Honestly, I think the original job ad is way too generic and doesn’t speak to what a candidate actually cares about. If I were looking at this, I’d want to know what makes the role different from the hundreds of other software engineer postings. The ad starts with “We are looking for a talented software engineer” – that’s everyone. Instead, lead with a specific problem the team is solving or a project the candidate would own. For example, instead of “cutting-edge projects,” say “rebuilding our real-time data pipeline to handle 10x traffic growth.” That’s concrete and exciting.
Salary range is another must. Saying “competitive salary” is a red flag now – top talent expects transparency. According to a 2025 LinkedIn survey, 78% of candidates are more likely to apply to a job that includes a salary range. So I’d rewrite that line to “$120,000–$150,000 base plus equity and performance bonus.” Also, structured interview process should be mentioned upfront. Candidates hate ambiguity. I’d add a line like “Our hiring process: initial screen → technical take-home → pair programming session → culture fit chat.” That builds trust and reduces drop-off.
Finally, the requirements list is too generic. “3+ years Python” doesn’t tell me what level of autonomy or ownership to expect. I’d split it into must-haves and nice-to-haves, and include a growth statement like “We’re open to strong engineers with 2+ years if you’ve led a major feature from design to deployment.” That widens the pool without lowering standards. In my experience, a well-optimized job ad can increase qualified applications by 40% while cutting time-to-hire by a week.
