Recruitment & HR Glossary
Hiring and recruitment come with industry-specific terms that can be confusing. Our glossary breaks down key terminology used in talent acquisition, ATS, sourcing, and hiring analytics, making it easier to navigate the world of recruitment.
The Hiring Glossary is your go-to resource for understanding key recruitment terms and concepts. Whether you’re a founder, recruiter, or hiring manager, this glossary simplifies complex hiring jargon, helping you navigate the hiring process with confidence. From applicant tracking systems to structured interviews, we break down essential terms so you can make informed hiring decisions, without the confusion.
Glossary of Key Terms
A
- Active Candidate: A job seeker actively looking for new employment opportunities.
- Advanced Search: An ATS feature that allows recruiters to filter candidates using Boolean search, keyword matching, and specific filters.
- Applicant Data Protection: The process of ensuring that candidate information is stored, processed, and shared securely.
- Applicant Pool: A collection of all candidates who have applied for a specific job opening.
- Applicant Tracking System (ATS): A recruitment software that helps organizations automate and streamline the hiring process.
- Automated Interview Scheduling: An ATS feature that syncs with calendars and allows recruiters and candidates to book interview slots without back-and-forth emails.
B
- Background Check Compliance: Ensuring that pre-employment background screenings are conducted lawfully, following local and international regulations.
- Boolean Search: A search method used in an ATS that allows recruiters to combine keywords with operators like AND, OR, and NOT to refine candidate searches.
- Bulk Import: A feature that allows recruiters to upload multiple resumes or candidate profiles into the ATS at once.
C
- Candidate Communication: The process of engaging with job applicants via email, text, or ATS notifications throughout the hiring process.
- Candidate Consent: The explicit permission a candidate gives before their personal data is collected, stored, or processed.
- Candidate Database: A centralized system where recruiters store and organize candidate information, including resumes, job application history, interview feedback, and communication logs.
- Candidate Engagement: How companies interact with candidates to keep them interested and involved in the hiring process.
- Candidate Pipeline: A structured system of sourcing, tracking, and nurturing potential candidates for current and future job openings.
- Candidate Profile: A digital record in an ATS that contains a candidate’s resume, application history, interview status, and recruiter feedback.
- Candidate Relationship Management (CRM): A recruitment strategy focused on engaging and maintaining positive relationships with candidates.
- Candidate Status Tracking: A function that displays where each candidate is in the hiring process—applied, interviewed, shortlisted, rejected, or hired.
- Compliance Audit: A periodic review of an organization’s hiring and data handling processes to ensure they meet legal and industry standards.
- Confidential Hiring: A recruitment process where a job opening or candidate details are kept private.
- Custom Workflow: A feature in an ATS that lets recruiters create and modify hiring stages to fit their recruitment process.
D
- Data Privacy Compliance: The practice of following legal guidelines for storing, processing, and sharing candidate data.
- Diversity Hiring Compliance: Ensuring that hiring practices promote equal opportunities for all candidates, regardless of race, gender, disability, or other protected characteristics.
E
- Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): A legal framework that ensures fair hiring practices, preventing discrimination based on race, gender, age, or other protected categories.
- Employment Verification: The process of confirming a candidate’s work history, education, and legal eligibility to work.
F
- Fair Hiring Practices: Recruitment policies that ensure candidates are evaluated based on merit, without bias or discrimination.
G
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): A European Union law that regulates data privacy and security, requiring businesses to protect candidate data.
H
- Headhunting: A proactive recruitment method where recruiters directly approach highly skilled professionals to offer them a new job opportunity.
- HR Compliance: Ensuring that hiring, payroll, and workplace policies adhere to labor laws and corporate regulations.
I
- Interview Coordination: The process of managing interview logistics, including scheduling, interviewer availability, and follow-ups.
- Interview Experience: The candidate’s overall perception of the company’s hiring process, from initial outreach to final decision.
- Interview Panel: A group of interviewers evaluating a candidate collectively during an interview process.
- Interview Scheduling: An ATS feature that automates interview scheduling by integrating with calendars and sending invites to candidates and hiring managers.
- Interview Scorecard: A structured system used to rate candidates based on predefined criteria during interviews.
J
- Job Board Integration: A feature that allows recruiters to post job openings to multiple job boards from within the ATS.
- Job Distribution: A feature that allows recruiters to post job openings across multiple platforms with one click.
- Job Posting Management: A system within an ATS that allows recruiters to create, edit, and track job postings in one place.
K
- Keyword Matching: A feature in an ATS that automatically scans and ranks resumes based on job description keywords.
- Keyword Search: A function within an ATS that lets recruiters find resumes using specific keywords.
N
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): A legally binding contract that prevents employees or candidates from disclosing confidential company information.
O
- Offer Compliance: Ensuring that job offers align with company policies and labor laws, including salary transparency and benefits disclosure.
P
- Parsing Engine: A technology in ATS that extracts key information from resumes and structures it into a searchable format.
- Passive Candidate: A professional who is not actively looking for a job but may be open to new opportunities if approached by a recruiter.
- Pipeline Recruiting: A hiring strategy where recruiters maintain a steady flow of pre-qualified candidates for future job openings.
R
- Resume Parsing: An ATS feature that automatically extracts details from resumes and organizes them into structured data fields.
- Resume Ranking: A system that scores and ranks resumes based on how closely they match a job description.
S
- Self-Scheduling Interviews: A feature where candidates choose their preferred interview slots from available time slots in an ATS.
- Sourcing Tools: ATS-integrated features that help recruiters find and attract candidates from job boards, LinkedIn, and internal databases.
- Status Tracking: A function that allows recruiters to track where each candidate stands in the hiring process.
- Structured Interviews: A hiring approach where interviewers ask each candidate the same predefined questions to ensure a fair evaluation.
T
- Talent Acquisition: The strategic process of identifying, attracting, and hiring top talent to meet organizational needs.
- Talent CRM (Candidate Relationship Management): A system within an ATS that helps recruiters build and maintain long-term relationships with candidates.
- Talent Data Protection: Policies and technologies used to safeguard candidate and employee data from breaches and unauthorized access.
- Talent Pool: A database of candidates who have expressed interest in working for an organization or have been previously considered for roles.
- Talent Pool Management: An ATS feature that allows recruiters to store and manage a database of potential candidates for future job openings.
- Two-Way Calendar Sync: An ATS feature that integrates with recruiters’ and candidates’ calendars to automatically update interview schedules.