Why this matters
A job post is an ad competing with every other employer in your area. Vague duties, hidden pay, and a clunky application filter out exactly the people you want. And in a growing list of states, omitting the pay range isn't just weak marketing, it's illegal.
What "done" looks like
- A searchable, standard job title — the words a candidate would actually type
- 5–7 concrete duty bullets pulled from your job definition
- The pay range printed in the post
- Applying takes under five minutes from a phone
How to do it
- Use the boring title. "Line Cook," not "Kitchen Rockstar." Job boards match on titles; clever ones bury you.
- Lead with pay and schedule — the two facts every candidate scans for first.
- List real duties from the one-page job definition you wrote earlier in this checklist, not a wish list.
- Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves, and cut must-haves to what the job truly requires — every extra requirement shrinks your pool.
- Make applying trivial: resume upload or a short form, mobile-friendly, no account creation.
- Post where your candidate looks — Indeed for most local roles, LinkedIn for professional ones, plus your website and word of mouth.
Common mistakes
- Writing "competitive pay" instead of a number — many candidates filter those posts out entirely.
- Requiring years of experience or degrees the job doesn't actually need.
- Spending three paragraphs on how great the company is before saying what the job pays.
Real-world examples
- Colorado requires pay in every job posting from every employer; California and Washington require ranges at 15+ employees; New York requires them statewide. Remote roles can trigger these laws wherever you sit.
- Major job boards have consistently reported that postings with pay information attract more applicants than comparable postings without it.
From a founder's point of view
Hiding the wage saves nothing — the number comes out at the interview anyway. Posting pay up front is a filter working in your favor: everyone who applies has already said yes to it.
Rule of thumb
Read your post as a candidate: if you can't find pay, hours, and duties in ten seconds, rewrite it.