Research shows that, on average, it takes about 6 months to hire someone for a startup company. Are you struggling with slow hiring times for your business? If so, the way you’re writing your job ads may be part of the problem.
When you don’t have a lot of experience writing a startup job ad (which is the case for many startup founders), it can be hard to know how to advertise a position in a way that attracts qualified candidates. The more you know about the writing process, though, the easier it is to put together an effective and appealing startup job posting.
If you’re not sure where to start, this guide on how to write job ads for startups can help. Explained below are the key positions a startup needs to fill, plus 3 different hiring template options for you to use as inspiration. You’ll also find a list of the best startup hiring sites to post your job ads on.
What Are the Key Job Positions in a Startup?
Before we get into the specifics of how to write job ads for startups, let’s talk about the key positions you might need to fill at your startup. The following are some of the most important positions to focus on when you begin thinking about hiring new employees:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
The chief executive officer or CEO of a company is often described as the person in charge of the “big picture.” They control the vision and direction of the company and make sure all decisions and actions are in line with the business’s mission and values.
Some startup founders also serve as the CEO of the business. In other cases, though, the founder will hire an outside professional (perhaps someone with previous business and leadership experience) to be the CEO.
If a founder feels that they can’t be the leader that the company and the other employees need, hiring a CEO is a good way to set the business up for long-term growth and success.
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
The chief operations officer or COO works alongside the CEO and handles the day-to-day operations of the business. This includes overseeing things like marketing, production, research and development, customer service, and administrative tasks.
The COO works with other managers and department heads to make sure all other employees are pulling their weight and performing to the best of their abilities. They also report to the company’s CEO and are considered the company’s second-in-command.
Product Manager
A product manager serves as the go-to person for everything related to the products your company makes and sells. They handle product strategy, vision, development, and more. They also work closely with the engineering and marketing teams to ensure the product is developed and promoted in the most appropriate and effective ways.
Hiring a product manager is a great step for startup founders who want to streamline the manufacturing process, improve their marketing practices, and scale the business. Bringing in an outside professional to oversee product management will free you up to handle more big-picture tasks and create new ways for the company to grow.
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
The chief technology officer or CTO oversees technology and product development. If yours is a tech startup, a CTO will be especially valuable. In any business, though, they will help you ensure you’re using the right tools and technologies to manufacture products and run your business.
The best CTO will be a skilled professional who knows how to choose the right systems and tools (software, hardware, etc.) that help your business to grow and reach its goals. They oversee the integration and management of these different systems, too, and make sure everything’s working as it should.
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
The chief marketing officer or CMO focuses on the business’s customers and manages the way they view products and services. They should have excellent marketing and promotional skills and understand how to handle various tasks, from writing copy and designing marketing materials to running ad campaigns and using social media.
The best chief marketing officer should act as a community manager for your startup. They’ll help you to ensure you’re building and maintaining positive relationships with customers and consumers. They will also work with your product manager to help them understand customer feedback and incorporate that data into future product development processes.
Sales Manager
A sales manager is in charge of generating new leads and making sure the company is consistently bringing in money. The sooner your startup can master sales, the more likely your company is to last and thrive long-term.
Hiring an amazing sales rep or sales manager will help your startup to generate the money it needs to bring in and hire more qualified, talented people in the future. This is one of the hardest positions to hire, but it’s also one of the most important, and the hard work will pay off in the long run.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
A chief financial officer or CFO, as the name suggests, is in charge of overseeing the company’s finances. They will oversee all aspects of your business’s money management.
In the early days of your startup, a CFO’s responsibilities might include securing bank loans and finding an affordable building to lease. As the business continues to grow, their everyday tasks will also include paying suppliers, managing petty cash, and working with other finance professionals like accountants and bookkeepers.
Business Development Manager
A business development manager is responsible for finding ways to grow your startup, specifically from marketing and sales perspectives. They often focus on things like developing relationships and partnerships with other businesses to help your company increase revenue and experience more growth potential.
