Job Posting Strategy

Job Posting Strategy

Overview

Where you post determines who applies. Posting "Software Engineer" on Indeed gets 500 resumes — 3 are qualified. Posting on a specialized community gets 10 applicants — 7 are qualified. The mistake: spraying the same job post across every board and wondering why the pipeline is noise. This skill covers exactly where to post for each role, ranked by signal-to-noise ratio, with expert sourcing strategies.

When to Use

Trigger phrases: "where to post jobs", "job boards for [role]", "how to find candidates", "recruiting channels", "sourcing strategy", "job posting template", "where to hire engineers", "best job boards for SaaS"

Authoritative Foundations

Betts Recruiting

The leading GTM recruiting firm for SaaS companies. Key insight: "The best candidates aren't on job boards — they're in your network, your investors' networks, and communities where they're already active. Job boards are for filling the pipeline, not finding your unicorn."

Bridge Group — SaaS Sales Hiring Data

Annual benchmark reports on SaaS sales hiring: average time-to-fill, source of hire, compensation by role and stage. Essential data for realistic hiring expectations.

YC — Hiring Advice

"Don't hire until it hurts. The best people aren't looking for jobs — they're already doing great work somewhere. Your job is to find them and convince them your thing is the thing they should be doing." — Sam Altman

Job Boards and Channels by Role

Engineering

Best strategy for engineering: GitHub search + HN "Who's Hiring" + Wellfound. DO NOT post on Indeed/LinkedIn as your primary channel — you'll be buried.

Sales (SDR, AE, VP Sales, RevOps)

Write the JD first with gtm-role-descriptions (role template, org placement, transparent OTE/quota). Then distribute here.

Best strategy for sales: gtm-role-descriptions → gtm-recruiting (active sourcing + offer close) → LinkedIn + RevGenius for IC; Pavilion + Betts + It's Destiny Recruiting for founding teams and inclusive benches; investor network for VP+. Candidates on RepVue/Compgauge compare OTE to attainment — misalignment kills accept rate.

Marketing

Best strategy: Community sourcing > job boards. The best marketers share their work publicly. Find them. DM them.

Customer Success

Product & Design

Job Posting Template

For GTM roles (SDR, AE, VP Sales, RevOps, CSM, Demand Gen), use the full templates in gtm-role-descriptions — includes org context, comp plan, and quota math. The constraint-first skeleton below works for all roles:

The "constraint-first" job post (works across all roles):

TITLE: [Role] at [Company] — [Stage, e.g., "Hire #8, shape our GTM function"]

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS:
We're at $X ARR growing X% MoM. The constraint preventing us from
reaching the next stage is [specific constraint]. You'll own solving that.

WHAT YOU'LL DO (5-7 bullets):
- Own [specific outcome, not "help with"]
- Build [what function or system] from [current state] to [target state]
- [Measurable responsibility]
- [Measurable responsibility]
- Hire and lead [team] as we scale (if applicable)

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE (12 months):
- [Specific, measurable outcome]
- [Specific, measurable outcome]
- [Specific, measurable outcome]

WHO YOU ARE:
- You've [specific experience] at a company from [stage range]
- You're [trait that matters for this role — e.g., "builder over manager"]
- You [skill or mindset — e.g., "write code, not just review it"]

NICE TO HAVE:
- [Experience] in [industry/domain]
- [Specific skill or background]

COMPENSATION:
- Salary range: $[X] - $[Y] (transparent — required in many states)
- Equity: [X%] (4-year vest, 1-year cliff)
- Benefits: [health, dental, 401k, PTO, remote/hybrid policy]

HOW TO APPLY:
[Simple process: email/submit portfolio/short form. No 45-minute Taleo forms.]
Include: [resume + specific thing that filters for quality — e.g., "your
favorite product and why" or "a piece of work you're proud of"]

Job post anti-patterns (what NOT to say):

• "Rockstar / Ninja / Wizard" — cringe, filters out serious candidates
• "7+ years of experience required" — arbitrary and exclusionary. Focus on what they've BUILT, not how many years they've existed.
• "Fast-paced environment" — code for "we're disorganized"
• "We work hard and play hard" — code for "no work-life balance"
• "Must have degree from top university" — filters out non-traditional talent
• Gendered language: "dominate," "aggressive," "nurturing," "supportive" (use gender-neutral alternatives — tools like Textio can audit this)
• "Recent grads welcome" paired with "15 years experience" — inconsistent and confusing

Sourcing Strategy (Beyond Posting)

The best candidates aren't applying to job boards. Here's how to find them:

1. GitHub (engineering): Search for repos in your stack. Look at active contributors. Check their profiles. DM them: "I saw your work on [project]. We're building [product] in [stack]. Would you be open to a conversation?"

