Recruiting and HR Tech Glossary: 207 Terms in Plain English

Sending two versions of a subject line or message to similar groups to see which gets more replies. Change one thing at a time.

Compare outreach tools

Related: Reply rate

Picking a short list of high value target accounts and running tailored outreach to several people at each one, instead of mass emailing a broad list.

Compare lead generation toolsHow agency recruiters use AI to win clients

Related: Ideal customer profile (ICP), Buyer persona

When a neutral looking hiring step selects a protected group at a much lower rate than others. It can be unlawful even without intent.

Compare HR compliance toolsWhat is an AI bias audit?

Related: Four fifths rule, Bias audit

A saved set of instructions an AI agent can reuse, such as “build a Monday list of companies hiring in my niche”. Saving a task that worked as a skill keeps results consistent from week to week.

Turn a Grok Bot task into a routine

Related: Scheduled task, AI agent

Calling an ordinary chatbot, script or workflow an “AI agent” to sound more advanced. Ask a vendor what the tool does without a person clicking each step.

What can AI recruiting agents do?How to evaluate AI recruiting tools

Related: AI agent

Describes software that plans and takes actions itself rather than only answering questions. A tool is agentic when it can use other apps, keep going over many steps and recover when a step fails.

Compare AI agents for recruitingWhat can AI recruiting agents do?

Related: AI agent, Computer use

AI that works toward a goal on its own across several steps and tools, for example sourcing a shortlist, checking the ATS and drafting outreach. Good agents stop for your approval before they contact anyone.

Compare AI agents for recruitingWhat can AI recruiting agents do?AI agents directory

Related: Agentic AI, Human in the loop, Agent washing

A tool that claims to tell whether text was written by AI. They are unreliable and wrongly flag non native English writers, so do not base hiring decisions on them.

Can you tell if a resume was written by AI?

Related: Auto apply bot

An AI that runs an early round interview by voice, video or chat, asks set questions and hands the recruiter a transcript and summary.

Compare AI interviewing toolsWhat is an AI interviewer?

Related: Voice agent, Structured interview

A tool that joins or records a call, transcribes it and writes a summary or draft scorecard. Tell candidates and get consent where the law requires it.

Compare AI note takersWhat does an AI note taker do?

Related: Interview scorecard

A workspace in ChatGPT, Claude or Grok that keeps a job's brief, files and instructions together so every new chat starts with the right context.

Projects for your recruiting desk

Related: System prompt, Context window

Software that reads applications and sorts or scores them against a job's requirements. It saves time on high volume roles but carries bias and legal risk, so a person should review the results.

Compare AI screening toolsWhat is AI resume screening?

Related: Resume parsing, Algorithmic bias, Automated employment decision tool (AEDT)

Using AI to find and rank candidates from a plain English brief instead of hand built searches. It searches public profiles and your own database by meaning.

Compare AI sourcing toolsWhat is AI sourcing?

Related: Semantic search, Sourcing, Candidate rediscovery

An AI agent that works on its own cloud computer, signs into your apps and keeps going after you close the laptop. Grok Bot is an example.

Compare AI agents for recruitingWhat is an AI teammate like Grok Bot?Grok Bot tutorials

Related: AI agent, Computer use

When an AI system treats groups of people unfairly, usually because it learned from biased past decisions or uses data that stands in for a protected trait, such as a zip code.

How bias gets into AI hiring tools

Related: Bias audit, Adverse impact, Training data

Software that stores job openings and applicants and moves them through hiring stages, from application to offer. It is the system of record for most recruiting teams.

Compare ATS softwareATS compatibility checker

Related: Recruiting CRM, Resume parsing, Requisition

A doorway that lets one piece of software talk to another. If a recruiting tool has an API, a developer or an automation tool can move data in and out of it.

How AI connects to recruiting tools

Related: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Integration

Software that does tasks that used to need human judgment, such as reading resumes, writing messages or answering questions. In recruiting it mostly means tools that read, write, rank and predict.

What is AI in recruiting?

Related: Machine learning, Generative AI

A tool candidates use to send job applications in bulk, often without reading the ad. It is a main reason for floods of weak applications on popular postings.

When auto apply bots flood your job posts

Related: Knockout question, Candidate fraud

New York City's legal term for software that substantially helps decide who is hired or promoted. Using one requires a yearly bias audit, a public summary and notice to candidates.

Compare HR compliance toolsAI hiring law checker

Related: Bias audit, Candidate AI notice

A company that sells business contact and company data, such as names, titles, emails and phone numbers, usually as a searchable database with credits.

