HR & recruitment glossary

Adverse impact is when a hiring step rejects one protected group at a noticeably higher rate than another. It is often tested with the four-fifths rule and is a key check for any automated screening tool.

Affinity bias is the unconscious pull towards candidates who resemble the interviewer in background, interests or style. Structured questions and shared rubrics reduce it.

Agentic recruiting is a way of hiring where AI agents run multi-step work on their own, such as watching for new applicants, screening them and updating a shortlist, while humans make the decisions.

An AI interviewer is software that conducts a structured screening interview by voice or text, asks follow-ups and records answers for recruiter review.

An AI recruiting agent is an AI assigned to a specific role that handles first-round screening end to end, from picking up applications to scoring and ranking candidates.

AI resume screening is the use of AI to check CVs against role requirements, going beyond keyword matches to judge experience, skills and qualifications, with evidence for each score.

AI voice screening is a phone or browser call in which an AI asks each candidate the same role-specific questions and scores the answers to a rubric. It covers what a CV cannot show, such as spoken English, availability and how someone handles a situation.

An AI-generated application is a CV, cover letter or form answer written largely by a tool like ChatGPT. It makes applications look alike and weakens keyword-based screening.

An applicant is anyone who has submitted an application for a role. They become a candidate once they move into active consideration.

An applicant pool is all the applicants for a role or period. Its size and quality set how selective a team can be.

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software that stores job postings, applications and candidate records, and moves candidates through hiring stages. Examples include Greenhouse, Workday, Bullhorn and Workable.

Application drop-off rate is the share of people who start an application but do not finish it. Long forms and forced account creation push it up.

An assessment is any structured test of a candidate's fit for a role: skills tests, situational judgement, work samples, personality or cognitive tests.

An asynchronous interview is an interview the candidate completes on their own schedule, such as recorded video answers or an AI voice call, with no live recruiter present.

An audit trail is a complete, time-stamped record of how each candidate was assessed: questions asked, answers, scores and who made each decision. It supports fairness reviews and GDPR requests.

A background check is the verification of a candidate's identity, employment history, education and, where lawful, criminal record before an offer is confirmed.

A behavioural interview is an interview built on questions about past actions ("Tell me about a time…"), on the basis that past behaviour predicts future performance.

A behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) is a scoring scale where each level is tied to a concrete example of behaviour, so different assessors rate answers the same way.

Blind screening is the practice of hiding details such as name, age, photo or school during early screening so candidates are judged only on job-relevant evidence.

Boolean search is a sourcing technique that combines keywords with AND, OR and NOT to find matching profiles on job boards, LinkedIn or a database.

A boomerang employee is a former employee who returns to the same company. They are often faster to onboard and a strong source for frontline roles.

Bulk hiring is the practice of filling many similar roles at once, often for seasonal peaks or new sites. See also high-volume hiring.

A candidate is a person being actively considered for a role.

Candidate experience is how candidates feel about every touchpoint of a hiring process, from the job ad to the final decision. Speed, clarity and respect drive it.

Candidate ghosting is when a candidate stops responding mid-process, often because a faster employer reached them first. It is common in high-volume and hourly hiring.

The candidate journey is the sequence of stages a candidate moves through: awareness, application, screening, interview, offer and onboarding.

A candidate pipeline is the set of candidates at each stage of hiring for one or more roles. A healthy pipeline means roles can be filled without restarting the search.

A candidate rating is a score candidates give their screening or interview experience. It is used to track candidate experience over time.

Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) is the software or practice of nurturing relationships with potential candidates before and between openings, through talent pools and outreach.

A candidate scorecard is a form listing the criteria for a role and how each candidate scored against them, used to compare candidates consistently.

A competency-based interview is an interview that tests specific competencies, such as teamwork or problem-solving, with questions and scoring tied to each one.

Conversational AI is AI that understands and responds in natural language by voice or text. In hiring it powers chat and voice screeners.

Cost per hire is the total internal and external recruiting costs divided by the number of hires in a period. It is a core TA efficiency metric.

A cover letter is a short letter that accompanies a CV and explains a candidate's interest and fit. It is increasingly AI-written, so less useful as a signal.

Culture add is the practice of hiring for what a candidate brings that the team lacks, rather than for sameness. It is often used in place of culture fit to reduce bias.

Culture fit is how well a candidate's values and working style match the organisation's. It is useful when defined clearly and a bias risk when left vague.

A CV (curriculum vitae) is a document summarising a candidate's work history, education and skills. It is called a resume in the US.

CV parsing is the process of extracting structured data, such as job titles, dates, skills and qualifications, from a CV so it can be searched and screened.

A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is the contract between an employer and a vendor that processes candidate data on its behalf, setting out security, retention and use.

A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is a documented review of privacy risks before processing personal data in a new way, such as introducing an AI screening tool. It is required under UK and EU GDPR for high-risk processing.

A DBS check is a UK criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service, required for some roles such as care and education.

DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is the set of policies and practices that widen who is hired and make sure people are treated and rewarded fairly once they join.

Diversity hiring is recruiting with deliberate steps, such as wider sourcing, structured interviews and bias checks, so the workforce reflects a broad range of backgrounds.

An employee referral is a candidate recommended by a current employee, often rewarded with a referral bonus. It is usually one of the fastest, cheapest hiring sources.

Employer branding is how an organisation is seen as a place to work, shaped by its careers site, job ads, reviews and candidate experience.

An employer value proposition (EVP) is the specific mix of pay, benefits, growth, culture and purpose an employer offers in return for people's work.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is the principle and, in many countries, legal duty that hiring decisions are not based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, age, religion or disability.

The EU AI Act is an EU regulation that classes AI used to screen or rank job candidates as high-risk, requiring human oversight, transparency, risk management and record-keeping.

Evidence-based scoring is scoring where every rating links to the CV line or interview answer that supports it, so recruiters can check the reasoning.

Executive search is specialist recruitment for senior leadership roles, usually through targeted headhunting rather than job ads.

Explainable AI is AI whose outputs come with reasons a person can follow, such as which requirement was met and where. It is important for fair, defensible hiring.

First-round screening is the first filter after an application, typically a CV review and a short phone screen, deciding who moves on to interviews.

The four-fifths rule is a guideline for spotting adverse impact: if one group's selection rate is below 80% of the highest group's rate, the step needs review.

Frontline hiring is recruiting for customer-facing and operational roles, such as store, warehouse, contact-centre and hospitality staff. It is high volume, high turnover and speed-sensitive.

GDPR (UK and EU) is the data protection law governing how candidate data is collected, stored, used and deleted, including rights to access and to challenge automated decisions.

A gig worker is someone hired for short-term tasks or shifts on a freelance or platform basis rather than as an employee.

Graduate hiring is recruiting students or recent graduates into entry-level roles or structured programmes. It is also called campus or early-careers hiring.

The halo effect is the tendency to let one strong impression, such as a big-name employer or confident manner, inflate judgments of everything else about a candidate.

Headhunting is directly approaching people, usually passive candidates, for a specific role rather than waiting for applications.

High-volume hiring is recruiting large numbers of people for similar roles, often with hundreds of applicants per opening. Speed to contact and consistent screening matter most.

A hiring manager is the person who will manage the new hire and usually makes or shares the final decision.

A hiring manager intake is the kickoff meeting where recruiter and hiring manager agree the role's must-haves, nice-to-haves, interview plan and timeline.

The horn effect is the reverse of the halo effect: one negative detail drags down the overall view of a candidate.

Hourly hiring is recruiting for shift-based roles paid by the hour, where candidates often apply on mobile and accept the first reasonable offer.

Human in the loop is a setup where AI assists, for example by screening and ranking, but a person reviews the output and makes every hiring decision.

Implicit bias is a set of unconscious attitudes that shape judgments about candidates without the assessor realising.

An inbound applicant is a candidate who applies on their own, through a job ad, careers site or job board, rather than being sourced.

Internal mobility is the practice of filling roles by moving existing employees into new positions through promotion, transfer or redeployment.

An interview guide is a document that sets the questions, order, timing and scoring for an interview so every candidate gets the same process.

Interview scheduling is the process of arranging interview times between candidates and interviewers, often automated with self-booking links.

The interview-to-offer ratio is how many candidates are interviewed for each offer made. A high ratio suggests weak early screening.

A job advert is the public, candidate-facing version of a role, written to attract applicants.

A job board is a website where employers post vacancies and candidates search and apply, such as Indeed, Reed or LinkedIn Jobs.

A job description (JD) is a document that sets out a role's duties, requirements and reporting line. It is the starting point for screening criteria.

A job requisition is an internal request to open and fund a new or replacement role, usually approved before recruiting starts.

Keyword matching is basic screening that scores CVs by how many words they share with the job description. It is easy to game and blind to context.

Knockout questions are yes/no or must-have questions, such as right to work or weekend availability, that filter out applicants who cannot meet a hard requirement.

KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities) are the specific capabilities a role needs, used to build job descriptions and assessment criteria.

Lateral hiring is the practice of hiring experienced people from other organisations into roles at a similar level to their current one.

A leaderboard is a live ranking of candidates for a role by screening score, so recruiters see the strongest applicants first.

Multilingual screening is screening candidates in their preferred language, letting employers hire across regions without multilingual recruiters.

Must-have vs nice-to-have is the split of role requirements into those a candidate must meet and those that are a bonus. Getting it right prevents over-filtering.

No-show rate is the share of candidates who book an interview or start date and do not turn up.

NYC Local Law 144 is a New York City law requiring employers using automated employment decision tools to commission an annual bias audit and notify candidates.

Offer acceptance rate is the number of offers accepted divided by offers made. Low rates point to pay, speed or candidate-experience problems.

