This glossary defines the core terminology used in sales hiring and recruiting. Use it as a reference when writing job descriptions, designing your hiring process, or aligning HR and sales leadership around a shared language for building your sales team.
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Active Candidate: Someone who is actively looking for a new job and applying to open roles.
Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Software used to manage job postings, collect applications, track candidates through stages, and coordinate hiring workflows.
Background Check: Verification of a candidate’s criminal record, employment history, education, and other relevant information, where legally permissible.
Behavioral Interview: An interview style focused on past behavior, using questions like “Tell me about a time when…” to predict future performance.
Boolean Search: A sourcing technique that uses AND, OR, and NOT operators with keywords to find more targeted candidate profiles.
Campus Recruiting: Hiring programs focused on sourcing and engaging students or recent graduates from universities and colleges.
Candidate Experience: How candidates feel about your company and process based on every interaction during recruiting—from job post to final decision.
Candidate Nurturing: Staying in touch with candidates over time through updates, content, and check-ins, even when there is no immediate role open.
Candidate Pipeline: The pool of active and potential candidates who are at various stages of your hiring process for one or more roles.
Candidate Scorecard: A structured evaluation form that interviewers use to rate candidates on defined criteria, reducing bias and making hiring decisions more consistent.
Contingent Search: A recruiting arrangement where a third-party recruiter is only paid if their candidate is hired.
Cost per Hire: The total recruiting costs (ads, tools, recruiter fees, internal time, etc.) divided by the number of hires in a given period.
Culture Add: The degree to which a candidate brings new, positive perspectives and strengths that enhance the company culture.
Culture Fit: The degree to which a candidate’s values and behaviors align with the existing company culture.
Diversity Hiring: Intentional strategies to attract and hire candidates from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups.
Employer Brand: How a company is perceived as a place to work, based on reputation, employee experience, and external messaging.
Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO): A statement and practice affirming that hiring decisions are made without discrimination based on protected characteristics.
Executive Search: High-touch recruiting focused on senior or executive-level roles, often handled by specialized firms on a retained basis.
External Recruiter: A recruiter who works for an agency or firm rather than inside the hiring company.
Hiring Criteria: The specific skills, experiences, traits, and qualifications you require or prefer in a candidate for a role.
Hiring Funnel: The series of stages a candidate moves through, from sourcing and screening to interviews, offer, and hire.
Hiring Manager: The manager who owns the open role and is ultimately responsible for selecting and managing the new hire.
Inbound Candidate: A candidate who applies directly to a job posting or finds the company on their own.
Internal Recruiter: A recruiter who is an employee of the hiring company, responsible for managing internal hiring needs.
Interview Panel: A group of interviewers who meet a candidate together or in sequence to assess skills and fit.
Job Description (JD): A document that explains the purpose, responsibilities, requirements, and expectations of a specific role.
Job Posting: The external, candidate-facing version of a job description used on websites, job boards, and social platforms to attract applicants.
Job Requisition (Req): An internal request to hire for a specific role, usually including budget, justification, and role details.
Offboarding: The process and procedures followed when an employee leaves the organization, including knowledge transfer and exit steps.
Offer Letter: A written document outlining the terms of employment, including title, compensation, start date, and key conditions.
Onboarding: The process of integrating a new hire into the organization, including training, orientation, and expectations-setting.
Passive Candidate: Someone who is not actively job hunting but may be open to the right opportunity if approached.
Phone Screen: A short, early-stage interview (often by a recruiter) used to confirm basic fit, interest, and qualifications.
Probationary Period: An initial period of employment where performance and fit are evaluated before full confirmation of the role.
Recruiter: A person responsible for sourcing, screening, and coordinating candidates for open positions.
Recruitment Marketing: The use of marketing strategies and content to attract and engage potential candidates.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): When a company outsources all or part of its recruiting function to an external provider on an ongoing basis.
Reference Check: The process of speaking with a candidate’s former managers, peers, or clients to validate performance and behavior.
Screening: The initial review and filtering of candidates to determine who should move forward in the hiring process.
Sourcing: The process of identifying and reaching out to potential candidates, often through LinkedIn, networks, databases, and referrals.
Structured Interview: An interview that follows a consistent set of questions and evaluation criteria for every candidate for a given role.
Talent Pipeline: A proactive, ongoing process of identifying, engaging, and nurturing potential candidates before a role is open.
Talent Pool: A group of candidates—past applicants, referrals, and sourced profiles—that may be a good fit for current or future openings.
Time to Fill: The number of days between opening a job requisition and a candidate accepting the offer.
Time to Hire: The number of days between a candidate entering the pipeline and accepting the offer.
Video Interview: An interview conducted via video conference, common for early and mid-stage conversations with remote candidates.
Glossary of Sales Roles – https://salesfolks.com/post/glossary-of-sales-roles-job-descriptions
Sales Compensation & Metrics Glossary – https://salesfolks.com/post/sales-compensation-metrics-glossary
Sales Process & Performance Glossary – https://salesfolks.com/post/sales-process-performance-glossary
Sales Tech & Tools Glossary – https://salesfolks.com/post/sales-tech-tools-glossary