Which hire means "about to buy"

The role you search for is the one whose existence proves the problem. It is rarely the buyer. Read the row, then contact the third column.

They are hiring	It usually means	So the buyer is
first SDR / BDR	they are starting outbound and have no tooling	the founder or the Head of Sales
2nd to 5th SDR	outbound works, they scale it, they will consolidate tools	Head of Sales, RevOps
first Head of Sales	the founder is handing off sales	the founder, before the hire lands
RevOps / Sales Ops	stack consolidation, data, attribution	the RevOps hire's boss, the VP Sales
Growth marketer / Demand gen	pipeline pressure from the board	CMO, founder
Content marketer	they will need distribution for what they write	Head of Marketing
Customer Success Manager	churn or expansion is the quarter's problem	VP CS, COO
Security / compliance engineer	a deal is blocked on a questionnaire	CTO, CISO
Data engineer, first	they cannot answer a question the board asked	CTO, Head of Data
Partnerships / alliances lead	direct sales has plateaued	CRO, founder
Product marketing manager, first	positioning is the blocker, not pipeline	CMO, CEO

Writing the row for a product

Ask: "what role does a company post the week before they would buy this?" Then:

• What does the role's existence prove? Not "they need sales tools" but "they have decided to do outbound and have nobody doing it yet".
• Who signed the budget for that role? That person is the buyer. The role itself reports to them.
• When is the window? Between the posting and the hire's first month. Once the hire lands, the hire chooses the tools and the buyer stops caring.

First hire versus fifth hire

The same title means opposite things at different counts. Count the existing people in the function on the company page before choosing the opener:

Count already in role	What the new posting means	Opener angle
0	starting the motion, no tooling, founder still involved	what the first 90 days look like
1 to 4	it works, they scale, they will consolidate	what breaks between two and five
5 and up	replacing churn or a reorg	usually not a signal; skip unless the JD names a new mandate

Signals that look like hiring signals and are not

• Agency postings for a client: the buyer is unknown and the agency will not tell you. Skip.
• Evergreen postings ("always hiring great SDRs"): no budget line behind them. Skip.
• Internships: no budget, no buyer. Skip.
• A posting at a 5,000-person company for one more SDR: the tool decision was made years ago. Skip unless the JD says "new team" or "greenfield".