Compare contact data toolsCompare lead generation tools

Related: Contact data enrichment, Lead list

A check of a candidate's records, such as criminal history, employment, education or driving record, done before or after an offer. In the US it falls under the FCRA.

Compare background check tools

Related: Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Reference check

Managing employee benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans, including enrollment and changes.

Compare benefits administration tools

Related: Professional employer organization (PEO)

An independent test of whether a hiring tool selects one group at a lower rate than another. New York City requires one each year for covered tools.

Compare HR compliance toolsWhat is an AI bias audit?

Related: Four fifths rule, Automated employment decision tool (AEDT), Algorithmic bias

The hourly rate an agency charges the client for a contract worker.

Related: Pay rate, Markup, Spread

Searching with AND, OR, NOT, quotes and brackets to combine titles and skills precisely. It works on LinkedIn, job boards, ATS search and Google.

Compare sourcing toolsBoolean search string builderSemantic search vs Boolean search

Related: X ray search, Semantic search

The share of emails returned as undeliverable. A high bounce rate tells inbox providers you send to bad lists.

Compare email verification tools

Related: Email verification, Email deliverability

An agency's work to win new clients and job orders, from research and outreach to sales calls.

Compare lead generation toolsHow agency recruiters use AI to win clientsBusiness development prompts

Related: Hiring signal, Intent data

A profile of the person who makes or influences the buying decision, such as a VP of Engineering who owns technical hiring. It shapes who you contact and what you say.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Ideal customer profile (ICP)

California's privacy law. It gives job applicants and employees rights over their personal data, including the right to know what is collected.

Compare HR compliance tools

Related: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

What you ask the reader to do next, such as reply, book a call or view a profile. Cold emails work best with one small, easy ask.

Compare outreach tools

Related: Cold email, Reply rate

The US law for commercial email. Messages need honest sender details and subject lines, a physical postal address and a working way to opt out, and opt outs must be honored within 10 business days.

Compare outreach tools

Related: Unsubscribe link, Cold email

Telling candidates where AI is used in your hiring, what it looks at and how to ask for another route. Several laws require one.

Compare HR compliance toolsWhat to tell candidates about AI

Related: Automated employment decision tool (AEDT)

How candidates feel about every step of your hiring, from the job ad to the rejection email. Quick replies and clear next steps matter most.

Compare engagement toolsWhat is a recruiting chatbot?

Related: Ghosting, Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Candidates misrepresenting who they are or what they can do: invented resumes, someone else taking the interview, or deepfakes on video.

Compare candidate fraud toolsCandidate fraud and deepfakes

Related: Deepfake, Background check

Keeping in touch with candidates over time with useful, relevant messages so they think of you when they are ready to move.

Compare recruiting CRMsCandidate outreach prompts

Related: Recruiting CRM, Email sequence

Finding good candidates already sitting in your ATS or CRM, such as past finalists, before you source new ones. AI makes it practical by searching old records by meaning.

Compare recruiting CRMsHow AI rediscovers candidates

Related: Silver medalist, Talent pool

A domain set to accept mail for any address, so verifiers cannot confirm whether a specific person's address is real. Send to catch all addresses in small, careful batches.

Compare email verification tools

Related: Email verification, Hard bounce

Software that holds a conversation in text or voice. Recruiting chatbots answer candidate questions, collect details and book interviews at any hour, then hand harder questions to a person.

Compare AI screening toolsWhat is a recruiting chatbot?Chatbot vs copilot vs AI agent

Related: Copilot, AI agent, Conversational AI

Phoning prospects or candidates who are not expecting your call. Recruiters often pair it with email in a sequence.

Compare dialers

Related: Power dialer, Email sequence

An email sent to someone you have no prior relationship with, to start a business conversation. Agencies use it to win clients and recruiters use it to reach candidates. It works when it is short, relevant and sent from a well set up domain.

Compare outreach toolsCompare lead generation toolsOutreach with AI without landing in spamCold email spam word checker

Related: Email sequence, Email deliverability, CAN SPAM Act

An AI ability to operate a computer or browser the way a person does: reading the screen, clicking and typing. It lets an agent work in tools that have no API, but it needs tight approval rules.

What is an AI teammate like Grok Bot?

Related: AI teammate, Application programming interface (API)

Adding a person's email, phone number or current job to a record using outside data sources.

Compare contact data toolsWhat is contact data enrichment?

Related: Waterfall enrichment, Email finder, Email verification

How much text a model can hold in mind at once, counted in tokens. Paste in more than fits and it starts losing the earliest parts, such as the job brief at the top of a long chat.

Related: Token, AI project

Agency recruiting where the fee is paid only if the client hires the agency's candidate. Fees are usually a percentage of the hire's first year salary.

