Your 2025 Playbook for Writing "We Are Hiring" Posts That Don't Suck

Most "we are hiring" posts are bland noise. But I heard from founders that some of their best hires have come from well-crafted posts. I read through 100+ of them to help you craft posts that get the best matched candidates coming to you.

1. Why Most "We're Hiring" Posts Miss the Mark

Scroll through LinkedIn any given week and you'll see the same formula: a bland "We're hiring!" headline, a few lines of corporate jargon, and maybe a stock photo of smiling people in blazers. These posts blur into the feed. They don't inspire clicks, shares, or—most importantly—the right applications.

If you're serious about attracting standout talent, you need to think of your "We Are Hiring" announcement not as an HR formality but as a piece of storytelling. You're pitching people on joining your team's journey.

2. Start With a Hook That Stops the Scroll

Your first line is the difference between being ignored and being read.

Bad hooks sound like:

"We're growing our team…"
"Exciting opportunity…"

Instead, go specific, bold, or unexpected:

"I'm hiring the next 3 smartest people I meet." -Allan Guo at Willow

Or lead with a quote from your team:

"The vibe is nowhere like a typical work environment. It's like hacking with your friends in your dorm. I love it!" -Crustdata

The goal isn't to be gimmicky; it's to make someone pause and think, I want to know more.

3. Show, Don't Tell: Make Culture Tangible

Candidates roll their eyes at phrases like "great culture" and "fast-paced environment." If you want to convey who you are, show it.

Use a real team photo. Not a staged headshot, but the actual messy, happy, in-the-trenches energy of your people.

Or do video.

Bring your team into the comments. Have teammates tag each other, share anecdotes, or even joke around. A lively thread speaks louder than any tagline.

4. Attract By Excluding (Without Being a Jerk)

The strongest hiring posts don't just invite the right people in; they politely signal who the role isn't for. But tone matters.

Instead of blunt negativity:
"Don't apply if you're risk-averse."

Frame it with warmth and honesty:
"This role is for someone excited by ambiguity. If you prefer highly-structured environments, you probably won't love it here (and that's totally fine)."

Done right, this kind of line creates trust—people see you're willing to be honest.

Great example from Sohar Health:

"These aren't roles where you inherit a roadmap or wait for tickets."

5. Get Specific, Not Generic

Vagueness kills interest. Candidates want to know: what problem are you solving, and why should they care?

Instead of:
"We're looking for a motivated engineer to join our team."

Talk about the specific challenges they will work on.

Great example from Tangible (also props to them for one of the best we are hiring videos I've seen):

"Making robots that can go into your cluttered sink, cluttered fridge, and get you the apple you wanted that was behind the bowl….this is a hard problem"

Specifics don't scare the right people off; they excite them.

6. End With a Human Call to Action

Most posts finish flat: "Apply here." That's transactional.

Instead, close like you're talking to a peer:

"Curious? Drop me a DM."
"Even if you're just browsing, let's grab coffee."
"We'd rather have a quick chat with someone ambitious than wait for the perfect résumé."

The CTA should feel like an invitation into a conversation, not a bureaucratic process.

Ian at Zinc did this masterfully here:

"If you're tired of working at home alone, want to make an impact, and see your code ship real-world packages every day, I want to talk to you!"

7. Show some fucking personality

Be funny. Be candid. Meta humor about the absurdity of job description language is low hanging fruit.

Great example from Espresso AI:

We are hiring "cracked" (if you're under 30) / "rockstar" (if you're over 30) / "ninja" (if you're exactly 30) systems engineers

And this footer from Plex AI:

P.S. side effects may include actually enjoying your work, learning a ton, and earning quite a bit of money

8. Bring It All Together: The Template

Here's a simple skeleton to adapt:

Hook line

Two sentences on what you're building and why it matters.

What role you are hiring for

Who would want to opt in and who should opt out.

CTA that feels like an invitation into a conversation, not a bureaucratic process.

Attach an image of the team together, or even better a video of you talking about the problem this hire will solve.

TL;DR

A "We Are Hiring" post isn't just about getting attention for your role, it's about getting attention from the right people. The more specific, and the more compelling, the more likely people know exactly the cracked friend they want to forward it to.