The best business development managers can identify new business opportunities within the organization and with other, related companies. They help you to become aware of new markets and find areas where you can expand and grow. They also find ways for your marketing team to appeal to ideal customers and increase sales.
Customer Service Representative
Good customer service is crucial for every business, no matter what kinds of products or services they sell. If you want your startup to grow and thrive, you need to make it a priority to build positive relationships with customers and clients.
You could have the best products or services in the world, but if your business does a poor job of communicating with customers or clients, you’re not going to last very long. This is why you need a professional who can field calls and emails, answer questions, address concerns, and make sure the company’s reputation doesn’t suffer.
Tips for Writing Job Ads for Startups
It doesn’t matter if you need to hire a CEO, a customer service representative, or anything in between. Some basic rules for writing a startup job posting will always apply.
Here are 10 tips to keep in mind when figuring out how to write job ads for startups:
1. Use the Right Language
One of the most important things to consider is the language you use when writing the job ads for your startup.
Understandably, a lot of startup founders want to inject some personality into their job listings so they can stand out from others on the hiring platform. The problem with this, though, is that they sometimes take it too far and use language that can be alienating to potential applicants.
For example, a lot of popular terms in job ads like “hacker,” “ninja,” and “rockstar” are often associated with “bro culture.”
These words may be more appealing to male applicants and could deter women from applying for positions for which they’re perfectly qualified. Furthermore, job seekers who are not native English speakers might not understand these words or the context in which they’re used, and they may be deterred from applying as well.
By changing your language and sticking to clear, gender-neutral terms, you can make sure that your job ad is more inclusive. This helps you to naturally diversify your company.
2. Use Startup-Related Keywords
By including startup-related keywords in your job ad, you can increase the likelihood that your listing will show up in the search results of people who want to work for startups. Lots of people search for jobs based on keywords, too, so using the right terms will help you to get your ad in front of those who most need to see it.
The following are some examples of words to include:
- Startup/Start-up
- Entrepreneur/entrepreneurial/entrepreneurship
- Innovation
You should also use keywords related to specific functions. This includes words like “marketing”, “strategy”, “COO”, and “engineer.” If you need an employee who has a particular skill, like knowledge of a programming language, include that as well.
3. Research Target Candidates
When you decide that you’re ready to start hiring new employees for your company, take a step back and think about who your target candidate is for each position.
What kind of background and job experience do they have? What is their personality like? What are their motivations?
Creating an ideal candidate persona for each position will make it easier for you to write job ads. You’ll have a specific audience in mind and will be able to tailor every ad to that type of person. This increases the likelihood that they’ll resonate with the listing and want to apply.
4. Be Clear and Concise
No matter what kind of job ad you’re writing, aim to be as clear and concise as possible.
Remember, most people don’t spend very long reading through job ads before deciding whether or not they want to apply. If your ad is poorly written or features long paragraphs and rambling sentences, job seekers are going to skip past it and move on to the next one.
Keep it as brief and simple as you can, while still making sure you’re answering key questions about the position and sharing essential information.
5. Be Realistic
When you’re thinking about your ideal candidate and writing down the list of requirements for the position, remember to be realistic with your asks.
If you have a mile-long list of boxes an applicant must check before you’ll hire them, you’re going to be in the hiring phase for a very long time. Not only will this slow down the process of growing your startup, but it’ll also be expensive.
Keep your list of must-haves as short as possible. Then, make a second list of “nice-to-haves” that will help you narrow down your list of candidates.
6. Use Verbs
As much as you can, use verbs when writing lists of responsibilities for each job ad. As you’ll remember from your elementary school English classes, verbs are action words like “plan”, ”manage”, “recruit”, and “execute.”
Including verbs helps people to get a clearer idea of what’s expected of them on the job. It tells them more specifically what they’ll be doing should they be hired for the position. Using verbs will help you to make your job ads more concise, attractive, and attention-grabbing, too.
7. Highlight Benefits and Perks
Be sure to highlight the benefits and perks that people can expect to enjoy when they join your startup.
Think about the last time you applied for a job. Didn’t you pay attention to the benefits it offered?