Related: Retained search, Placement fee

A contract placement with the option for the client to hire the worker permanently after a set period, often with a conversion fee.

Related: Temporary staffing, Direct hire

AI built to talk with people naturally by chat or voice. It powers recruiting chatbots, voice screening calls and AI interviewers.

Compare AI interviewing tools

Related: Chatbot, Voice agent

An AI assistant built into a tool you already use that helps while you stay in control, such as drafting an email in your ATS or summarizing a profile. It suggests; you decide and click send.

Chatbot vs copilot vs AI agent

Related: AI agent, Chatbot

Total recruiting cost, internal and external, divided by the number of hires in the same period.

Cost per hire calculator

Related: Vacancy cost, Return on investment (ROI)

An offer a candidate's current employer makes to keep them after they resign. Recruiters raise it early so the candidate decides before it happens.

Offer and closing prompts

Related: Offer letter, Fall off

An assistant mode that runs many web searches on its own and writes a cited report, useful for market maps, company research and salary checks. Read the sources it cites before you rely on it.

ChatGPT, Claude or Grok for recruiters

Related: Reasoning model, Grounding

Fake video or audio made with AI to look and sound like a real person. In hiring it shows up as candidates using a face swap or cloned voice in a video interview.

Compare candidate fraud toolsCandidate fraud and deepfake interviews

Related: Candidate fraud

A permanent placement where the candidate joins the client's payroll from day one and the agency earns a one time fee.

Related: Placement fee, Contingency recruiting

DomainKeys Identified Mail: a digital signature added to your emails so inboxes can confirm they really came from your domain and were not changed.

Compare deliverability toolsSPF, DKIM and DMARC checker

Related: SPF, DMARC

A DNS record that tells inboxes what to do with mail that fails SPF or DKIM checks, and where to send reports. Gmail and Yahoo require it for bulk senders.

Compare deliverability toolsSPF, DKIM and DMARC checker

Related: SPF, DKIM

Whether your emails land in the inbox rather than spam. It depends on domain setup, bounce and complaint rates and sending volume more than wording.

Compare deliverability toolsOutreach with AI without landing in spamSPF, DKIM and DMARC checker

Related: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, Email warmup

A tool that guesses or looks up a person's work or personal email from their name and company.

Compare contact data tools

Related: Email verification, Contact data enrichment

A planned series of outreach emails, and sometimes calls or texts, that stops when the person replies.

Compare outreach toolsCold email spam checker

Related: Candidate nurture, Spam trigger word

Checking that an email address exists and can receive mail before you send to it, which protects your bounce rate.

Compare email verification tools

Related: Bounce rate, Email deliverability

Slowly raising how much a new mailbox sends so inbox providers learn to trust it before you run outreach.

Compare deliverability tools

Related: Email deliverability

A list of numbers that captures the meaning of a piece of text, so texts with similar meaning sit close together. Embeddings let a tool match a resume to a job even when they use different words.

Semantic search vs Boolean search

Related: Semantic search, Vector database

How committed and motivated employees are, usually measured with regular surveys.

Compare engagement tools

Related: Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

A one question survey: how likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work, on a scale of 0 to 10. Promoters minus detractors gives the score.

Compare engagement tools

Related: Net Promoter Score (NPS), Employee engagement

A candidate recommended by a current employee, often for a bonus. Referrals tend to be among the fastest and best retained sources of hire.

Compare employee referral tools

Related: Source of hire

How people see a company as a place to work, shaped by its careers site, reviews, staff posts and how it treats candidates.

Compare recruitment marketing tools

Related: Candidate experience, Recruitment marketing

A provider that legally employs workers on your behalf in a country, running payroll, taxes and local compliance, so you can hire where you have no entity.

Compare EOR providers

Related: Professional employer organization (PEO), Payroll

The US agency that enforces federal laws against job discrimination. Those laws apply to hiring decisions made with AI tools as well.

Compare HR compliance toolsWhich AI hiring laws apply to you?

Related: Adverse impact, Four fifths rule

The European Union's AI law. It treats AI used to recruit, screen or evaluate candidates as high risk, with duties for both vendors and employers.

Compare HR compliance toolsAI hiring law checkerWhich AI hiring laws apply to you?

Related: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Recruiting for senior leadership roles, usually on a retained basis with deep research and confidential approaches.

Related: Retained search

Being able to say why an AI tool reached a result, such as which skills pushed a candidate up a ranking. Ask vendors for it: you may need to explain a decision to a candidate or regulator.

How to evaluate AI recruiting tools

Related: Bias audit

The US law covering background checks run through a screening company. You need written disclosure and consent first, and notice before rejecting someone because of the report.

