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Glossary
Plain-language definitions for recruiting and career terminology.
A
- Achievement
- A meaningful result a candidate helped produce, such as improving a process, meeting a goal, or completing a project.
- Availability
- The dates, hours, or notice period that describe when a candidate can begin work or attend an interview.
B
- Behavioral interview
- An interview that asks for examples of past actions to understand how a candidate has handled relevant situations.
C
- Candidate experience
- How a person experiences an employer's hiring process, including communication, interviews, timing, and feedback.
- Case interview
- An interview exercise in which a candidate analyzes a business problem and explains a structured recommendation.
- Company culture
- The shared values, working habits, expectations, and behaviors that shape how people work at an organization.
- Cross-functional
- Involving people or work from more than one department, specialty, or professional function.
E
- Elevator pitch
- A short introduction that explains who a person is, what they do, and what kind of opportunity they are seeking.
G
- Ghosting
- When an employer or candidate stops responding during a hiring process without explaining the change in communication.
H
- Hiring manager
- The person responsible for filling a role and usually for managing the employee after they are hired.
I
- Impact
- The meaningful effect of a candidate's work on a team, customer, process, revenue, quality, or other outcome.
- Interview follow-up
- A timely message or action after an interview that confirms interest, answers a remaining question, or provides requested information.
- Interview panel
- A group of interviewers who evaluate a candidate together during one stage of the hiring process.
L
- Leadership
- The ability to guide people, decisions, or work toward a goal, with or without a formal management title.
M
- Metrics
- Measurable results, such as revenue, time saved, error reduction, or people served, used to show the scale of work.
P
- Phone screen
- A brief early interview, often by phone or video, used to confirm basic qualifications and interest before later stages.
Q
- Quantifiable achievement
- A work result supported by a number, percentage, amount, time period, or other concrete measure.
R
- Recruiter
- A hiring professional who identifies, contacts, screens, and guides candidates through an employer's recruitment process.
S
- STAR method
- A way to structure an example by explaining the Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
- Salary expectations
- The compensation range or amount a candidate expects for a role, based on the position, location, and experience required.
- Salary range
- The minimum and maximum compensation an employer has budgeted or a candidate is considering for a role.
- Screening interview
- An early conversation used to confirm basic qualifications, interest, availability, and salary expectations.
- Skills assessment
- A test, exercise, or structured evaluation used to measure a candidate's ability in a specific skill area.
- Soft skill
- A transferable behavior or interpersonal ability, such as communication, collaboration, or adaptability.
- Stakeholder
- A person or group affected by a project, decision, or outcome, such as a customer, colleague, manager, or partner.
T
- Technical interview
- An interview that assesses job-specific knowledge or problem solving through questions, exercises, or demonstrations.
- Thank-you note
- A brief message sent after an interview to thank the interviewer, reinforce relevant interest, and clarify any useful point.
U
- Unstructured interview
- An interview that uses a flexible conversation rather than asking every candidate the same planned questions.
V
- Video interview
- An interview conducted through video-conferencing software, either live or through recorded responses to employer questions.
W
- Work sample
- An example of completed work or a practical task used to show how a candidate applies relevant skills.