In addition to listing the salary or salary range for the position, list other benefits like healthcare and retirement contributions. If you offer other perks like free lunches, flex time, or tuition reimbursements, include those as well.
8. Talk About Company Culture
The most effective job ads include information about company culture.
The term “company culture” refers to the attitudes, behaviors, and values of the business and its employees. It tells people what kind of environment they can expect and how they should behave if they work for your company.
Some examples of words you might use to describe your company culture include:
- Friendly
- Engaging
- Collaborative
- Energetic
- Autonomous
You might also include a list of values like “integrity”, “diversity”, “inclusion”, “growth mindset”, and “impact.”
9. Use Bullet Points and Headings
Whether you’re writing a list of key responsibilities or a list of essential qualifications, you ought to use bullet points and headings in your job ad.
Bullet points and headings make it clear what someone is reading and guide them through the job ad. They ensure the job seeker understands crucial information and gets the gist of the job even if they’re skimming through the posting.
Bullet points and headings also help to create more white space in your job ad. White space makes ads (and other documents, for that matter) more easily readable. This prevents them from being intimidating or off-putting to job seekers.
10. Show Some Personality
At first, this tip might seem contradictory, especially after reading the first tip about being mindful of your language.
It’s true that you want to be wary of the words you use and think about the impact they might have on job seekers. At the same time, though, that doesn’t mean your startup’s job ad needs to be as dry as toast.
You can still share some personality and showcase the things that make your company unique.
Some ways you might do this include writing a detailed company culture description. You could also add a video to the listing that takes people behind the scenes of your business or introduces them to other employees.
Startup Job Ad Templates
If you’re still feeling a bit confused about how to write job ads for startups, don’t worry. We’ve got 3 different hiring template options below to provide you with extra guidance.
Job Ad Template 1: CFO - Chief Financial Officer
Job Description
Our startup is looking for an experienced Chief Financial Officer. As part of our company’s management team, you will play a key role in developing our vision and strategic policy by doing the following:
- Manage the finance department
- Collect and analyze data
- Plan and control the company’s budget
- Consider cash/liquidity capabilities and risk to make strong investment decisions
- Execute annual, monthly, weekly revenue, profit, and expense reports
- Initiate processes and performance improvements
Job Benefits
- [X] salary
- [X] vacation days
- Paid sick leave
- Paid personal and parental leave
- Child and elder care
- Health insurance
- Retirement plans
- Professional development
Job Requirements
- [X] year(s) of experience as a CFO, business analyst, controller, or strategic consultant
- Strong understanding of corporate financial management best practices and financial law
- Strong analytical and leadership skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication in [X] language
- Proven track record of managing complex financial processes
- [X] degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Economics, or equivalent
Job Ad Template 2: Project Manager
Job Description
Our startup is hiring for an energetic, enthusiastic Project Manager. As a project manager at our company, you will be responsible for balancing client and company needs while also considering resources, timelines, and business requirements. Your duties will include the following:
- Create charts displaying timelines for various project goals, objectives, and milestones
- Hold regular meetings with the project team
- Communicate information from client meetings to team members
- Review work from team members
- Address logistical issues that hinder project progress
- Evaluate final deliverables with the project team before submitting them to clients
- Probe clients for additional opportunities
- Facilitate post-project meetings and establish project takeaways
- Assess individual team member performance during and after projects
Job Benefits
- [X] salary
- [X] vacation days
- Paid sick leave
- Paid personal and parental leave
- Child and elder care
- Health insurance
- Retirement plans
- Professional development
Job Requirements
- Strong project management track record, ideally in the [X] market sector
- Ability to understand and improve client requirements
- Ability to take responsibility and hold team members accountable
- Ability to plan, schedule, coordinate, and organize teams
- Excellent verbal and written communication in [X] language
- [X] degree in Business Administration, Project Managmenet, or another relevant field
Job Ad Template 3: Customer Service Representative
Job Description