Compare background check tools

Related: Background check

A placed candidate who backs out before starting or leaves within the guarantee period, usually meaning a refund or a free replacement.

Related: Placement fee, Counteroffer

Showing the AI a few examples of what good looks like inside the prompt, such as two outreach messages you liked, so it copies the style and structure.

How to write AI prompts for recruiting

Related: Prompt

The share of job orders or shifts an agency fills. Clients and MSPs use it to rank suppliers.

Related: Time to fill, Submittal to interview ratio

Extra training that adapts a general model to a narrow job using your own examples. Few recruiting teams need it; good prompts and grounding on your data usually get you most of the way.

Related: Foundation model, Retrieval augmented generation (RAG)

Facts about a company used to filter leads: industry, headcount, revenue, location and funding. Most B2B data tools let you search by them.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Technographics, Ideal customer profile (ICP)

The share of new hires who leave within their first year. High numbers point to problems in selection, the offer or onboarding.

Related: Quality of hire, Onboarding

The US form every employer completes to confirm a new hire's identity and right to work. E Verify is the optional online check against government records.

Compare HR compliance tools

Related: Onboarding

A large general purpose model, such as GPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini or Llama, that other products are built on. Most AI recruiting tools rent a foundation model and add their own instructions, data and screens on top.

What is a large language model?

Related: Large language model (LLM), Open weights model

A US rule of thumb: if one group's selection rate is less than 80% of the highest group's rate, that is a sign of adverse impact.

Compare HR compliance toolsWhat is an AI bias audit?

Related: Adverse impact, Bias audit

When one recruiter handles every step of a hire, from intake and sourcing through offer and start date.

Related: Talent acquisition, Intake meeting

The EU's data protection law, with a UK version. It covers candidate data and limits decisions made only by automated means.

Compare HR compliance tools

Related: EU AI Act, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

AI that creates new text, images, audio or code from a request. ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Gemini are generative AI, and so are the writing features inside most recruiting tools.

What is AI in recruiting?

Related: Large language model (LLM), Prompt

When either side goes silent without explanation, a candidate who stops replying or an employer who never sends an outcome.

Related: Candidate experience

Tying an AI's answer to a trusted source, such as your ATS records or a document you supplied, so it works from facts instead of memory. Grounded answers usually show where each claim came from.

Related: Retrieval augmented generation (RAG), Hallucination

Limits built into an AI tool or workflow to stop unwanted actions, for example blocking it from emailing candidates without approval or from using protected traits.

Keep candidate data safe with Grok Bot

Related: Human in the loop

When an AI states something false as fact, such as a candidate's past employer, a law that does not exist or a made up source. Always check names, numbers and claims before they reach a candidate or client.

What does an LLM get wrong?

Related: Grounding, Retrieval augmented generation (RAG)

A permanent delivery failure, such as an address that does not exist. Remove hard bounced addresses at once; too many damage your sender reputation.

Compare email verification tools

Related: Soft bounce, Bounce rate, Email verification

The person the new hire will report to, who usually makes the final decision. Recruiters work for the hiring manager on a search.

Related: Intake meeting

A public sign a company is about to hire, such as new funding, a burst of job posts or a new leader. Agencies use them to time outreach.

Compare lead generation toolsFind hiring companies with Grok Bot

Related: Business development, Intent data

A broad HR suite that adds recruiting, performance, learning and planning on top of an HRIS.

Compare HRIS software

Related: Human resources information system (HRIS)

A rule that a person reviews and approves an AI's work before it counts, such as a recruiter checking a shortlist before anyone is rejected. Several AI hiring laws expect it for decisions about people.

Chatbot vs copilot vs AI agent

Related: AI agent, Guardrails

The core employee database: personal details, job, pay, time off and documents. Most other HR tools connect to it.

Compare HRIS software

Related: Human capital management (HCM), Payroll

The opening line of a cold email or message that shows why you are writing to this person now. AI tools can draft them from public data, but check every claim.

Compare AI outreach tools

Related: Personalization

A description of the companies most worth selling to: industry, size, location, growth stage and the problems you solve for them. For an agency it is the type of client that hires often and pays well.

Compare lead generation toolsHow agency recruiters use AI to win clients

Related: Buyer persona, Firmographics, Lead list

Spreading outreach across several mailboxes so each one sends a small, safe daily volume.

Compare deliverability tools

Related: Sending domain, Email warmup

LinkedIn's paid direct message to people you are not connected with, included in LinkedIn Recruiter and some premium plans.

Compare LinkedIn outreach tools

Related: Passive candidate, Email sequence

The first meeting between recruiter and hiring manager to agree what the role needs, who the ideal candidate is, the pay range and the interview steps.

