> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://apidoc.cufinder.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# First Job in Function

> A company posted a role in a function it hadn't hired for in 12 months.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Signal key" icon="code">
    `first_job_in_function`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Category" icon="category">
    Growth
  </Card>

  <Card title="Source" icon="world">
    Company Professional Network jobs, evaluated against 12-month posting history.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

A company posted a role in a function it hadn't hired for in 12 months.

## When it fires

<Card title="Trigger condition" icon="bolt">
  A job posting appears for a function (engineering, sales, marketing, product, ai-ml, security, finance, hr, operations, legal) that had zero postings in the previous 12 months.
</Card>

## Stored fields

This signal persists the following metadata you can read downstream:

| Field           | Description                                   |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `meta.function` | The function that just saw its first posting. |

## Magnitude

Treated as high-signal regardless of count, the first hire in a function is categorically meaningful.

<Note>
  For the full bucket definitions used across percentage-based signals, see [Magnitude buckets](/buying-signals/concepts/magnitude-buckets).
</Note>

## Why it matters

This is one of the most valuable growth signals. A first-ever sales hire means they're about to build a sales motion and will need tools to support it. A first AI/ML role means a new technical initiative. Each first-in-function event marks the birth of a new buying center that didn't exist before.

## How to read it

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="New buying center">
    A brand-new function means a brand-new budget and a brand-new decision-maker.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Build, not replace">
    First hires build from scratch, they're shopping with no incumbent vendor.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Function-to-product fit">
    Map the function to your product: first sales hire → sales tools, first security hire → security tooling.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Outreach playbook

<Tip>
  Top-tier alert when the function matches your buyer. Reach the hiring manager before the role is even filled.
</Tip>

## Related signals

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="First Job in Country" href="/buying-signals/signals/growth/first-job-in-country">
    A company posted its first role in a new country.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sales Hiring Surge" href="/buying-signals/signals/growth/sales-hiring-surge">
    Sales job postings doubled versus the prior crawl.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Engineering Hiring Surge" href="/buying-signals/signals/growth/engineering-hiring-surge">
    Engineering job postings doubled versus the prior crawl.
  </Card>

  <Card title="First Role Hire" href="/buying-signals/signals/people/first-role-hire">
    A company made its first-ever hire for a role function.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Expansion Signal" href="/buying-signals/signals/composite/expansion-signal">
    A company is expanding into new markets while growing.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

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</Card>