A
Ability tests / Aptitude tests - A standardised assessment to measure candidates’ cognitive abilities. This can include numerical, verbal or abstract reasoning, helping predict job performance.
Assessment centre - A method that uses multiple exercises and activities to evaluate a candidate's suitability for a role.
Active candidate - A job seeker actively looking for a new role. They can be either employed or unemployed.
Attrition - When employees leave a company and are not immediately replaced with a new candidate, reducing overall headcount.
Applicant tracking system (ATS) - Software used by recruiters to manage applications and track candidate information.
Applicant funnel - The process of narrowing applicants from many to a smaller, qualified pool.
B
Background check - Verifying a candidate’s employment history, education and criminal record before hiring them.
Benefits - Incentives and rewards other than salary, often including pensions, healthcare, or the right to take leave.
Bespoke assessments - Custom assessments tailored to a company’s specific recruitment needs.
Blue collar worker - These are employees who perform manual labour, often in industries such as warehousing, manufacturing, or logistics.
Blind hiring - Recruitment that removes personal details to avoid prejudice when recruiting.
C
Candidate sourcing - Actively seeking out future candidates for vacant jobs.
Candidate experience - An impression a candidate forms of an employer throughout the recruitment process.
Confidentiality agreement - A legal documentation intended to make sensitive data unavailable.
Cost per hire - The average expense incurred to hire a new employee. This likely involves internal and external costs.
Contingency recruiting - Recruitment service where fees are only paid once a candidate is successfully placed.
Cultural fit - Alignment between values of a candidate and organisational culture.
Counter offer - An offer made to retain an employee who has resigned.
Compliance - Ensuring recruitment practices follow UK employment law and organisational policies.
Digital interview - Interviews conducted using video/online technology.
Dual posting - Posting a job on multiple platforms, either online or offline, to attract maximum candidates.
D
Data-driven recruitment - Using data and analytics to improve hiring decisions.
Development centre - Similar to an assessment centre, but with the purpose of discovering and developing talent.
Direct hire - Recruiting permanent employees directly for an organisation.
Diversity and inclusion - Creating a workplace that values and respects employees from different backgrounds.
E
Employer branding - Promoting a company as an attractive place to work to attract talent.
Employee turnover - The rate at which employees leave an organisation over a given period of time.
Employee value proposition (EVP) - The balance between rewards and benefits given to the employee for skills and performance.
Exit interview - A discussion with leaving employees to gather feedback.
F
Fixed-term contract - Employment for a specific period, often for projects or absence cover.
Furlough - Temporary leave from work, often due to economic conditions, with a possibility of returning.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) - A unit representing a full-time workload for comparison purposes.
Flexi time - Flexible working hours within agreed guidelines.
G
Ghosting - When a candidate or recruiter stops communication unexpectedly.
Glass ceiling - Invisible barriers preventing career progression.
Gig economy - A labour market dominated by short-term or freelance jobs.
H
Hard skills - Measurable skills acquired through training or experience, e.g. IT, Excel, or machinery operation.
Halo effect - Deciding that a candidate is competent because of one positive characteristic.
Horn effect - Deciding that a candidate is incompetent because of one negative characteristic.
Hybrid work - Combining office and remote work for flexibility.
Human resource management system (HRMS) - Technology used in managing HR functions, including recruitment.
Human capital management (HCM) - Practices for recruiting, managing and optimising an organisation’s workforce.
I
Internal mobility - Employees moving within the organisation through promotions, transfers, or even rotations.
Interview to offer ratio - The number of interviews conducted to job offers made.
In-house recruitment - Recruitment performed by a company’s own staff rather than an agency.
Internal recruitment - Filling vacancies with existing employees.
Inclusive hiring - Recruitment practices to provide equal opportunity to everyone applying.
Interim role - Temporary roles that are filled until permanent employees are hired.
J
Job analysis - Understanding the responsibilities, skills and requirements of a role.
Job board - Platforms where job vacancies are posted for job applicants.
Job description - A short summary of the duty, skill, and requirement of a job.
Job profile - Focuses on the competencies needed for a job, including soft and hard skills.
Job rotation - Moving employees through different roles to gain experience.
Job audition - Candidates performing tasks to demonstrate skills for assessment.
Job shadowing - Observing an employee to learn about a role.
Job sharing - Two or more staff sharing a full-time position.