AI for hiring manager intakeIntake meeting prompts

Related: Requisition, Hiring manager

A built connection between two tools so data moves between them, such as a sourcing tool sending candidates into your ATS.

ATS compatibility checker

Related: Application programming interface (API), Workflow automation

Signals that a company or person is researching something, such as reading about a topic or visiting your site, used to time sales outreach.

Compare visitor ID tools

Related: Visitor identification, Hiring signal

Filling roles by moving current employees into new jobs, including promotions and lateral moves.

Compare internal mobility tools

Related: Workforce planning

Finding times that suit candidates and interviewers, sending invites and handling changes. Scheduling tools and AI assistants now do most of this automatically.

Compare scheduling toolsHow AI interview scheduling works

Related: Time to hire

A form where interviewers rate a candidate against set criteria, with evidence, before they discuss the candidate together.

Compare interviewing toolsInterview scorecards with Grok Bot

Related: Structured interview, AI note taker

How many interviews it takes to produce one offer.

Related: Submittal to interview ratio, Pipeline conversion rate

The public posting written to attract applicants. It should lead with what makes the job worth applying for and keep the must haves short.

Compare job boardsJob ad promptsWhere to post jobs

Related: Job description, Job board

A website where employers post jobs and candidates search and apply, such as Indeed or Dice. Niche boards serve one industry, skill or region.

Compare job boardsWhere to post jobs

Related: Programmatic job advertising, Job ad

The internal document that lists a role's duties, requirements and reporting line. A job ad is the shorter, persuasive version written for candidates.

Compare job description toolsWrite job descriptions with AIJob description bias checker

Related: Job ad, Pay transparency law

A client's request for an agency to fill a role, with the requirements, pay and fee terms.

Related: Submittal, Requisition

A yes or no screening question that removes applicants who miss a true requirement, such as a license or work authorization. Keep them few and lawful.

Compare AI screening toolsWhen auto apply bots flood your job posts

Related: Phone screen, Auto apply bot

The engine behind ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Gemini. It is trained on huge amounts of text and writes by predicting the next word, which is why it is fluent but can state wrong facts with confidence.

What is a large language model?

Related: Hallucination, Token, Foundation model

Finding and qualifying potential clients or buyers. For agencies it means companies that might give you job orders.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Business development, Intent data

A list of target companies and contacts built for outreach, usually filtered by your ICP and checked with email verification before it is used.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Ideal customer profile (ICP), Email verification, B2B data provider

Something useful offered free in exchange for an email address, such as a salary guide, checklist or free tool.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Marketing qualified lead (MQL)

Ranking leads by how likely they are to buy, using fit (company size, industry) and engagement (opens, replies, site visits), so the best ones get attention first.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Marketing qualified lead (MQL), Intent data

Software for delivering and tracking training courses.

Compare learning tools

Related: Onboarding

Tools that send connection requests, messages and profile visits on LinkedIn on a schedule. LinkedIn limits activity and can restrict accounts that push too hard.

Compare LinkedIn outreach tools

Related: InMail, Email sequence

A way of building AI where software learns patterns from past examples instead of following rules a person wrote. Older matching and ranking tools in recruiting are usually machine learning models trained on past hiring data.

Related: Training data, Algorithmic bias

A firm that runs a company's contingent workforce program, managing suppliers, rates and compliance, usually through a VMS.

Related: Vendor management system (VMS), Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)

A lead that has shown enough interest, such as downloading a guide or visiting pricing, to be worth passing toward sales.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Sales qualified lead (SQL), Lead scoring

How much higher the bill rate is than the pay rate, shown as a percentage. It has to cover payroll taxes, insurance and overhead as well as profit.

Related: Bill rate, Spread

A placeholder such as {first_name} that a sequencing tool fills in for each contact. An unfilled merge field in a sent email is a clear sign of automation.

Compare outreach toolsCold email spam word checker

Related: Personalization, Spintax

An open standard that lets an AI assistant connect to other software with your login, so it can read your ATS, search a database or update a CRM without a custom integration.

How AI connects to recruiting toolsMCP readiness checker

Related: Application programming interface (API), AI agent

AI that works with more than text, for example reading a scanned resume, listening to a call or watching a video interview. Most leading assistants are now multimodal.

Related: Large language model (LLM)

The branch of AI that deals with human language. Resume parsing, keyword extraction and chatbots all use it, and today most NLP runs on large language models.

Related: Resume parsing, Large language model (LLM)

A survey score built on one question: how likely are you to recommend us, from 0 to 10. Agencies run it with clients and candidates; the score is the percentage of 9s and 10s minus the percentage of 0s to 6s.

