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

Channel	Signal/Noise	Best For	Cost
GitHub	High	Find people who build in your stack — search for projects using your tech	Free
Hacker News "Who's Hiring"	Very High	Monthly thread (1st weekday). Top tech talent. Free to post.	Free
YC Work at a Startup	High	Engineers looking for early-stage startups	Free
Stack Overflow Jobs	High	Developers actively or passively looking	$249-499/post
Wellfound (AngelList)	Medium-High	Startup-minded engineers	Free-$199/mo
LinkedIn Jobs	Medium	Broadest reach, highest volume, requires filtering	Free-$495/post
Indeed	Low-Medium	High volume, low signal — use only if other channels exhausted	Free-$499/post
Triplebyte	Medium-High	Pre-screened technical talent	$/hire
Dice / Hired	Medium	Tech-focused, good for mid-level	$/post
RTC (Reddit)	Medium	r/forhire, r/remotejs, r/pythonjobs — niche, engaged	Free-$100

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.

Channel	Signal/Noise	Best For	Cost
LinkedIn	Medium-High	Primary platform for SDR/AE. Sales Navigator for passive sourcing.	$495/post
Pavilion (Revenue Collective)	Very High	VP Sales, CRO, experienced AEs — member referrals beat job boards	Member referral
Betts Recruiting	Very High	GTM roles across SaaS — Comp Engine, unicorn offers	20-30% of first-year comp
It's Destiny Recruiting	Very High	Founding GTM teams (pre-seed–B); inclusive bench; passive sellers	~25% base contingency
RevGenius	High	SDR/AE/RevOps at all stages — active Slack community	Free
SaaStr	High	Bootstrapped SaaS founders, GTM operators, VP-level network	Community referral
Modern Sales Pros	High	Sales ops, enablement, RevOps strategy	Free (Slack)
RevOps Co-op	High	RevOps, Sales Ops, GTM systems roles	Free (Slack)
RepVue	Medium-High	Candidates research your comp before applying — publish honest ranges	Company profile
Compgauge	Medium	Comp transparency; pairs with RepVue for sales talent research	Company profile
Revenue.io / Selling Power	Medium	Sales methodology community; good for enablement-minded AEs	Content + network
Bridge Group reports	N/A (benchmark)	Set realistic OTE/quota before posting — not a board, essential prep	Free reports
Indeed	Low	High volume, low signal — skip for specialized sales roles	$

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

Channel	Signal/Noise	Best For	Cost
LinkedIn	Medium-High	All marketing roles	$495/post
Demand Curve	Very High	Growth marketers, demand gen	Community referral
Exit Five (Dave Gerhardt)	Very High	B2B marketers — newsletter + community	Member referral
Superpath	High	Content marketers	Community referral
Marketing Twitter/X	High	Find people sharing great work — DM them	Free
We Work Remotely	Medium	Remote-first marketing roles	$299/post

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

Customer Success

Channel	Signal/Noise	Best For	Cost
LinkedIn	Medium-High	All CS roles	$495/post
Gainsight Pulse Community	Very High	Experienced CS professionals	Community referral
Customer Success Network	High	CS leaders and practitioners	Community referral
CS Angel	High	CS mentorship community with job board	Free
Support Driven	High	Support and CS professionals	Free (Slack)

Product & Design

Channel	Signal/Noise	Best For	Cost
Dribbble	Medium-High	Designers — review portfolios before contacting	Free-$15/mo
Behance	Medium	Designers — portfolio-based	Free
Layers	High	Design community with job board	Community referral
Lenny's Newsletter Community	Very High	Product managers	Member referral
Mind the Product	High	Product managers	Free-$499/post

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