Hiring signals
Hiring signals read what a company is hiring for, which tells you what it is about to build and what it is struggling to staff. Job descriptions also name tools, budgets, and problems in plain words, which makes them one of the most honest public sources in B2B.
11 hiring signals
All B2B signalsHiring for the role you sell to
A target account posts jobs for the team that would use or buy your product.
Good · While the posting is live, and the month after it closes · Email, LinkedIn outreach, Rep alert
Job posting names a tool
A job description lists a tool in your category, a competitor, or a tool yours replaces or connects to.
Good · While the posting is live · Email, CRM
Hiring through a startup ATS
Companies found by the applicant tracking system their job board runs on, such as job pages hosted on Ashby or Greenhouse.
Good · While the roles are live · Email, LinkedIn outreach
First hire in a function
A company posts its first ever role in a function, such as its first marketer, first RevOps manager, or first SDR.
Strong · From the posting to the hire’s first 90 days · Email, LinkedIn outreach
Headcount growth
An account’s headcount, or the headcount of one team, grows quickly over a quarter.
Early · The quarter the growth shows up · Ad audience, Email
Layoffs or a hiring freeze
An account announces layoffs or stops posting roles it was hiring for.
Early · 1 to 3 months after the announcement · Email, Content
Role reposted after 60 days
A job a company needs has been open for 60 days or more, or was taken down and posted again.
Strong · From day 60 until the role is filled · Email, LinkedIn outreach
Job post describes the pain in plain words
A job description spells out the problem you solve, in phrases like rebuild our attribution, clean up the CRM, or fix our outbound.
Strong · While the posting is live · Email, Rep alert
First job posted in a new country
A company posts its first role in a country where it has never hired.
Strong · The 6 months around the first hire · Email, Ad audience
Freelance project posted for what you sell
A company posts a project on Upwork, Contra, or a similar marketplace for the work you do.
Good · The 2 weeks after the post goes up · Email, Rep alert
Hiring for the job your product does
A company is hiring people to do work your product automates, such as SDRs, data entry, or manual QA.
Strong · While the roles are open · Email, LinkedIn outreach
FAQs about hiring signals
Hiring signals read what a company is hiring for, which tells you what it is about to build and what it is struggling to staff. Job descriptions also name tools, budgets, and problems in plain words, which makes them one of the most honest public sources in B2B.
“First hire in a function”, “Role reposted after 60 days”, “Job post describes the pain in plain words”, “First job posted in a new country”, and “Hiring for the job your product does” are rated Strong, which means worth acting on this week on its own. The rest are worth a play when stacked with a second signal on the same account.
Each signal routes to the channels that fit it. Across the 11 hiring signals, the most common plays run through email, linkedin outreach, and rep alert. Each signal page lists the play it triggers on every channel, with an example opening line.
Understory Agency tracks them in Clay, most often with Clay, Apify, Claude Code, LinkedIn Jobs, job board data, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Each signal page lists the steps to detect it, the tools, and the play it triggers when it fires.
Other kinds of signals
People signals
Who just arrived, moved up or left, at the accounts you sell to.
Company event signals
Funding, launches, expansion and the other moments that reset budgets.
Tech stack signals
What a company installs, removes or outgrows.
Website visitor signals
Who is reading your pages, and which pages they read.
Product usage signals
Sign-ups, usage and limits inside your own product.
Social and content signals
What buyers post, like, comment on and ask in public.
Ad engagement signals
Which accounts see, watch and click your ads.
Event signals
Who is going where, speaking where and showing up to what.
Competitor signals
Your competitors’ customers, audiences and bad weeks.
Public record signals
Filings, permits, contracts and other records anyone can read.
Custom scrape signals
Signals nobody sells, built for one market with Claude Code and Apify.
CRM and network signals
The relationships and history you already own.
Tell us who you sell to
Bring your best customers, and we'll show you the hiring signals we would start with and the plays they would trigger. Signals run through our outbound and GTM engineering practice.