Related: Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), Candidate experience

Offers accepted divided by offers made. Low rates usually mean pay, speed or the pitch is off.

Related: Offer letter, Counteroffer

The written job offer with title, pay, start date and key terms. Agree the numbers verbally first so the letter holds no surprises.

Offer and closing prompts

Related: Counteroffer, Offer acceptance rate

Everything that gets a new hire ready and productive, from paperwork and equipment to training and introductions.

Compare onboarding tools

Related: Form I-9, Quality of hire

The share of delivered emails that were opened. It is unreliable since Apple Mail began preloading images, which counts many emails as opened that nobody read.

Compare outreach tools

Related: Reply rate, Bounce rate

A model whose trained weights are published so anyone can download and run it on their own servers, such as Meta's Llama. Companies use them when candidate data must stay inside their own systems.

Related: Foundation model

Someone who is not job hunting but might move for the right role. Most sourcing and outreach is aimed at passive candidates.

Related: Sourcing, Candidate nurture

The minimum and maximum pay for a role. Many US states now require it in job ads.

Compare compensation tools

Related: Pay transparency law, Offer letter

The hourly rate an agency pays a contract worker.

Related: Bill rate, Spread

A law requiring pay ranges in job ads or on request. Rules differ by state and city, so check where the job and the candidate are.

Compare compensation toolsWrite job descriptions with AI

Related: Pay range, Job ad

Paying employees correctly and on time, with taxes and deductions withheld and filed.

Compare payroll software

Related: Human resources information system (HRIS), Employer of record (EOR)

Using workforce data to answer questions about hiring, retention, pay and performance.

Compare people analytics toolsAnalyze recruiting data with ChatGPT, Claude and Grok

Related: Workforce planning

Setting goals, giving feedback and reviewing how people are doing.

Compare performance tools

Related: Quality of hire

Tailoring each message to the reader with something specific and true, such as a recent hire, funding round or post. One real detail beats a long merge field template.

Compare AI outreach toolsOutreach with AI without landing in spamBusiness development prompts

Related: Icebreaker, Cold email

A short first call to check interest, pay expectations, availability and basic fit before a full interview.

Screening and interview prompts

Related: Structured interview, Knockout question

The share of candidates who move from one hiring stage to the next. It shows where people drop out.

Analyze recruiting data with AI

Related: Talent pipeline, Interview to offer ratio

The fee an agency earns for a permanent hire, usually a percentage of first year salary.

Related: Direct hire, Fall off

Software that dials numbers from a list one after another so a recruiter spends time talking, not dialing.

Compare dialers

Related: Recruiting text messaging

A test of skills, ability or work style given before a hiring decision, such as a coding test or situational judgment test.

Compare assessment tools

Related: Adverse impact, Structured interview

A US firm that co employs a small company's staff to give it shared payroll, benefits and HR support.

Compare EOR providers

Related: Employer of record (EOR), Benefits administration

Software that buys and moves job ad spend across many sites automatically, putting money where clicks and applications are cheapest.

Compare recruitment marketing tools

Related: Job board, Recruitment marketing

The instruction you give an AI tool. A good recruiting prompt says who the AI should act as, the task, the material to work from, the format you want and the limits.

How to write AI prompts for recruitingRecruiting prompt library

Related: Prompt engineering, System prompt

The skill of writing and testing prompts until an AI tool gives reliable results. For recruiters it mostly means giving the model the brief, examples and rules it needs instead of a one line request.

How to write AI prompts for recruiting

Related: Prompt, Few shot prompting

How well new hires turn out, judged by performance ratings, hiring manager feedback and whether they stay.

Measure the ROI of AI in recruiting

Related: First year attrition

A change to the hiring process or job that lets a person with a disability take part, such as extra time on a test or a way to skip an AI interview.

Candidates using AI in interviews

Related: AI interviewer, Pre employment assessment

A model that works through a problem in steps before it answers. It is slower but better at multi step jobs such as comparing a shortlist against a detailed brief or checking math.

ChatGPT, Claude or Grok for recruiters

Related: Large language model (LLM), Deep research

Software for building relationships with candidates before there is a job for them: talent pools, nurture emails and campaigns. Agencies often use one in place of, or alongside, an ATS.

Compare recruiting CRMs

Related: Applicant tracking system (ATS), Talent pool, Candidate nurture

Texting candidates about jobs, interviews and next steps. In the US, automated texts need prior consent under the TCPA.

Compare texting tools

Related: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Chatbot

Using marketing methods, such as career sites, content, ads and email, to attract candidates before and after they apply.

