Your first 10 minutes as an expert

Before you start

You need three things:

• A browser wallet. MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet are officially supported. WalletConnect v2 also works for mobile and 300+ other wallets. Install the extension before continuing.
• A LinkedIn or portfolio URL to back up your expertise claim during the guild application.
• ~10 minutes of uninterrupted time. The guild application auto-saves to browser local storage but cannot be resumed on a different device — finish in one sitting.

Step 1 — Connect your wallet

From the home page, click Start Vetting in the navbar or Monetize Your Judgment in the hero. You'll land on the login page.

At the top you'll see three tabs: Job Seeker, Company, and Expert. Make sure Expert is selected. The page shows a single Connect Wallet button — no email or password fields. Expert accounts are wallet-based only.

Click Connect Wallet. A wallet selector appears — pick MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, or any WalletConnect option. Approve the connection request in your wallet extension.

After connecting, your wallet prompts for a signature. This proves you own the address — it's gasless, no tokens are spent. Once signed, you're logged in.

Step 2 — Pick a guild

After login, you'll see a list of active guilds. There are eight at launch: Engineering, Product, Design, Marketing & Growth, Sales & Success, Operations & Strategy, Finance, Legal & Compliance, and People, HR & Recruitment.

Click the guild matching your domain, then click Apply. This opens the 4-step application form with a progress bar at the top showing numbered circles connected by lines — you'll see which step you're on at all times.

Step 3 — Fill out the application

The form has four screens. Everything auto-saves to your browser as you go.

1. 1

   Personal info

   Full name, email, headline (e.g. "Senior Backend Engineer"), and a short bio. Your wallet address is already connected and shown. Click Continue at the bottom to proceed.

2. 2

   Professional background

   Upload your resume (drag-and-drop, PDF or DOCX), enter years of experience, add specialisations, and tag your expertise areas. Click Continue.

3. 3

   Guild questions

   Two types of questions appear: general questions every guild asks, and level-specific questions loaded based on your expertise level. These are what reviewers score you on — take your time.

   Click Continue when done.

4. 4

   Review & submit

   A summary of everything you entered. Check the no-AI declaration checkbox — this confirms your answers are your own work (breaches can result in rejection and a 90-day reapplication cooldown).

   Click Sign with Wallet. Your wallet opens for a gasless identity signature. Then click Submit Application. You'll see a green success screen confirming your application is under review.

Step 4 — Wait for approval

After submitting, you're redirected to /expert/application-pending. This page has two columns:

Left side:

• Your guild application card with a status badge (Pending / Approved / Rejected) and a countdown showing time remaining.
• A review progress bar showing how many of the required 5 reviews have been completed (e.g. "2 / 5 reviews").
• Three stat boxes: Reviews, Approvals, and Required (5).
• An Auto-Approval System info box explaining that once 5 positive reviews are in, you get instant access as a Recruit.

Right side:

• A vertical timeline tracking your application through: Application Received → On-Chain Session Created → Under Guild Review → Approval/Rejection. Completed steps show green checkmarks; the current step pulses.

Typical turnaround: within a week. You'll get a notification when the decision is made. If rejected, the page shows a breakdown of reviews and a Reapply button.

Step 5 — Cast your first vote

Once approved, the full expert sidebar appears. Navigate to Vetting → Applications or go to /expert/voting.

The voting queue

At the top you'll see a stats row: Pending, To Vote, Completed, and Guilds. Below that, tabs filter between Expert Applications, Candidate Applications, Proposals, and History. A search bar lets you filter by name.

Each application card shows the candidate's name, expertise level badge, submission date, review count, and a status badge. Look for cards with a Pending Review badge and click Review.

The review modal (4 steps)

Clicking Review opens a modal with its own 4-step progress bar:

1. Profile — the candidate's name, headline, bio, experience level, and links (LinkedIn, GitHub, resume, portfolio). Review their background, then click Next.
2. General questions — the candidate's answers to general guild questions with your scoring/feedback fields. Fill in your assessment, then click Next.
3. Domain questions — level-specific answers with your scoring fields. Optionally stake VETD on your vote (a number input appears with a minimum amount). Click Submit Review (or Submit Commitment if the guild uses commit-reveal for this application).
4. Success — a green checkmark confirming "Review Submitted." Click Done to return to the queue.

Commit-reveal applications

Some applications use commit-reveal voting. You'll see a Commit-Reveal Voting card with a phase indicator showing three stages: Commit → Reveal → Finalized. The current phase is highlighted.

During the commit phase, your score is hashed with a random nonce and submitted on-chain. Your wallet opens for a gas transaction. Once confirmed, your vote hash is stored on-chain but no other expert can see your score.

When the reveal window opens (usually 24–48 hours later), come back to the same application. A Reveal button appears. Click it — the contract verifies your score matches the hash you committed.

After the reveal

Once all experts have revealed (or the reveal window expires), finalization runs automatically:

1. Scores outside the IQR inclusion band (median ± 0.75×IQR) are excluded.
2. The consensus score is the average of the remaining scores.
3. Your deviation from the median determines alignment: ≤1×IQR = aligned (+10 rep, 0% slash); >1×IQR = misaligned (−20 rep, 25% slash if staked).
4. Rewards are distributed to aligned voters, weighted by the reward tier multiplier (Foundation 1.0×, Established 1.25×, Authority 1.5×).

Check your results on the Reputation page (/expert/reputation) — each entry shows the delta, alignment distance, and rewards earned.

Your dashboard

Your expert dashboard at /expert/dashboard is your daily home base. It shows:

• Stat cards — pending reviews, next rank threshold, total VETD earned, active guilds.
• Review queue — applications waiting for your vote with a Start Review button.
• Rank progress — your current rank (Recruit → Apprentice → Craftsman → Officer → Master), a reputation bar to the next threshold, and days until inactivity decay triggers.
• Governance — active proposal count with a link to the governance page.
• Activity feed — timeline of recent votes, reviews, and earnings.

What's next

Your reputation starts at zero (Foundation tier, 1.0× reward multiplier). Here's the progression:

• First 10–20 reviews: vote without staking to calibrate against your guild's rubric. Get a feel for where consensus tends to land.
• Start staking: once you're consistently aligned, staking VETD on reviews amplifies your reward share — but also exposes you to slashing on misalignment.
• Endorsements: spot a candidate you're convinced will be hired? Stake VETD on them via the endorsement marketplace. Successful endorsements earn +20 reputation.
• Governance: vote on guild proposals to shape rubrics, parameters, and policies. Active governance earns +5 to +10 reputation per proposal.
• 1,000 reputation → Established tier (1.25× multiplier). 2,000+ → Authority tier (1.5×).