Recruiting Glossary

Recruiting Glossary:

External Recruiting Terms

External recruiting is a form of outsourcing. A company with open positions hires a recruiting firm to find and screen suitable candidates before sending them to the company site. Jobs can be permanent or temporary, with temp or contract jobs ranging from a day to a year or more. External recruiters are paid by their recruiting firm, which collects fees from the company where the candidate is placed.


AGENCY RECRUITER

An agency recruiter that works at a recruiting agency. Their job is to find and place candidates into roles at various companies.

CONTINGENCY RECRUITER

A contingency recruiter does not receive payment until the candidates they find get hired. Payment is usually a percentage of the new employee’s salary.

EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM/EXECUTIVE RECRUITER

An executive recruiter focuses on filling positions at the executive level (usually Vice President or C-level).

HEADHUNTER

A headhunter is an external recruiter who is focused on placing candidates into senior roles.

OUTPLACEMENT AGENCY

An outplacement firm assists workers who have been laid off or downsized from a company. Workers receive job search assistance and training, and the outplacement firm is paid by the company from which the worker was let go.

RETAINED RECRUITER

A retained recruiter is contracted by a company to fill specific (usually senior-level) positions. The retained recruiting firm is paid a flat fee and expected to deliver the hire. The arrangement is exclusive, meaning that no other firm is asked to participate in the search.

TEMPORARY (TEMP) RECRUITER

Temp recruiters usually work for a staffing agency to find candidates to fill short-term positions for companies.

STAFFING AGENCY

A staffing agency fills positions for various companies. Workers are legally employed by the staffing agency, who pays them hourly and deducts taxes. Positions can be temporary, temp-to-perm (the worker will be hired on by the client company after a specified period if performance is satisfactory), or direct hire (the worker will be hired by the company without an hourly trial period). The staffing agency marks up the hourly rate paid to the worker or charges a fee for placements. Staffing agencies can specialize in various position types, such as administrative or IT.

Internal Recruiting Terms

Internal or in-house recruiters work for the same company for which they find and place candidates. Their primary responsibilities include sourcing, reviewing applications, screening candidates, and setting up interviews with hiring teams. Companies often use a combination of internal and external recruiters, based on staffing needs.

FULL DESK RECRUITER

Full desk recruiting involves one recruiter working on both sides of the desk. The recruiter sources candidates to fill positions and build up the talent pipeline. The same recruiter also finds clients and collects job orders. You will get to know your clients’ needs and be able to suggest candidates even when there isn’t an open job order.

DIRECT HIRE RECRUITER

Recruit full time salaried employees with full benefits upon starting. This is the most “traditional” way to hire and what most people feel comfortable with, in terms of stability and longevity. 

CONTRACT TO HIRE RECRUITER

With Contract-to-Hire, you begin your employment as an hourly contractor. During your time working, the employer has the opportunity to hire the contractor permanently after a pre-determined amount of time; typically 3-6 months on average.

SPLIT DESK RECRUITER

supply either the job order or the candidate and another outside recruiter supplies the other. In this case, you and the other recruiter do not work for the same recruiting firm. Because you split the placement, the recruiter fee is split between you and the other recruiter. Split placements can help you fill tricky job orders faster.

TEAM RECRUITER

This type of recruiting works if you are at a recruiting firm with multiple other recruiters. You and the other recruiters can share clients and candidates. By sharing resources, you will be better able to place the right candidate with the right client.

CONTRACT RECRUITER

Contract recruiters work at the company site but are not permanent employees. They may be hired to cover another recruiter’s leave of absence, meet aggressive hiring goals, or hire for specialty positions. A contractor is not directly employed by the company they work at; rather they are placed on the payroll of the third party (usually a recruiting firm) as either a W4 or 1099 employee. Typically, a contractor is employed for a certain period of time that is established before the contract begins, ie. 12 months. 

CORPORATE RECRUITER

Another term for an in-house recruiter.

GENERALIST

An HR generalist manages many aspects of the employee experience such as benefits administration, training, onboarding, and employee relations. They may also serve in a recruiting function as needed.

SALES RECRUITER

A sales recruiter specializes in finding and screening candidates for open positions in the sales department.

TALENT ACQUISITION SPECIALIST OR PARTNER

Talent acquisition takes a strategic approach to recruiting in order to meet evolving business needs. In addition to the activities of recruiting, talent acquisition specialists may work with business leaders to strategize and execute optimal processes for sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding.