Compare recruitment marketing tools

Related: Employer brand, Candidate nurture

When a company hands all or part of its recruiting to an outside provider that acts as its in house team.

Related: Managed service provider (MSP), Talent acquisition

Contacting people who have worked with a candidate to confirm their record and hear how they work. Automated tools now collect references by online survey.

Compare reference check toolsAI reference checks and job offers

Related: Background check

The share of contacted people who reply. It is the most honest measure of cold email performance; positive replies are better still.

Compare outreach tools

Related: Open rate, A/B test

An approved request to fill a job, usually with a budget, hiring manager and job title attached. Recruiters call it a req.

Related: Intake meeting, Time to fill

Pulling the details out of a resume, such as name, contact details, jobs and skills, into fields in your ATS so they can be searched.

Compare ATS software

Related: Applicant tracking system (ATS), Natural language processing (NLP)

Recruiting where the client pays part of the fee up front to engage a firm exclusively, common for executive roles.

Related: Contingency recruiting, Executive search

A method where the tool first searches your documents or database for relevant material, then hands it to the model to write the answer. It is how an assistant can answer questions about your own candidates or policies.

Related: Embedding, Vector database, Grounding

What a tool or program returns compared with what it costs. For recruiting software it is usually the value of hours saved plus extra hires, against the subscription.

Recruiting software ROI calculatorMeasure the ROI of AI in recruiting

Related: Cost per hire

A lead that sales has checked and confirmed has a real need, budget and timing, ready for a sales conversation.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Marketing qualified lead (MQL)

A prompt or agent job set to run on a timer, such as a Friday market summary. ChatGPT, Claude and Grok all offer them in some plans.

Compare workflow automation toolsScheduled tasks in ChatGPT, Claude and GrokRecruiting automation recipes

Related: Agent skill, Workflow automation

Search that matches meaning instead of exact words, so “people who built payment systems” finds engineers who never wrote that phrase. Most AI sourcing tools work this way.

Compare AI sourcing toolsSemantic search vs Boolean search

Related: Boolean search, Embedding

How much inbox providers trust your domain and mailboxes, built from bounces, spam complaints, replies and authentication. Low reputation sends you to spam.

Compare deliverability toolsSPF, DKIM and DMARC checker

Related: Spam complaint rate, Bounce rate, Sending domain

The domain your outreach comes from. Many teams send cold email from a separate domain, such as getcompany.com, to protect the main company domain's reputation.

Compare deliverability toolsSPF, DKIM and DMARC checker

Related: Sender reputation, Inbox rotation, Email warmup

A strong runner up who did not get the job. Silver medalists are often the fastest hires for the next similar opening.

How AI rediscovers candidates

Related: Candidate rediscovery

A temporary delivery failure, such as a full inbox or a server that is down. The message may go through on a later try.

Compare email verification tools

Related: Hard bounce, Bounce rate

Where hired candidates came from, such as a job board, referral, sourcing or an agency. It shows where to spend.

Related: Employee referral, Job board

Finding people who could fit a role, especially those who have not applied, by searching profiles, databases and networks.

Compare sourcing toolsBoolean search builder

Related: Boolean search, AI sourcing, Passive candidate

The share of recipients who mark your email as spam. Google asks bulk senders to stay under 0.3%, and ideally under 0.1%.

Compare deliverability toolsOutreach with AI without landing in spam

Related: Sender reputation, Unsubscribe link

A word or phrase that can make filters or readers treat an email as spam, such as heavy sales language or fake urgency.

Compare outreach toolsCold email spam word checker

Related: Email deliverability

Sender Policy Framework: a DNS record listing the servers allowed to send email for your domain.

Compare deliverability toolsSPF, DKIM and DMARC checker

Related: DKIM, DMARC

A template format that rotates word choices, such as {Hi|Hello}, so each email reads a little differently. It helps a bit with filters but does not replace real personalization.

Compare outreach tools

Related: Merge field, Email deliverability

A placement where two agencies share the fee, one bringing the job and the other the candidate.

Related: Placement fee

The bill rate minus the pay rate per hour: the agency's gross margin in dollars before burden costs.

Related: Markup, Bill rate

A firm that finds workers for client companies, either to place them permanently or to employ them and bill the client for temporary or contract work.

Staffing agency directory

Related: Temporary staffing, Direct hire, Contingency recruiting

An interview where every candidate gets the same job related questions and is scored on the same scale. It is fairer and predicts job performance better than a free flowing chat.

Compare interviewing tools

Related: Interview scorecard, Phone screen

A candidate an agency sends to a client for a job order, usually with a short write up of why they fit.

Screening and interview prompts

Related: Submittal to interview ratio, Job order

How many submitted candidates it takes to win one client interview. A key quality measure for agency recruiters.