An offer letter is the formal written job offer setting out role, pay, start date and any conditions.

Onboarding is everything that gets a new hire productive and settled, from paperwork before day one to training in the first months.

Outbound sourcing is the practice of proactively finding and contacting potential candidates rather than waiting for applications.

A passive candidate is someone not actively job hunting but open to the right move. They are reached through sourcing and outreach.

A phone screen is a short call, traditionally run by a recruiter, to confirm basics such as interest, availability, pay expectations and communication before interviews.

Pre-employment screening is the set of checks run before a start date, such as right to work, references, background and qualifications.

Pre-screening questions are questions asked at or just after application to confirm basic eligibility before deeper screening.

A probation period is a set period after hiring, often three to six months, during which performance and fit are reviewed before employment is confirmed.

A psychometric test is a standardised test of ability or personality, such as numerical reasoning or situational judgement, used as part of selection.

A purple squirrel is a candidate with a rare, near-perfect mix of skills for a role. Searching for one is usually a sign the requirements need loosening.

Qualified applicant rate is the share of applicants who meet a role's must-have requirements. It shows whether job ads attract the right people.

Quality of hire is how much value a new hire adds, usually measured through performance ratings, ramp-up time, hiring-manager satisfaction and retention.

A question bank is a library of approved, role-relevant interview questions that teams reuse for consistency.

A ranked shortlist is a shortlist ordered by score, with the evidence behind each ranking, so recruiters start with the strongest candidates.

A recruitment agency is a third-party firm that finds and screens candidates for clients, usually for a fee based on the hire's salary.

A recruitment funnel is the set of stages candidates pass through, from awareness and application to screening, interview and offer, with drop-off measured at each stage.

Recruitment marketing is the practice of promoting jobs and the employer brand to attract candidates, through ads, social media, content and careers sites.

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is the practice of handing all or part of an organisation's recruiting to an external provider that acts as its in-house team.

A reference check is the process of contacting a candidate's former employers or managers to confirm their history and performance.

A right to work check is a legal check that a candidate is allowed to work in the country, such as the UK Home Office check, completed before they start.

A scoring rubric is the set of criteria and score levels used to rate every candidate's answers the same way. It is the backbone of fair, structured screening.

Screening is the process of checking applicants against a role's requirements to decide who moves forward. It can cover CVs, questions, calls and tests.

Selection rate is the share of candidates from a group who pass a hiring step. It is compared across groups to check for adverse impact.

A shortlist is the small group of candidates chosen from the wider pool to go forward to interview.

A situational judgement test (SJT) is an assessment that presents realistic work scenarios and asks how the candidate would respond.

Skills-based hiring is the practice of selecting candidates on demonstrated skills rather than degrees, job titles or years of experience.

Soft skills are interpersonal abilities such as communication, teamwork and composure. They are hard to verify on a CV and easier to hear in conversation.

Source of hire is where successful hires came from, such as job boards, referrals, agencies or the careers site. It guides where to spend budget.

Sourcing is the work of finding and engaging potential candidates through searches, databases, social media and networking.

Speed to contact is the time between a candidate applying and first hearing from the employer. Every hour of delay raises the chance they take another offer.

A structured interview is an interview where every candidate gets the same questions in the same order, scored to the same rubric. It is among the most predictive and fair selection methods.

Talent acquisition (TA) is the strategic function of finding, attracting and hiring people, including employer branding, workforce planning and pipeline building.

A talent pool is a database of potential candidates, such as past applicants, silver medallists and sourced profiles, kept for future roles.

Talent rediscovery is the practice of re-screening past applicants already in the ATS for new openings before paying to source fresh candidates.

Time to fill is the number of days from a role being opened or approved to an offer being accepted.

Time to hire is the number of days from a candidate entering the process to accepting an offer. It measures how fast the team moves once it finds someone.

A transcript is a written record of an interview or screening call, kept for review, calibration and audit.

Turnover rate is the share of employees who leave in a period. Early turnover, within 90 days, often traces back to poor screening.

Unconscious bias is any automatic, unintended preference that influences hiring judgments. It includes affinity bias and the halo and horn effects.

An unstructured interview is a free-flowing conversation with no set questions or scoring. It feels natural but predicts performance poorly and invites bias.

A vacancy is an open, unfilled position.

A video interview is an interview over video, either live or recorded in advance by the candidate.

Voice AI is AI that speaks and listens in natural conversation. In recruiting, it runs screening calls at any hour and in many languages.

A work sample test is a task that mirrors the real job, such as handling a mock customer complaint, used to see how a candidate actually performs.

Workforce planning is the process of forecasting how many people, with which skills, the business will need and when, so hiring starts early enough.

A yield ratio is the share of candidates who move from one recruiting stage to the next, such as applied to screened or interviewed to offered. It shows where the funnel leaks.

Zero-queue screening is the practice of screening every applicant the moment they apply, with no backlog waiting for a recruiter to get to them.