TECH RECRUITER

A tech recruiter specializes in finding and screening candidates for technical roles. This role requires knowledge of highly specialized technical terms and the ability to screen candidates.

TEMP RECRUITER

Temp recruiters manage and oversee the staffing of temporary workers at sites such as factories, warehouses, or other locations that require large numbers of temporary staff.

Types of Positions

Understanding the terminology that refers to the various types of positions within an organization will help you identify candidates whose experience match the open roles you need to fill.

ASSOCIATE

When “Associate” appears at the end of a title, it usually refers to a junior-level role, such as “Customer Service Associate.” When it appears at the beginning of a title, it usually refers to a junior level of that role, such as “Associate Manager.”

C-LEVEL/EXECUTIVE

An employee with a C, for “Chief” in their title, is a member of the top level of the executive team. They report to the Board of Directors, or the CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Individuals with VP (Vice President), SVP (Senior Vice President), or EVP (Executive Vice President) in their titles generally report to one of the C-level executives.

CONTRACTOR

A contractor is a worker who is employed for a specified period of time. Contractors do not usually receive health insurance, vacation time, or other benefits available to permanent employees.

ENTRY LEVEL

Entry level jobs are typically focused on recent high school or college graduates. Screening criteria relate to basic functional skills and education more than workplace experience, though many entry-level jobs require internship experience.

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR

An individual contributor does not manage any other staff members.

INTERNSHIP

An internship is a short-term training period with an employer, with or without pay and is usually geared toward students.

JOB TRANSFER

A job transfer occurs when an employee takes a position in another department. When the new position is at the same level as the former position, it’s called a lateral transfer. A transfer can be voluntary (in which the employee chooses to move departments) or involuntary, (in which the employee is assigned to another department or region for organizational reasons).

LEAD

A lead is usually an employee who has a high level of responsibility but does not manage other employees.

MANAGER

Managers oversee a set of activities and are accountable for their successful execution. A manager usually supervises other employees.

MATERNITY LEAVE COVER

A contract employee covers the responsibilities of an employee on leave due to the birth of a child.

PRINCIPAL

Titles such as “Principal Engineer” refer to a senior level employee who oversees the completion of projects. The principal can also refer to the owner of a consultancy.

RETURNSHIP

A returnship is a short-term employment contract with an experienced professional who has taken an extended leave (usually two or more years) from work in order to attend to family responsibilities.

SENIOR LEVEL

Senior is a term that refers to employees who have a high level of experience. It can be included in job titles, such as “senior designer,” or refer to employees of high rank, such as “senior executive team.”

STAFF

Staff is another word for employees. In a job title, staff can refer to an experienced or senior level employee. Double check to find out the hierarchy within your organization.

General Hiring Terms

To make sure you’re up to date on the latest terms typically used in hiring, check out this list.

ACTIVE CANDIDATE

An active candidate is actively looking for a new job. They may or may not be currently employed.

APPLICANT

An applicant is someone who applies for a job.

ATS

ATS, or Applicant Tracking System, is a technology solution that allows companies to keep track of candidates and their application information. An ATS usually automates some aspects of the recruiting process and allows for keyword searches within candidate applications. The ATS can also be used to gather key recruiting metrics.

BLIND SCREENING

Key candidate information such as name and gender are eliminated as applications are screened.

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

The candidate experience refers to the range of touchpoints a candidate makes during the evaluation process. It includes filling out the application, receiving communication about the role, screening, interviewing, and extending of the offer.

CANDIDATE PIPELINE

A candidate pipeline is a database of qualified candidates for positions that your company typically fills.

CANDIDATE QUALITY

Candidate quality refers to the level of competence, experience, and personal traits that fit in with the position requirements and your organization’s culture.

CAREER SITE

A career website, or job website, is site where job seekers go to find open jobs. They may also find career advice, salary information, company reviews, and other useful information that supports their job search.

CLOSE THE LOOP

Closing the loop refers to ending a discussion. In recruiting, it often means informing candidates of the outcome of a hiring process when they did not get hired for the position.

CULTURE ADD

Culture add considers a candidate’s contribution to the organizational culture. This way of thinking about hiring focuses on building diversity within an organization to foster innovation.

CULTURAL FIT

Cultural fit refers to a candidate or employee’s alignment with the organizational culture and processes in terms of beliefs, work expectations, and values.

DEBRIEF

A debrief is a meeting at the end of a completed project. In recruiting, it often refers to a meeting of interviewers and the hiring manager at the end of an interview process to discuss the merits of each candidate.