Related: Submittal, Interview to offer ratio

Standing instructions that sit behind every chat, set by you or by the tool's maker. In ChatGPT, Claude and Grok you set your own as custom instructions or project instructions.

AI instructions builder

Related: Prompt, AI project

The full function of finding and hiring people, including employer brand, sourcing, recruiting and workforce planning. Often used as the name for an in house recruiting team.

Related: Full cycle recruiting

The candidates moving through stages toward a hire, or lined up for roles you expect to open.

Related: Talent pool, Pipeline conversion rate

A group of candidates saved for future roles, such as past finalists or people with a skill you hire often.

Compare recruiting CRMs

Related: Candidate rediscovery, Talent pipeline

Data on which software a company uses, such as its ATS or CRM. Vendors use it to find companies on a rival product; agencies use it to spot fast growing tech teams.

Compare lead generation tools

Related: Firmographics, Intent data

The US law on automated calls and texts. Recruiters need prior consent before sending automated texts to candidates.

Compare texting tools

Related: Recruiting text messaging

A setting that controls how predictable an AI's output is. Low temperature gives steadier, repeatable answers; high temperature gives more varied writing. Most chat apps set it for you.

Related: Large language model (LLM)

Workers employed by the agency and placed at a client for a set period. The client pays the agency an hourly bill rate.

Related: Bill rate, Contract to hire

Tracking hours worked, breaks and overtime, usually feeding payroll.

Compare time and attendance tools

Related: Payroll, Workforce management

Days from opening a requisition to an accepted offer. It measures how long a seat sits empty.

Desk metrics prompts

Related: Time to hire, Vacancy cost

Days from a candidate entering your process to accepting the offer. It measures how fast you move once you find someone.

Related: Time to fill, Interview scheduling

The unit an AI model reads and writes in. A token is a word or part of a word, roughly three quarters of an English word on average. Usage limits and API prices are counted in tokens.

What is a large language model?

Related: Context window

The examples a model learned from. If past hiring decisions in that data were unfair, the model can repeat the pattern, which is why buyers ask vendors what their models were trained on.

How bias gets into AI hiring tools

Related: Algorithmic bias, Machine learning

A link or line that lets the reader stop future emails. It is required for commercial email in the US, and Gmail and Yahoo expect a one click version from bulk senders.

Compare outreach tools

Related: CAN SPAM Act, Spam complaint rate

What an empty seat costs each day in lost output or revenue. It is often bigger than the cost of filling it.

Cost per hire calculator

Related: Time to fill, Cost per hire

A database that stores embeddings and finds the closest matches fast. AI sourcing and candidate rediscovery tools use one to search millions of profiles by meaning.

Related: Embedding, Candidate rediscovery

Software large clients use to release contract job orders to agencies, collect submittals and handle timesheets and invoices.

Related: Managed service provider (MSP), Submittal

Tools that reveal which companies, and sometimes which people, visited your website, so you can follow up.

Compare visitor ID tools

Related: Intent data, Lead generation

An AI that speaks and listens on a phone or video call, for example to run a screening call or confirm interview times. Check the consent and recording rules where your candidates live before you use one.

Compare AI interviewing toolsWhat is an AI interviewer?

Related: AI interviewer, Conversational AI

A US worker on an employer's payroll with taxes withheld. Agency temps are usually W2 employees of the agency.

Related: 1099 contractor, Temporary staffing

Checking several data providers in order until one returns a valid email or phone, which finds more contacts than any single source.

Compare contact data toolsWhat is contact data enrichment?

Related: Contact data enrichment

Connecting apps so routine steps happen on their own, such as moving a candidate, sending a reminder or updating the CRM.

Compare workflow automation toolsHow to automate a recruiting workflow

Related: Integration, Scheduled task

Scheduling shift based staff to match demand and tracking their time, common in retail, healthcare and logistics.

Compare workforce management tools

Related: Time and attendance

Working out how many people with which skills you will need, and when, so hiring starts before the gap hurts.

Compare workforce planning tools

Related: People analytics, Internal mobility

Using Google's site: operator to search inside another website, for example site:linkedin.com/in with job titles, to find public profiles.

Compare sourcing toolsBoolean search string builder

Related: Boolean search, Sourcing

A vendor promise that your prompts and files are not stored after the answer is returned and are not used for training. It matters when you paste candidate details into an AI tool.

What candidate data can you put into ChatGPT?

Related: Training data

A US worker paid as an independent contractor, not an employee, so no tax is withheld. Misclassifying employees as contractors carries legal risk.

Related: W2 employee, Employer of record (EOR)