A Founder's Guide to Writing a Job Ad That Actually Attracts Good Developers

Most startup job ads read like a list of demands. Required skills. Years of experience. A long checklist of responsibilities. And right maybe — a line or two about the company.

Here's the problem with that approach: Strong candidates usually aren’t desperate. They have options. They're choosing between multiple opportunities (including staying where they are), and your job ad needs to compete.

If your job ad reads like a procurement document, you'll get applicants who are just looking for any job. You also won’t inspire anyone into changing jobs or moving from where they are. The developers you actually want — the ones who are motivated, talented, and selective — will scroll straight past.

Here's how to write one that makes them stop.

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1. Pitch like you would to an investor

Think about it from the developer's perspective. Joining an early-stage startup is a risk. They're betting their time, their skills, and often a chunk of their career on your company's success.

So treat the job ad like a pitch. What's the most compelling slide in your investor deck? Your market size, your traction, your mission? Work it in. Give them a reason to believe you're building something worth joining.

You don't need to have all the answers. But you do need to give them at least one or two compelling reasons why your company, this role, at this moment is worth taking seriously.

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2. Give them proof points

Tech professionals who have been around the block a few times can be especially sceptical of early-stage startups — and understandably so. They want to know you're not going to fold in six months.

So tell them why you won't. Mention your funding round. Name-drop your investors if they're recognisable. Talk about customers you've onboarded, competitions you've won, grants you've received, or notable backers. Whatever you have, use it.

Proof points do two things: they build credibility, and they make the opportunity feel real. A developer who reads "backed by [well-known VC]" or "just signed our tenth enterprise customer" feels a lot more confident about taking the leap.

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3. Sell the team and culture — but make it real

The smaller the team, the more each individual person matters.

Don't just describe the role — describe the team. Who are the founders? What's their background? What does the culture actually look like day-to-day?

Beyond the tone, make sure the substance is real too. Get genuinely clear on your culture before you write about it. What are the two or three traits you actually want in someone joining your team? What does your growth plan look like over the next year or two? Have real answers to those questions, and let them shape how you write — rather than reaching for phrases like "fast-paced environment" or "collaborative team" that mean nothing to anyone.

Candidates are asking themselves: Are these people I'd want to work with? Can I learn from them? What will my place in this team actually look like? Your job ad should answer those questions before they even have to ask.

And write it in your own voice. As Huon Lathan, career coach and former talent advisor at General Assembly puts it: "Write YOUR job ad with your tone of voice. Be really clear: this is who we are and what we're about. If you're excited about that, cool. If not, that's fine." A job ad that sounds like every other job ad will get ignored like every other job ad. The founders who attract great people write like humans, not HR departments.

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4. Show them what they'll gain

A job ad that only talks about what you need from a candidate is a missed opportunity. Flip it around. What does the developer get out of joining you?

Steve Hind, co-founder of Lorikeet, calls this having a "hiring hypothesis."

"When you're a startup that basically no one has heard of, you've got to have some hypothesis on how you are going to win the best talent," Steve says. "Are you going to give them a fancier title? I think that's a really bad solution. On the flip side, maybe the arbitrage you're going to do is to offer them more autonomy. Or more space to have impact, or a broader role."

Huon Latham says it well: "If someone's swapping 40 to 50 hours of their week for you, be clear what an achievement looks like at the end of the week and whether they'll be excited about it."

Think about the problems they'll get to tackle, the skills they'll develop, the career trajectory this role could open up. Early-stage startups offer something that big companies can't: real ownership, genuine impact, and the chance to build things from scratch. Lean into that.

If there's equity on offer, mention it. If they'll be working with cutting-edge technology, say so. If this role could position someone to become a technical co-founder or Head of Engineering within a year, make that clear.

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5. Think carefully about what you actually value in a candidate

This one is easy to overlook: the requirements you list in your job ad shape who applies — and sometimes founders list the wrong ones.

Steve's approach at Lorikeet is a useful example. When hiring early engineers, he deliberately weighted customer orientation and drive over raw technical experience. That's how he ended up hiring Peter — a self-taught engineer with less technical experience, but exceptional hunger and excellent design instincts — who turned out to be exactly the right person for the role.

"A lot of other companies would have looked at him and said — not enough engineering experience — pass," Steve says. "We said actually there are these big things we want to put more weight on around drive and customer orientation that make it a must hire for us."

Ask yourself: what do you actually need from this person? The answer might be different from what a conventional job description would suggest — and being honest about that in the ad will attract a more suitable applicant.

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6. Be transparent about salary 

This one is simple but hiring managers often hesitate: just put the salary range in the ad.

Senior developers often hesitate to apply to early-stage startups because they assume the pay won't meet their minimum expectations. Don't make them guess. If you're paying market rates, declare it. If you have a range, share it. Even something like "market-competitive + equity" is better than silence.

Being upfront about pay signals respect for candidates' time — and it filters out any awkward conversations early on. Candidates will ask about it anyway. Save everyone the back-and-forth and put it in the ad.

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The short version

Writing a job ad like this takes more time than copying a template. But it's an investment worth making. A well-crafted ad will attract better candidates, reduce wasted screening time, and signal that your company is serious about the people it brings on board.

And once you've written it? You can reuse your pitch for every future role you hire.

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If you're an ANZ startup hiring developers, you can post your role on SkillsRobin — free to post, and you only pay if you hire.

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