Communicating a recruitment plan means announcing a specific number of hires by a set date (e.g., 50 positions by the end of 2027) and anchoring it to a fact that the press can pick up: a funding round, a new office opening, or a new site. An announcement is most effective when three channels are activated simultaneously: press coverage, the CEO's LinkedIn, and employee advocacy.

Last updated: October 2026.

To understand why the press helps with recruitment, start with our article on media relations and recruitment. This guide moves on to execution: what to prepare, who to contact, what to publish, and how to measure results.

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Is a recruitment plan really of interest to the press?

Yes, on one condition: the figure must say something meaningful about the company. "We are hiring" is not news. "We are opening an office in Lyon and creating 50 jobs there by the end of 2027" is, because it speaks to growth, regional development, and employment.

Three facts make a recruitment plan newsworthy: a funding round that finances it, the opening of an office or site, or an exceptional volume relative to the company's size. This is the news hook, the reason why a journalist should write about it today rather than in three months. Without one of these three, save the plan for LinkedIn and your careers page.

The current context favors tech companies. According to the 2026 Labor Needs survey by France Travail, 49.5% of recruitment projects in the digital sector are considered difficult, compared to 43.8% across all sectors. Journalists covering employment are specifically looking for companies that are hiring for these high-demand roles.

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What should you prepare before announcing a recruitment plan?

A recruitment plan must be verifiable. Before making any contact with a journalist, five elements must be ready.

• A breakdown of the figures. The total, followed by the distribution by role, city, and quarter. "50 positions" without details looks like a hollow announcement.
• Job postings already online. Readers looking for jobs on the day the article is published must be able to find them. Publish them at least a week in advance.
• Two spokespeople. The CEO for the company's trajectory, and the person in charge of recruitment for the roles and the process. HR press often prefers the latter.
• Two or three employee testimonials. People hired recently who are ready to talk about their onboarding experience to a journalist or on LinkedIn.
• A press release and a press kit : figures, team photos, and biographies. Our press release examples include a template for a recruitment plan.

Consistency across channels matters more than volume. If the press release announces 50 positions, the careers page shows 12, and the CEO mentions "several dozen," both candidates and journalists will notice the discrepancy.

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Which media outlets should you target to announce hiring plans?

Five types of media cover recruitment plans, each with its own angle and preferred contact. The table below shows what each one expects.

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Regional press is the most underestimated by Parisian startups. Opening an office in Nantes or Lille with 20 new jobs is a story in itself there, whereas it would go unnoticed in the national press.

Build your list journalist by journalist, not media outlet by media outlet: our guide on the press list details the method. According to Muck Rack's 2026 State of Journalism report, 88% of journalists discard pitches that fall outside their beat.

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What is the week-by-week schedule?

The strategy spans twelve weeks: four for preparation, the day of the announcement, and then eight weeks of follow-up. Most companies stop on launch day, even though qualified applications mostly arrive afterward.

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Launch day: an exclusive, then everyone else

The most effective approach is an exclusive under embargo with a primary media outlet, published in the morning, followed by sending the press release to other newsrooms. The CEO should share the article on LinkedIn within the hour, adding what the article doesn't cover: amplifying press coverage on LinkedIn follows a few simple rules.

If the plan accompanies a funding round, the announcement should be integrated into the funding news. The hiring figure then becomes a paragraph in the fundraising press release, often the one picked up by regional and HR press.

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Weeks 3 to 8: extending the announcement's reach

An announcement expires in a few days. Making it last requires a CEO op-ed on a high-demand role, followed by a public progress report at eight weeks: how many positions were filled, and in which roles. Almost no one does this, and that is what makes the next announcement credible.

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How can you turn employees into credible advocates?

By giving them substance, not a script. An identical post copied by twenty employees on launch day is spotted immediately and convinces no one.

The gap to bridge is well-known. According to the October 2023 study by Welcome to the Jungle and Ipsos (500 HR decision-makers, 1,000 employees), 58% of employees say they are willing to recommend their employer. Yet, only 14% of companies use an ambassador program.

Three rules are enough for an initial program:

• Volunteers, never forced appointments. Three to five engaged people are worth more than thirty forced posts.
• One topic per person : their job, their onboarding, a project in progress. Everyone talks about what they know.
• Short-term support : one session to frame the topics, then a review if the person wants it.

The case ofALEO, a consulting agency advised by Linker on LinkedIn, illustrates the effect: five employees post regularly, and applications received via LinkedIn have increased by 40%. ALEO is not a tech startup, but the mechanics are the same.

These advocates are also useful for the press. According to Cision's State of the Media 2026, 62% of journalists use LinkedIn in their work. An engineer talking about their job can become a cited source.

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What is the role of Welcome to the Jungle and the careers page?

They are the landing pages for the initiative. An article or a LinkedIn post creates attention for a few days. If the reader doesn't find the positions immediately, that attention is lost.

Welcome to the Jungle plays a dual role for a tech startup: an employer showcase with photos, videos, and testimonials, and a site where tech candidates are already searching. Update the page before the announcement, using the same figures as in the press release.

Include the link to the job openings in the press release and in every post. Ask the journalist if they can add it to the article, without demanding it. Conversely, the careers page can cite the article as proof of the company's trajectory.

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How do you measure the impact of a recruitment announcement?

Track your metrics before making an announcement, otherwise comparison is impossible. Use the previous four weeks as a baseline, then monitor the following eight weeks.

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The final metric is what matters most in the long run. Announcing 50 job openings and filling 15 can be verified on LinkedIn in minutes. If the pace drops, own it before a journalist notices.

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Employer branding agency or PR agency: who should lead this initiative?

The two roles are complementary, not interchangeable. An employer branding agency produces what you publish: career pages, videos, campaigns, and employer identity. A PR and LinkedIn agency produces what others say about you, and manages your leadership's voice.

To announce a recruitment plan, the latter is at the heart of the strategy: securing coverage, preparing spokespeople, writing executive posts, and supporting employees. If your career page is empty, start there. Otherwise, the announcement is a PR matter.

Regarding budget, the pricing guide published by Linker on the cost of public relations places a one-off project between €2,500 and €8,000 depending on the announcement. A tech-specialized agency costs between €3,500 and €7,000 per month. The LinkedIn component ranges from €900 per month in LinkedIn coaching at €3,000 per month in LinkedIn ghostwriting.

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When is it better not to announce a hiring plan?

When the number isn't sustainable. A plan contingent on an unsigned funding round, or announced a few months after forced layoffs, leaves you vulnerable to unfavorable follow-up coverage.

In these cases, communicate role by role on LinkedIn and your careers page, without using a global figure. You’ll still see the impact on applications without making a public commitment.

A hiring plan is just one communication opportunity among many. To build the visibility that supports all your long-term recruitment efforts, see our page on recruiting through PR and LinkedIn. To coordinate a specific announcement, our PR agency for startups builds the strategy with you.