EMPLOYER BRAND

Employer branding refers to all the activities that affect a company’s reputation with job seekers. The internal employer brand consists of the ways employees perceive working at the company. The external employer brand is communicated to job seekers through word of mouth, the careers website, social media, and employment sites like Glassdoor.

EMPLOYEE REFERRAL

An employee referral occurs when candidates in existing employees’ social networks apply for open roles at your company. The referring employee usually receives compensation if the candidate is hired.

HIRING POOL

The hiring pool, or applicant pool, is the total number of applicants for a given position.

INFORMED CANDIDATE

An informed candidate is one who has researched the position and your company through research. Research can include reviewing company reports, news articles, and employer reviews as well as informal networking conversations.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

The interview process, or hiring process, is the progression of steps for screening and interviewing candidates until an offer is made.

JOB BOARD

A job board is a career website on which employers or recruiting firms place ads for their open roles.

LATERAL HIRING

A lateral hire occurs when a candidate is hired who was at the same level of experience and responsibilities in his or her previous organization.

MOBILE STRATEGY

Mobile strategy refers to the collection of activities that target candidates on mobile devices. It ensures that candidates are able to easily find jobs, learn about your company, apply, and communicate through the hiring process from a smartphone. It may also include a mobile-optimized component for recruiters, hiring managers, and interviewers.

NON-COMPETE

A non-compete (on non-competition) agreement is a legal provision in which an employer requests that an employee not work for a competing company for a specified period of time upon leaving the company. Non-compete agreements are not enforceable in some states.

ONBOARDING

Onboarding is the process of welcoming and integrating a new employee into the organization. It includes collecting relevant paperwork, orienting the employee to the workplace, and usually includes training on the company’s products as well as work processes with the goal of making the employee productive as quickly as possible.

PASSIVE CANDIDATE

A passive candidate is one who is employed and not looking for new work.

POACHING

Poaching occurs when an employer hires an employee directly from a competitor.

PURPLE SQUIRREL

A purple squirrel is a term used to describe a candidate who precisely matches all of the employer’s job requirements. Because purple squirrels don’t exist in real life, it is generally considered to be an unobtainable request.

RECRUITING FUNNEL

The recruiting funnel is a term used to describe all the aspects of the hiring process. It includes candidate awareness, consideration, application, interviewing, and making the hire.

RECRUITMENT MARKETING

Recruitment marketing is a term to describe all activities and communications (such as advertising and social media) that an organization uses to attract talent to its workforce.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS OUTSOURCING (RPO)

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is when a company hires an external firm to act like its own recruiting department. This differs from traditional external hiring firms in that the RPO firm takes responsibility for the entire recruiting process and may assume the identity and recruiting technologies of the client.

RECRUITMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (RMS)

A recruitment management system is a software solution that automates and manages all the aspects of recruiting, including attracting, identifying, assessing, and hiring candidates.

REFERRAL INCENTIVE

A referral incentive is a money paid to an employee who refers a candidate. The employee is usually paid after the candidate has been hired and employed for a specified length of time. Some employers provide smaller incentives for the referral itself, regardless of whether the candidate is hired.

REQ

Req can be short for “requirement,” “request,” or “requisition.” A job req often refers to “requisition,” or a document that specifies the need for a hire. It usually includes the title, position responsibilities, and budget required.

SCREENING

Candidate screening involves all the activities prior to inviting a candidate in for a formal interview. Screening includes reviewing resumes, conducting phone or video interviews, and may include a test or assessment.

SOCIAL RECRUITING

Social recruiting entails using social networks to find and attract candidates. Recruiters may engage in such activities as posting job ads and employer brand content on social networks, and engaging in groups on social websites.

SOURCING

Sourcing refers to the proactive activities related to finding qualified candidates for a current or future open position. These activities may include online searches, social media outreach, contacting universities, alumni associations and professional associations, as well as attending industry conferences and recruiting events.

TALENT ACQUISITION

Talent acquisition takes a strategic approach to recruiting in order to meet evolving business needs. The talent acquisition department works with business leaders to strategize and execute optimal processes for sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding.

TALENT ANALYTICS

Talent analytics helps companies and talent acquisition professionals use data wisely to improve their recruiting strategies. Talent analytics intelligence and insight can lead to more accurate hiring projections, investment in more profitable recruitment channels, and putting the right employees in the right jobs.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Talent management is the overarching approach to strategically attracting, hiring, and retaining employees with long-term business goals in mind.



-Credit Glassdoor.com

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