2. LinkedIn (sales, marketing, CS): Use Sales Navigator. Filter by current role at companies 1-2 stages ahead of you. "I've been following your work at [company]. We're hiring our first [role] — would love to connect."

3. Communities (all roles): Join the communities where your target role hangs out (see lists above). Participate. Don't just post jobs — build reputation. Then: "We're hiring — posted in #jobs but wanted to mention it here since this community has the exact kind of talent we're looking for."

4. Investor network: Ask your investors: "Who's the best [role] you know who'd be a fit for our stage?" Investor referrals have the highest conversion rate of any channel.

5. Backchannel references: When you find a candidate, don't just check their provided references. Find people who worked with them but AREN'T listed as references. "I see you worked with [candidate] at [company]. I'm considering them for [role]. Would you be open to an off-record conversation?"

Output Format

HIRING PLAN — [Role]

TIMELINE: Post by [date], screen [week], interviews [week], offer by [date]
COMP RANGE: $X-$Y + X% equity

PRIMARY CHANNELS (ranked by expected quality):
1. [Channel] — [why]. Expected: [X] qualified candidates
2. [Channel] — [why]. Expected: [X]
3. [Channel] — [why]. Expected: [X]

SOURCING OUTREACH:
- Target: [X] candidates/week via [channel]
- Template: [customized per channel]

JOB POST: [link to live post]

DIVERSITY: Ensure post is gender-neutral (audited via Textio or similar).
Post to diversity-focused channels: [list].

Implementation Checklist

• Job post uses "constraint-first" format (why this role exists + what you'll own)
• Compensation range included (transparency, required in many states)
• No "rockstar/ninja/wizard" language
• No gendered language (audit with Textio or manually)
• "Years of experience" replaced with "experience building X" where possible
• Primary channels are role-specific (not sprayed across all boards)
• Sourcing outreach templates ready for passive candidates
• Backchannel reference strategy documented

Quality Check

Before delivering, verify:

• Output matches the user's stated request
• Named frameworks or sources are reflected in the recommendation
• The deliverable is specific enough for an agent to execute
• Any assumptions, risks, or dependencies are explicit
• No unsupported claims, invented facts, or private/internal references are included

Common Pitfalls

1. Spraying every job board. Same post on LinkedIn + Indeed + Monster + Glassdoor + 10 niche boards. 500 unqualified applicants. Team spends 40 hours screening. Fix: 2-3 highest-signal channels per role. More channels = more noise, not more signal.

2. Years of experience as primary filter. "7+ years experience" filters out the 5-year engineer who built 3 successful products. Years ≠ capability. Fix: Describe what they've BUILT or ACHIEVED, not how long they've existed.

3. No compensation range. Candidates assume the worst. Strong candidates don't apply. You're fishing in a shallow pool. Fix: Include salary range in every posting. It's required by law in many states anyway.

4. Passive job posting (post and pray). Post goes up. Nobody applies. Post sits there. Nobody applies. Fix: Posting is 20% of the work. Sourcing (outbound to passive candidates) is 80%.

5. Generic job post. "We're looking for a talented engineer to join our dynamic team..." Every company says this. Zero differentiation. Fix: Constraint-first format. Why this role exists NOW. What they'll OWN.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md — Named frameworks and reference tables
• templates/output-template.md — Deliverable shell for agent output
• scripts/check-output.py — Lightweight deliverable validator

Related Skills

• gtm-recruiting — Active sourcing, offer negotiation, Betts & It's Destiny partnerships
• gtm-role-descriptions — GTM JD templates, org charts, comp benchmarks (Betts, Bridge Group, RepVue)
• first-hires-playbook — First 10 hires, compensation, interview design
• hiring-by-role — Role-specific interview questions and evaluation
• hiring-contractors — Freelance talent, IP assignment
• hiring-agencies — Agency selection and management
• sales-team-building — Sales team structure and compensation
• employment-compliance — Legal requirements for hiring