A company hiring SDRs is telling the world it’s about to invest in outbound. The job post even tells you who’s in charge.
Hiring is one of the most honest buying signals there is. Companies only pay recruiters and salaries for things they’ve decided are priorities. When a company posts three SDR roles, someone has a pipeline target, a budget, and a problem they’d like solved quickly.
That makes SDR hiring a great trigger if you sell sales tools, data, training, recruiting, outsourced SDR services, RevOps consulting, or anything else that helps a sales team ramp. This guide covers how to find those companies, how to identify the person who actually owns the decision, and what to say.
The short answer
Search LinkedIn Jobs and job boards for SDR and BDR titles posted in the last week or two, or search applicant tracking sites like Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby with search operators. Read each listing for how many roles are open, whether it’s a first hire, and who the role reports to. Then reach out to that leader, usually the head of sales development, VP of Sales or, at smaller companies, the founder. To do it in one step, describe it in Manet: “VPs of Sales at B2B SaaS companies hiring SDRs in the last 30 days.”
Why SDR hiring is such a useful signal
It’s a commitment. Unlike a vague intent score, a job post costs money and time.
It comes with context. The listing tells you about the team, the market, the tools, sometimes even the targets.
It names the buyer. “Reports to the Head of Sales Development” is about as close to a referral as public data gets.
It has a clock. The weeks before and after new SDRs start are when ramp, data and process problems feel most urgent.
Five ways to find companies hiring SDRs
1. LinkedIn Jobs with Boolean search
In LinkedIn Jobs, search for a combined title query, then filter by Date posted (past week or past 24 hours), location and, where available, industry or company:
“sales development representative” OR “business development representative” OR SDR OR BDR
Sort by most recent and skim company names. Opening the company page shows headcount and how many other sales roles are open.
2. Applicant tracking sites through search operators
Many startups post jobs on Greenhouse, Lever or Ashby. Search engines index those pages, so a query like this surfaces listings that never make it to the big job boards:
site:boards.greenhouse.io OR site:jobs.lever.co OR site:jobs.ashbyhq.com “sales development representative”
Use your search engine’s date tools to limit results to the last month.
3. Job boards and startup boards
General job boards work, and startup-focused boards are useful if you sell to early-stage companies. Filter for remote or by city depending on your market.
4. Sales Navigator account filters
Sales Navigator’s account search includes growth and hiring filters, such as headcount growth by department and whether a company is hiring on LinkedIn. Combine them with industry and size to build an account list, then switch to lead search to find the sales leaders. We compare this approach with AI tools in Sales Navigator vs. AI prospecting tools.
5. Describe it in Manet
Hiring is one of the signals Manet checks directly. Write the brief as you would to a colleague, for example “heads of sales development or VPs of Sales at B2B software companies with 20 to 500 people that posted SDR or BDR roles in the last 30 days, in the UK.” Manet checks that the job listing belongs to the company the person works at today, which matters more than it sounds, and shows you the listing as evidence.
How to read the listing
Spend thirty seconds on each listing before you decide anything. Look for:
The number of open roles. One SDR is often an experiment. Several is a strategy with a budget.
First hire or scaling. “You’ll help build our outbound motion” means no playbook yet. “Join our team of 12 SDRs” means scale and ramp problems.
Who it reports to. This is the person to talk to. Write the name down.
Tools and process. Listings often name the CRM, sequencer and data tools. That tells you what they use, and sometimes what they’re missing.
How long it’s been open. A role reposted for the third time often means they’re struggling to hire, which is its own opportunity if you help with recruiting or onboarding.
Finding the sales leader behind the role
If the listing doesn’t name a manager, company size is a good guide to who owns the decision.
Company size | Likely decision maker | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Under 30 people | Founder or CEO | Often hiring the first SDR themselves |
30 to 150 people | VP or Head of Sales | May be building sales development for the first time |
150 to 500 people | Head of Sales Development, VP Sales | SDR leadership is often its own role |
500+ people | SDR or BDR director, regional sales leaders | RevOps and enablement often involved too |
On the company’s LinkedIn page, filter employees by title (“sales development,” “VP sales,” “head of sales”) and check who joined recently. A sales leader who started in the last six months and is now hiring SDRs is one of the strongest combinations you’ll find.
What to say
Match the angle to the situation in the listing. A few examples to adapt:
First SDR hire: “Noticed you’re hiring your first SDR. The hardest part for us was deciding what they’d do in week one before there was a playbook. How are you thinking about it?”
Scaling the team: “Five SDR openings at once is a big ramp. When we doubled the team, the bottleneck wasn’t hiring, it was having enough good accounts to give them.”
Role reposted: “Saw the SDR role is back up. Is it the market, or are you rethinking the profile? I’ve heard both from heads of sales lately.”
Don’t lead with “I saw your job posting” and a pitch. Lead with what the posting means for them. For more on this, see how to personalize LinkedIn outreach with AI without sounding like AI and our list of B2B buying signals you can act on.
Timing
The best window is usually from when the listing goes up to the first few weeks after new SDRs start. Before the hire, leaders are thinking about the profile, onboarding and targets. Right after, they’re thinking about ramp, data and early results. Months later, the moment has mostly passed.
For the full process from list to first conversation, see the LinkedIn prospecting playbook.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find companies that are hiring SDRs?
Search LinkedIn Jobs and job boards for SDR and BDR titles posted recently, use search operators on applicant tracking sites like Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby, or use an AI prospecting tool such as Manet that checks hiring as a signal.
Who should I contact at a company hiring SDRs?
The person the role reports to. At small companies that's often the founder, at mid-size companies the VP or head of sales, and at larger ones the head or director of sales development.
Why is SDR hiring a buying signal?
Hiring costs time and money, so it shows a real commitment to outbound. It also tells you about the team, the stage and the likely challenges, like ramp time, data and process.
How recent should a job posting be?
Within the last two to four weeks is ideal. The window stays useful until the new hires have settled in, usually a couple of months after they start.
Can I search for SDR roles with Boolean on LinkedIn?
Yes. LinkedIn Jobs supports quotes and OR, AND and NOT in capitals, for example: "sales development representative" OR "business development representative" OR SDR OR BDR.
Does Manet find companies hiring for specific roles?
Yes. Manet can find people at companies that are hiring, for a named role or at all, and it checks that the opening belongs to the company the person currently works at.
Want the companies hiring SDRs and the leaders behind them in one list? Describe it in Manet.
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