Recruiting terms, in plain English.

No jargon. Just what each term means and why it matters.

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Agentic hiring: Hiring where AI agents carry out whole steps, such as sourcing, outreach and screening, while people make the decisions. Learn more about Agentic hiring
AI agent: Software that can take actions toward a goal on its own, like finding candidates or running a phone screen.
AI phone screen: A short first-round call run by an AI agent that asks set questions and records the answers. Learn more about AI phone screen
AI video interview: An interview run by an AI agent over video. A good one asks every candidate the same core questions, adapts follow-ups to their answers, tells candidates it is an AI and records a transcript a person can review.
Applicant tracking system (ATS): The system that stores applicants and tracks where each one is in the hiring process. Learn more about Applicant tracking system (ATS)
Assessment: A task or test that shows whether a candidate can do the work, not just describe it. Learn more about Assessment
Automated employment decision tool (AEDT): A legal term, used in New York City Local Law 144, for software that scores, ranks or classifies candidates to substantially assist hiring decisions. Employers using one there need a yearly bias audit and must notify candidates.

Bias audit: An independent review of whether a hiring tool selects or scores candidates at different rates across groups such as sex or race and ethnicity. Some laws require one before an automated tool is used.

Candidate experience: How the hiring process feels from the candidate's side, from first contact to offer or rejection. Learn more about Candidate experience
Candidate rediscovery: Finding strong past applicants in your own database for a new role.
Cost per hire: Total hiring spend divided by the number of hires in a period.

Drop-off rate: The share of candidates who leave the process at a given stage.

High-volume hiring: Filling many similar roles at once, often for stores, warehouses or contact centers. Learn more about High-volume hiring
Hiring manager: The person the new hire will report to and who usually makes the final call.
Human in the loop: A setup where people review and can override what an AI recommends before a decision is made. In hiring, it means recruiters and hiring managers make the final call.

Liveness check: A check that the person on a video or call is real and present, not a recording or stand-in. Learn more about Liveness check

Passive candidate: Someone not actively job hunting who might move for the right role.
Pipeline: All the candidates for a role and the stage each one is at.

Quality of hire: How well new hires perform and stay, compared with what was expected.

RPO: Recruitment process outsourcing. A company hands some or all of its hiring to an outside partner. Learn more about RPO

Scorecard: The list of criteria and ratings every candidate for a role is judged on.
Shortlist: The small group of top candidates passed to the hiring manager. Learn more about Shortlist
Sourcing: Searching for and finding potential candidates before they apply. Learn more about Sourcing
Structured interview: An interview where every candidate gets the same questions, scored on the same rubric. Learn more about Structured interview

Time to hire: Days from a candidate entering the process to accepting an offer. Learn more about Time to hire
Time to shortlist: Hours or days from opening a role to having a ready shortlist.