What term describes the percentage of job candidates who make it to the next stage in the selection process?

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.

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 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.

Learning Outcomes

Describe effective strategies for recruiting and selecting qualified job applicants.

There are several steps in the recruitment and selection process. They include advertising for and sourcing candidates, reviewing applications, screening candidates, conducting interviews, and making an offer. HR works closely with hiring managers during the interviewing process.

Managers know more than anyone else about what a particular position involves and what kinds of skills an employee needs to do the job effectively. They may be the one to request the creation of a new position. They are very likely to be asked to help define an existing job or a new job. They, with the help of HR professionals, will describe the tasks and responsibilities of the position, as well as the qualifications required.

First, HR professionals go through a process of job analysis. They ask questions, observe workers, conduct surveys, and determine what, exactly, is required to do the job well. What qualifications will an employee need for the job? What skills are necessary? Are there physical skills or requirements?

Job analysis is a first step toward creating a job description and job specification. The job specification is a statement of employee characteristics and qualifications required for satisfactory performance of defined duties and tasks comprising a specific job or function. A job description is more than just a paragraph describing the responsibilities of the job; it’s also an important document that should contain specific information and statements. For example, a job description should state that the employer does not discriminate against potential employees based on age, race, gender, or other personal qualities. In addition, the job description should describe the level of education, experience, and knowledge required for the position. These types of statements are important for several reasons. First, they make it easier to decide whether a particular candidate is really a good match for the job. Second, they provide documentation to show why one candidate might be chosen over another. Discrimination lawsuits that go to court are very expensive, so well-crafted job descriptions can save an employer a great deal of money.

Now the HR department takes over. It’s up to them to reach out to find qualified candidates, screen possible applicants, and select individuals who meet your needs. You will then interview a small number of highly qualified individuals and choose the person who best fits your department’s needs.

Here is the process of recruitment and selection that starts once a job description has been finalized:

Advertising Openings and Recruiting Candidates

How do you find the perfect candidate for a job opening? There are several techniques. Advertising in newspapers and trade publications can be effective. Most recruiters also use online sources to find job candidates. For example, sites such as Indeed, Monster, and CareerBuilder are very popular. Employers can list jobs on these sites and can search through resumes to find potential employees.

Social sites are also a good way to seek out qualified candidates. LinkedIn is a website that allows employers and potential employees to share information about themselves. Facebook offers opportunities for employers and potential employees to find one another. Often, recruiters search these sites to find qualified candidates, and reach out to selected individuals about job openings. HR also considers candidates suggested by existing employees, talks to people who walk in to inquire about jobs, reaches out through college recruitment events and job fairs, and contacts individuals who have received certification through programs such as Udacity. Another option is to work through recruiters called “head hunters” who find individuals with the right skills and invite them to apply for a particular position.

In many cases, jobs are opened up to internal candidates before they are advertised to the wider world. When that happens, jobs are advertised through company newsletters and bulletin boards and candidates go to HR to apply for the job.

Watch the following video where Dr. Peter Cappelli of the Wharton Business School describes some of the benefits of hiring internal candidates.

Screening Applicants

Very often, people apply for jobs for which they are not fully qualified. To narrow down the applicants, HR screens applications. They look carefully at resumes, skills, and level of experience to be sure the individual really meets the criteria for the job. They also do background checks on applicants who appear promising, checking on possible criminal records or other serious issues. They may also use keyword filters to review large numbers of resumes for mention of specific skills, educational levels, or management experience. Keyword filters are necessary—but at the same time they can be a problem. Software may eliminate individuals who really are qualified for a job or include individuals who use the right keywords but don’t really have the skills they need to jump in and do the job right.

Preliminary Phone Interview

Quite a few job applicants look “good on paper,” meaning that their resumes are impressive. Once you actually speak with them, however, it may become obvious that they don’t really meet the requirements of the job. Alternatively, a moderately attractive applicant might turn out to have personal qualities and abilities that are better than they appeared on paper. Preliminary phone interviews allow the HR department to select only the most promising candidates for in-person interviews with the hiring manager and other members of the hiring team.

Face-to-Face Interview and Selection

After preliminary interviews are completed, HR can provide the hiring manager with a set of promising applicants who have the skills, credentials, and background to fit the manager’s needs. Now the hiring manager can sit down with each candidate and get to know her through a personal interview. Often, hiring managers will conduct a second interview after narrowing down their options to just a few candidates. They may also include other team members in the interviewing process and/or conduct tests to determine whether candidates have the level of technical skill they need for the job.

It takes some skill and knowledge to interview a job applicant effectively. It’s important to do the job right, though, because the costs of hiring someone are substantial, and many hires leave within one year. Some effective interviewing techniques includes the following:

Planning and preparation. Before starting an interview, it’s important for a manager to have read the applicant’s resume, prepare questions, and know what he wants to learn during the interview. It’s also helpful to set a time limit for the interview.

Understanding the job. In some cases, managers don’t have direct experience doing the job for which they’re hiring. When that happens, it’s important for the manager to talk with people who are doing the job now as well as direct supervisors and teammates. What are the most important qualities, skills, and qualifications required for the job? Are there specific situations for which the new hire should be prepared? Knowing about the job makes it easier to ask the right questions.

Connecting with the applicant. Most people are nervous at job interviews, and it’s important to set the applicant at ease so she can put her best foot forward. Instead of just saying “Don’t be nervous,” good managers spend some time chatting with the candidate and explaining the interview process.

Active listening. Managers want to learn about the candidate, so active listening is very important. Managers need to show that they’re interested by nodding, asking follow-up questions, smiling, or otherwise using body language to encourage the candidate to share more information.

The Job Offer

Once the hiring manager decides who they’d like to hire, the HR department makes an offer. Typically, a job offer includes information about salary and benefits as well as details about the job requirements. If the candidate is interested, they will need to sign a contract or otherwise accept in writing before taking the job—usually a letter or email is acceptable until the employee’s first day.

Because the process can be complicated, it’s important to have very concrete reasons for choosing one candidate over another. For example, saying “Mary fits into the team better than Sally” is likely to lead to Sally’s feeling that she has lost a popularity contest. A better option is to have a checklist of qualifications that can be shared with job candidates. If you can show Sally that Mary has stronger IT skills, more management experience, and important marketing knowledge, it will help Sally understand why Mary really is the better person for the job.