K
Key performance indicator (KPI) - Metrics used to measure recruitment effectiveness and efficiency.
Knowledge worker - Employees using specialised knowledge to solve problems or manage processes.
Knockout questions - Screening questions to quickly eliminate unqualified candidates.
L
Lateral recruitment - Recruits from equivalent jobs in other organisations.
Layoff - Termination of employment due to economic conditions or lack of work.
Leadership development - Activities to improve leadership skills.
M
Mentorship - Guidance provided by experienced staff to less experienced employees.
Minimum wage - Legal minimum pay in the UK.
Merit increase - Increase in pay based on an individual's performance.
Mobile recruiting - Using mobile platforms to attract and communicate with candidates.
N
Networking - Forming professional relationships to locate candidates or employment.
Non-compete agreement - Contract restricting competition post-employment.
Notice period - The time between resignation or dismissal and leaving the role.
O
Onboarding - Bringing in new employees to an organisation.
Offboarding - The official process for employee exit.
Outplacement - Support services for departing employees.
Offer acceptance rate - Percentage of accepted job offers.
Outsourcing - Hiring external agencies to manage recruitment.
On-call staff - Employees available outside regular hours.
P
Personality questionnaire - An assessment to test a candidate's personality and working style.
Psychometric test - Standardised test assessing mental abilities, personality and potential.
Probation period - Trial period to test new staff's suitability for a role.
Purple squirrel - The term used to refer to a candidate who exactly meets the specification of a job.
Passive candidate - A person not actively seeking a role but open to opportunities.
Pre-employment screening - Evaluation of candidates before hiring.
Pre-boarding - Preparing and engaging candidates between offer acceptance and start date.
Q
Quality of hire - An assessment of the long-term value added by a new hire.
Quiet quitting - When employees continue to put in the minimum amount of effort to keep their jobs, but don't go the extra mile for their employer.
R
Recruitment to recruitment (rec-to-rec) - Agencies recruiting other recruitment consultants.
Recruitment agency - A business helping companies find and place candidates.
Retained search - Recruitment for senior roles, usually with upfront fees.
Reference check - Contacting existing or former employers to verify candidate background.
S
Soft skills - Non-technical skills like communication, teamwork and problem-solving.
Screening - Applications processed to verify suitability.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT) - Assessment simulating work situations to evaluate candidate decisions.
Staffing - Agency services that provide temporary or permanent staff.
Skills-based hiring - Focusing on candidates’ skills rather than experience or qualifications.
Structured interview - An interviewer asking the same structured questions to all candidates in the same order.
Semi-structured interview - Partially guided interview allowing flexibility.
Social sourcing - Sourcing and hiring candidates through social media.
Stay interview - Meeting current employees to understand retention.
Silver medallist - Strong candidate not selected but considered for future roles.
Shift differential - Extra pay for non-standard working hours.
T
Talent acquisition - Strategic approach to finding and hiring talent.
Talent marketplace - Platform matching candidates with suitable roles.
Talent pool - A database of potential candidates for current or future roles.
Talent assessment - Tests to evaluate candidates’ suitability for roles.
Time to hire - The time it takes from first contact to making the job offer.
Transferrable skills - Skills applicable across multiple roles.
Temporary worker - Employee hired for a limited period.
Talent analytics - Using data to improve recruitment outcomes.
Travel worker - Temporary employees moving between sites to fill roles.
U
Unstructured interview - Typically an informal interview with no set questions.
Upskilling - Training employees to expand competencies.
Upward mobility - Opportunities for promotion within an organisation.
W
White collar worker - Professionals in office-based roles.
Workforce planning - Analysing and forecasting staffing needs.
Workplace wellbeing - Supporting employees’ physical and mental health.
Work-life balance - Maintaining a healthy balance between professional responsibilities and personal life.
Work sample test - An assessment of actual job tasks.
Wage - The hourly or variable pay, typically for temporary or part-time roles.
V
Virtual assessment centre - Assessment centre conducted online.
Video interview - Interviews conducted via video platforms.
Virtual recruiting - Conducting recruitment fully online.
Voluntary turnover - Employees leaving by choice.
Y
Yield ratio - Evaluating effectiveness of recruitment sources.
Youth employment - Recruiting young people, including school leavers and recent graduates.
Z
Zero-hour contract - Contracts where there are no guaranteed minimum hours