Recruitment Vocabulary Quiz
12 multiple-choice questions on recruitment and hiring vocabulary: vacancies, shortlisting, interviews, references, offers and onboarding terms. B1–B2 level.
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Recruitment Vocabulary — FAQ
Recruitment is the whole process of attracting people to apply for a job — advertising the vacancy, writing the job description and encouraging suitable people to apply. Selection is the narrower stage of choosing the best person: sifting CVs, shortlisting, interviewing and making an offer. In everyday English 'recruitment' is often used loosely for both, but strictly speaking recruitment fills the pipeline with candidates and selection picks the winner.
A CV (curriculum vitae) is a structured document summarising your education, work history, skills and achievements — usually one or two pages and broadly the same for similar applications. A cover letter is a short letter sent with the CV, tailored to one particular job, explaining why you are interested and a good fit. The CV lists the facts; the cover letter makes the argument. In British English we say 'CV', whereas Americans usually say 'résumé'.
Shortlisting is the stage where a large number of applications is reduced to a small list — the 'shortlist' — of the strongest candidates. Recruiters compare each application against the job description and person specification, then invite only the shortlisted candidates to interview. To 'be shortlisted' means you have passed this first screening and are being seriously considered for the role.
An applicant is anyone who applies by sending in an application. A candidate is a person being actively considered for the role, often once shortlisted or invited to interview (the two words overlap a great deal). A referee is different: it is someone, such as a former manager, whom you name in your application and who can confirm your character or previous work when the employer requests a reference.
Headhunting is when a company or specialist recruiter directly approaches and tries to attract a particular person — often someone already employed elsewhere — rather than waiting for them to apply. It usually targets senior or hard-to-fill roles. A person who does this is a 'headhunter', and such firms are sometimes called 'executive search' agencies. To 'be headhunted' means you were sought out and offered a role without applying.
A recruitment agency is a company that finds suitable workers on behalf of employers. The employer explains what they need; the agency advertises, searches its database, screens candidates and sends the best ones forward. Agencies may handle permanent roles or supply 'temps' (temporary staff). They are usually paid a fee by the employer, often a percentage of the new employee's salary, once a placement is made.
A conditional offer depends on certain conditions being met first — for example satisfactory references, a right-to-work or background check, proof of qualifications, or a medical. If the conditions are not met, the offer can be withdrawn. An unconditional offer has no such strings: the job is yours straight away. Most professional offers start out conditional and become unconditional once all the checks come back clear.
An assessment centre is a selection event, usually lasting half a day or a full day, where several candidates are evaluated together using a range of exercises — group tasks, presentations, role-plays, written tests, psychometric questionnaires and interviews. Employers use them to see how candidates actually perform, not just what they say in an interview. The term refers to the process and event, not necessarily a physical building.
Being invited for an interview means the employer has reviewed your application, shortlisted you, and now wants to meet you to discuss your suitability. The interview is a formal meeting where they ask about your experience, skills and motivation, and you can ask questions too. Interviews may be face-to-face, by telephone or by video call, and there may be more than one round before a decision is made.
Useful recruitment terms include: JD (job description), ATS (applicant tracking system — software that manages applications), KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities), 'pipeline' (the flow of candidates through hiring) and 'talent pool' (a group of suitable potential candidates a company keeps in touch with). You may also meet 'perm' (permanent), 'temp' (temporary), 'speculative application' (applying without an advertised vacancy) and 'shortlist' as both noun and verb.