Write job description for early hires
AI creates complete JD for your first 5 employees that attracts generalists who thrive in early chaos.
Write job description for early hires
River's Early Hire Job Description Writer creates JDs that attract the right generalists for your first five employees. You provide role details, must-have skills, and comp range, and the AI writes a complete job description with honest role overview (what they'll actually do), problems they'll own (not tasks), must-have vs nice-to-have skills, what success looks like in 3/6/12 months, compensation and equity clearly stated, and why join section selling your mission. Whether you're hiring your first engineer, marketer, or operator, these JDs attract startup-ready talent.
Unlike corporate JDs with 20 requirements, we create early-stage descriptions that embrace generalist reality. The AI describes real day-to-day work (not sanitized corporate speak), emphasizes ownership over tasks (early hires are builders), balances honesty about chaos with excitement about impact, clearly states comp and equity (no games), and maintains the authentic, mission-driven tone that attracts startup people. You get JDs that repel corporate types and attract the scrappy generalists your early team needs.
This tool is perfect for founders making first five hires, technical founders hiring non-technical roles, first-time managers writing their first JD, or anyone competing for talent with limited budget. If you're hiring employee 1-5 and don't know how to write a JD that's honest about chaos but exciting about opportunity, this tool helps. Use it when you need to attract generalists who will own problems, not specialists who need perfect processes.
What Makes Early Hire JDs Attract Great Talent
Winning early hire JDs sell problems, not tasks. The best early-stage descriptions explain what problems this person owns, why solving these problems matters for the business, what impact they'll have (not what tasks they'll do), what success looks like in 3/6/12 months, and why this is a once-in-career opportunity despite the risk. Weak JDs list 20 required skills, focus on tasks instead of ownership, hide compensation, or pretend the startup has processes it doesn't. Great early hires want to build things and own outcomes. Describe the problem space, not the task list.
Effective early JD structure follows a proven format. Opening: Mission and context (why this role matters). Role overview: Real day-to-day (honest). Problems to solve: What they own (3-5 key areas). Requirements: Must-haves only (3-5 things). Nice-to-haves: Bonus skills (show flexibility). Success metrics: 3/6/12 month outcomes. Compensation: Salary, equity, benefits (transparent). Why join: Mission, team, opportunity, timing. This structure gives candidates everything they need while selling the opportunity. Corporate JD templates don't work for early hires. Use startup-native structure.
What You Get
Complete early-stage job description ready to post
Problems-focused (not tasks) to attract owners
Honest about chaos, exciting about impact
Clear comp and equity (transparent from start)
Authentic tone that attracts startup generalists
How It Works
- 1Describe the roleShare what this person does, problems they solve, skills needed, comp details (100-400 words)
- 2AI writes full JDOur AI creates complete early-hire job description in 2-3 minutes
- 3Review and postVerify details, adjust tone, post to job boards and networks
- 4Share widelyPost on LinkedIn, Twitter, YC jobs, AngelList, personal networks
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I be honest about how chaotic early stage is or sell the dream?
Both. Be honest about reality (chaos, changing priorities, limited resources, wearing many hats) AND sell the dream (ownership, impact, equity upside, career growth). The best early hires aren't scared by chaos. They're energized by it. But they need to know what they're signing up for. Overselling leads to turnover when reality hits. Underselling scares away even risk-tolerant people. Balance: 'You'll wear many hats and priorities change weekly (chaos), but you'll own [outcome] and build [thing] from scratch (opportunity).' Honesty with opportunity. Not honesty without upside.
How many required skills should I list?
3-5 must-haves maximum. Early hires are generalists. Long requirement lists scare them away or attract over-qualified people who'll be bored. Focus on: 1-2 core technical skills, 1-2 mindset/culture fits, 1 proof of execution in uncertainty. Example for first engineer: 'Built and shipped products 0-1, comfortable with ambiguity, strong full-stack fundamentals.' That's 3 things. Then list 5-10 nice-to-haves to show what's valuable but not required. Long required lists also bias against non-traditional candidates who are often the best early hires.
Should I include salary and equity in the JD or discuss in interviews?
Include ranges in the JD. Transparency filters efficiently. Hiding comp wastes everyone's time (yours and candidates'). If your range is $80K-$120K + 0.5-1% equity, say that. You'll get fewer but better-qualified applicants. People who need $200K won't apply (saving you time). People comfortable with $100K + equity will self-select in. Some founders worry transparency reduces negotiating leverage. Wrong. It builds trust and speeds up processes. Best early hires care about equity as much as cash. Make both clear upfront.
What's the difference between JDs for hire 1 vs hire 20?
Hire 1-5: emphasize ownership, generalist skills, comfort with chaos, equity upside. Hire 20+: can be more specialized, focus on specific skills, assume more process. Example: Hire 2 (engineer) might be 'Full-stack engineer who builds anything we need (frontend, backend, infrastructure, customer calls).' Hire 20 (engineer) might be 'Senior backend engineer focused on API performance and scaling.' Early hires build the business. Later hires scale existing functions. Early JDs should attract people excited by building everything. Later JDs can be more focused.
Should I require previous startup experience?
No, not as hard requirement. Many great early hires come from corporate backgrounds and thrive at startups. What matters: comfort with ambiguity, bias toward action, ego-less execution, excitement about ownership. These traits exist in people from all backgrounds. Do list 'previous startup or 0-1 experience' as nice-to-have. But don't make it required. You'll miss amazing people. Better signal: 'built something from scratch' (could be side project, could be new product at big company, could be startup). Focus on mindset and execution, not just previous company size.
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