I wrote everything I could think of and put it on paper. This helped me:

4. Keep a clear goal on what I was looking for. The company had to have at least 95% of all the things I wanted. I wasn’t settling for anything less and it helped me weed out opportunities that I knew weren’t a good match. 

5. Perhaps in a way this helped me manifest what I was looking for as I was crystal clear on what I was looking for. Having this before you look and/or interview will be a good goal post. If your financial situation allows → Don’t compromise for less! 

6. Take 10 min to journal and write this out (I promise it will be so helpful):‍

⚡My Dream Job ⚡️‍

Target Salary:
Insurance:
Remote Work/Hybrid/In Office (circle one)
Type of Boss (personality traits/vibe):
Type of Colleagues (personality traits/vibe):
Days Off:
Parental Leave Plan:
Type of work:
Types of hours:
Growth Opportunities:
Bonuses (wellness program, performance bonus, employee development plans, tuition reimbursement, equity, etc.):