12 hiring signals for tech roles, and what to say
The signals that show a tech company is about to hire, often weeks before the job post goes live. Written by an ex-tech-recruiter.
TLDR
- The job post is usually the last signal, not the first. New tech leaders, funding, new functions and stack changes come earlier.
- Stack two signals, move within days and reach the engineering leader, not HR.
- Mention the stack or the team in your first line. Keep it to three or four lines.
When I led tech hiring in-house, the agencies that got our attention weren't the ones with the best pitch. They were the ones that showed up when we actually had a problem. The job post was usually the last thing to happen, not the first.
These are the signals that tell you a tech company is about to hire, often weeks before a role goes live. Each one comes with what to say.
Leadership signals
A new CTO or VP of Engineering
New tech leaders review the team in their first few months and start hiring to their own plan. Around day 60 to 90 is the sweet spot.
Open with: congrats, then one or two profiles that fit the kind of team they're likely building.
A new Head of Data, Security or Platform
A new head of a function almost always means that function is about to grow.
Open with: the roles that usually come next in that function.
An engineer promoted to engineering manager
First-time managers often inherit open roles and have never hired before.
Open with: a low-pressure offer to help with their first hire.
Growth signals
Seed to Series B funding
At this stage most of the new money goes on people, and engineering is usually first in line.
Open with: the engineering roles companies at their stage usually hire after a round.
Engineering headcount growing fast
If the engineering team grew 15% or more in six months, their hiring process is stretched.
Open with: extra capacity for the hardest role, not a replacement for their team.
A new product or platform launch
Launches create support, scaling and reliability work the current team can't absorb.
Open with: the launch, and the roles that usually follow it.
Team and stack signals
A first hire in a new function
A first data engineer, first SRE or first security engineer means a team is forming. The first hire is rarely the last.
Open with: how you'd help build the rest of that team.
A move to a new stack or cloud
Migration projects, like moving to Kubernetes or a new cloud, need skills the current team doesn't have yet.
Open with: people who've done that exact migration before.
An AI or machine learning team being built
Lots of companies are hiring their first ML engineers and AI product people, and these roles are hard to fill.
Open with: your network in applied AI, with one strong example profile.
SOC 2 or ISO 27001 work starting
Compliance projects bring security, DevSecOps and IT roles, usually with a deadline attached.
Open with: security people who've taken a company through the same audit.
Pain signals
A tech role open 45+ days
The internal search is stuck. Every extra week slows a roadmap down.
Open with: how long it's been open and a fresh pool of candidates who aren't on the job boards.
A senior engineer or tech lead just left
A key leaver leaves a gap in knowledge and delivery, often with nobody ready to step up.
Open with: a discreet backfill shortlist.
How to use these signals
- Stack two together. A new CTO plus a Series A is much stronger than either on its own.
- Move within days. A month-old signal is just news.
- Go to the person who feels it. The engineering leader, not the HR inbox.
- Mention the tech. Name the stack, the team or the migration. It shows you understand their world.
- Keep it short. Three or four lines. Engineers read email the way they read pull requests.
Here's what that sounds like:
Want to see a full email rewritten with these signals? Read the tech recruitment cold email teardown. Or let us run it for you with lead generation for recruitment agencies.
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