# Recruiting terms, in plain English.

> Plain-English definitions of agentic hiring, structured interviews, time to hire, ATS, bias audits and more than 20 other recruiting and AI hiring terms.

URL: https://scrini.ai/glossary  
Breadcrumb: Home > Recruiting glossary

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

### Agentic hiring

Hiring where AI agents carry out whole steps, such as sourcing, outreach and screening, while people make the decisions. [Learn more](https://scrini.ai/product-tour)

### 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](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/ai-phone-screening)

### 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](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/ats-integrations)

### Assessment

A task or test that shows whether a candidate can do the work, not just describe it. [Learn more](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/role-assessments)

### 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](https://scrini.ai/hiring-guides/trusted-ai-screening)

### 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](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/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](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/liveness-verify)

### Must-haves

The few requirements a candidate cannot be hired without.

### Offer acceptance rate

The share of offers made that candidates accept.

### 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](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/agency-scale)

### 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](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/candidate-ranking)

### Sourcing

Searching for and finding potential candidates before they apply. [Learn more](https://scrini.ai/capabilities/ai-candidate-sourcing)

### Structured interview

An interview where every candidate gets the same questions, scored on the same rubric. [Learn more](https://scrini.ai/hiring-guides/structured-interviews)

### Time to hire

Days from a candidate entering the process to accepting an offer. [Learn more](https://scrini.ai/hiring-guides/cut-time-to-hire)

### Time to shortlist

Hours or days from opening a role to having a ready shortlist.

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