Job postings as buying signals
A job post is a company saying, in public and in detail, what it is about to do. It names the team that is growing, the problems the new hire will own and often the tools they will use. For a seller it is one of the most specific signals available, and one of the most often misread.
What a job post tells you
Read a posting the way the hiring manager wrote it. The title says which function is growing. The responsibilities say what is not working yet. The requirements often list the tools the team already uses or plans to adopt, and the seniority says whether a function is being built or extended.
A first hire in a function, such as a company's first head of marketing, is a different signal from the tenth engineer. The first hire usually arrives with a mandate to set things up, and often with budget to do it.
Roles that predict a purchase
Which roles matter depends on what you sell, but some patterns hold widely:
- Sales and SDR roles mean a company is building or growing outbound, and will buy what outbound teams use.
- A sales or marketing leader means a new owner with a mandate, who often reviews the tools in the first months.
- Engineering roles in volume mean a product investment and growing infrastructure needs.
- A first hire in a function means the function is being set up from nothing.
Several postings in the same function in a short period are a stronger signal than one.
Telling growth from churn
A posting can also mean someone left. A single opening for a role the company already has may be a replacement, not growth. Look for several openings at once, for new titles the company has not had before, and for postings that follow a funding round or an expansion. Those are growth.
How to write to a hiring company
Do not write to the recruiter. Write to the person the new hire will report to, or to the person who owns the problem the role is meant to fix. Reference the change rather than the posting itself: "You are building out a sales development team" lands better than "I saw your job ad". Offer something that helps before the hire starts, because that is when the manager is carrying the work alone.
How Revnox handles hiring signals
- Hiring is filed by function: sales, SDR and BDR roles, engineering, marketing and leadership each have their own category.
- Signals come from public sources: company news, job boards, each company's own website, public discussion and domain registrations.
- Funding plus three SDR roles scores above either alone.
- Each person is placed on the buying committee, and the one to start with is named.
- The first message is drafted from that research, and each message waits for your approval by default.
Questions
Are job postings buying signals?
Often. A posting names the function that is growing and the problems the new hire will own. Several openings in the same function, a first hire in a function, or a new leader are the strongest forms.
Who should I contact at a company that is hiring?
The person the new hire will report to, or whoever owns the problem the role is meant to solve. Recruiters handle the hiring, not the purchase.
See it on your own market
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