Our startup is seeking a friendly, knowledgeable, and service-oriented individual to join our Customer Support team. As a customer service representative, you will solve problems and go the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. Your responsibilities include the following:
- Greet customers (face-to-face, on the phone, or via live chat)
- Identify problems and provide appropriate solutions
- Regularly check voicemail, chat, and/or electronic queue to identify customers in need
- Proactively follow up with leads and reach out to learn about customers’ problems
- Create and update help tickets for accurate documentation
- Provide information about specific products/services
- Interact with other department members to resolve customer issues
- Provide internal feedback regarding recurring issues
- Train and support other representatives
Job Benefits
- [X] salary
- [X] vacation days
- Paid sick leave
- Paid personal and parental leave
- Child and elder care
- Health insurance
- Retirement plans
- Professional development
Job Requirements
- Excellent analytical skills and prioritization
- Ability to take responsibility for the company’s image
- Ability to maintain a friendly and professional demeanor at all times
- Good knowledge of [X] software to deliver excellent customer support
- A proven track record of solving problems
- Excellent verbal and written communication in [X] language
- High school diploma or equivalent
5 Best Job Sites for Startup Hiring
Now that you have some different job description template options to reference and a clearer idea of what goes into a good job listing, let’s talk about where you can post your job ads once they’re complete.
The internet is full of job sites and places where you can publish listings. Not all of them are ideal for startup companies, though.
The following are 5 popular and high-performing job sites that startup founders can use for easier hiring:
GrabJobs is an impressive job search site and recruitment tool. It’s currently by over 5 million job seekers and is trusted by over 20,000 companies, including global brands like Nike, Zara, JP Morgan, and Tommy Hilfiger.
GrabJobs provides startup companies like yours with a convenient, cost-effective, and smart solution for posting jobs, keeping track of postings in multiple locations, scheduling interviews, and staying in touch with candidates. It’s easy to use and comes with an expertly designed mobile app for on-the-go ad posting and candidate management.
With GrabJobs’ simple, streamlined platform, you can easily post listings on over 20 different platforms with just one click. This helps you to save money and time. It also frees you up to focus on other aspects of running your business.
VentureLoop is often described as a global leader for startup companies looking to hire new and qualified employees. This platform is specifically focused on venture-backed companies and works closely with a variety of venture capital firms, including the following:
- Sequoia Capital
- Kleiner Perkins
- Benchmark Capital
- Sigma Partners
- VantagePoint
When you post an ad on the VentureLoop platform, you can get your job noticed by more than 125,000 monthly visitors. It’ll also get included in the site’s weekly newsletter, which has over 5,000 subscribers. Businesses that post 3+ jobs in a month get featured on the site’s startup news section as well.
If your startup is hiring for a tech, digital, or social media-related position, posting an ad on Mashable is a great option. Mashable is best-known as a news site, but it also features a thriving, regularly updated Jobs section.
Mashable’s online job board is easy to use and receives views from thousands of people every day. Posting to this platform will help you to get your ad in front of qualified job seekers right away.
If you don’t mind working with remote employees, posting a job ad on WeWorkRemotely is an excellent choice. WeWorkRemotely is a job search platform geared toward remote job seekers and companies looking for remote workers.
If your startup is seeking part-time or contract talent, consider starting your search with WeWorkRemotely. Hiring from this platform can help you to save money while still partnering with skilled, experienced professionals.
Startupers is known as one of the original hiring resources for startups.
This platform currently features thousands of resumes and CVs from people who are looking for jobs in tech startups. It also gives you a chance to post job ads for a massive network.
If you get in touch with eager job seekers who are excited at the prospect of helping a startup get off the ground and continue to grow, this is the site for you.
Final Thoughts on Writing a Startup Job Ad
At first, figuring out how to write job ads for startups may seem like a pretty daunting task.
The good news, though, is that you now have a collection of job description template options that you can reference. You also know what positions to focus on when building your company and where to publish your startup job ad when you’re ready to start hiring.
If you need more help hiring qualified professionals for your startup, our team at GrabJobs is here to help. Check out our platform today to connect with the best candidates in no time.
