Recruiting & Staffing Glossary (100+ Must Know Terms)

Whether you’re new to the recruiting and staffing industry or a seasoned professional looking to sharpen your expertise, having a solid grasp recruiting terminology is essential. This recruiting and staffing glossary includes 100+ essential staffing industry terms used daily by recruiters, staffing professionals, hiring managers, and talent acquisition teams.

Use this recruiting glossary as your go-to resource for quick definitions, clarifications, and a deeper understanding of the language that drives the talent acquisition and staffing sectors.

• 180-Degree Recruiting – Recruiting model where one recruiter focuses exclusively on either the client side (business development and account management) or the candidate side (sourcing and candidate management), but not both.
• Acceptance Rate – Percentage of job offers accepted relative to offers extended, used to assess market alignment and candidate motivation.
• Account Manager – Client-facing role responsible for managing relationships, job orders, service delivery, and retention with staffing clients.
• Applicant Tracking System (ATS) – Software that manages the recruiting and hiring process, including job postings, resume collection, candidate communication, and application tracking.
• Assessments – Tools or evaluations used to measure candidate skills, abilities, personality traits, or job fit.
• Behavioral Interview – Interview technique focusing on past experiences and behaviors to predict future job performance.
• Bill Rate – Hourly rate charged to the client for a temporary or contract worker’s services.
• Blended Rate – Average bill rate across multiple placements or roles within an account.
• Boolean Search – Advanced search technique using operators such as AND, OR, and NOT to refine candidate searches in databases and search engines.
• Burden – Additional costs beyond base pay rate that an employer incurs for an employee, including payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and benefits. Also called “labor burden” or “burden rate.”
• Candidate Experience – Overall perception and feelings a job seeker has about an employer’s recruiting process.
• Candidate Persona – Fictional representation of the ideal candidate based on skills, experience, motivations, and characteristics.
• Compensation Package – Combination of salary, benefits, incentives, and other perks offered to an employee.
• Contingency Recruitment – Fee structure where the recruiter is paid only upon successful placement of a candidate.
• Contingent Workforce – Non-permanent workers including temporary employees, contractors, consultants, and freelancers.
• Contract Placement – Employment arrangement where an individual is hired for a temporary contract period.
• Contract Staffing – Temporary employment arrangement where workers are hired for a specific project or defined timeframe.
• Contract-to-Hire – Employment arrangement where a worker begins as a temporary employee with the potential to convert to full-time.
• Conversion Rate – Percentage of candidates who move from one stage of the recruiting process to the next.
• Cost Per Hire – Total recruiting costs divided by the number of hires made in a given period.
• Cultural Fit – Alignment between a candidate’s values, behaviors, and work style with an organization’s culture.
• Days to Fill – Average number of days from when a job requisition is opened until an offer is accepted.
• Direct Hire – Permanent placement where the candidate becomes a direct employee of the client company.
• Direct Placement Services – Recruiting services focused on filling permanent roles, with fees paid upon successful placement.
• Diversity Recruiting – Intentional efforts to attract, engage, and hire candidates from underrepresented groups.
• Employee Referral Program – System that rewards current employees for recommending qualified candidates.
• Employer Branding – Company’s reputation as an employer and the value it communicates to current and prospective employees.
• Exclusivity – Agreement granting one staffing firm sole rights to fill a role for a defined period.
• Executive Search – Specialized recruitment focused on senior-level and executive leadership positions.
• Fee Percentage – Placement fee expressed as a percentage of first-year compensation.
• Fill Rate – Percentage of job orders successfully filled within a given timeframe.
• Full Desk – Recruiting model where a single recruiter handles both sides of the placement process—developing client relationships and sourcing candidates—managing the entire cycle independently.
• Gross Margin – Difference between bill rate and pay rate, expressed as a percentage.
• Gross Profit – Revenue remaining after subtracting the direct costs of providing staffing services, calculated as the difference between bill rate and pay rate multiplied by hours worked, before deducting operating expenses.
• Headcount – Total number of people employed by a company at a given time.
• Headhunting – Proactive recruiting approach targeting specific individuals, often those currently employed.
• Human Capital Management (HCM) – Comprehensive approach to managing employees including recruiting, development, and retention.
• Hybrid Work Model – Work arrangement combining in-office and remote work.
• Inbound Recruiting – Strategy focused on attracting candidates through content, employer branding, and digital channels.
• Independent Contractor – Self-employed individual who provides services under a contract rather than as an employee.
• Interview-to-Offer Ratio – Number of interviews conducted per offer extended.
• Job Board – Online platform where employers post job openings and candidates search for opportunities.
• Job Description (JD) – Document outlining responsibilities, qualifications, and expectations for a role.
• Job Intake – Formal process of collecting role details, expectations, and success criteria before recruiting begins.
• Job Order – Formal request from a client company to a staffing agency to fill a specific position.
• Job Requisition – Internal document authorizing the recruitment process for a new or vacant position.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – Metrics used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of recruiting and staffing activities.
• Labor Market – Supply and demand dynamics for labor within a specific geography, industry, or skill set.
• Light Industrial Staffing – Placement of workers in manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and distribution roles.
• Managed Service Provider (MSP) – Third-party organization that oversees contingent labor programs and manages multiple staffing suppliers.
• Markup – Percentage added to pay rate to determine the bill rate.
• Notice Period – Time between resignation or termination notice and an employee’s last working day.
• Offer Letter – Formal written proposal outlining employment terms extended to a candidate.
• Offer Velocity – Speed between final interview and offer issuance.
• Onboarding – Process of integrating a new hire into the organization and their role.
• On-Site Staffing Programs – Dedicated staffing coordinator positioned at a client’s facility to manage high-volume contingent workforce needs, provide real-time support, and streamline the hiring process for large-scale operations.
• On-Target Earnings (OTE) – Total compensation an employee can expect when meeting performance goals.
• Outbound Recruiting – Proactive sourcing approach where recruiters directly reach out to potential candidates.
• Outplacement – Services provided to help displaced employees transition to new employment.
• Outsourced Recruiting – Use of an external provider to manage part or all of the recruiting process.
• Passive Candidate – Individual not actively seeking employment but open to new opportunities.
• Pay Rate – Hourly wage or salary paid to an employee or temporary worker.
• Payrolling – Service where a staffing firm handles payroll and employment administration for workers.
• Permanent Placement – Recruitment resulting in full-time employment with a client company.
• Placement Fee – Fee charged by a staffing agency for successfully placing a candidate.
• Pre-Employment Screening – Background checks, assessments, and verifications completed before hiring.
• Professional Employer Organization (PEO) – Company providing comprehensive HR services through a co-employment model.
• Recruitment Marketing – Use of marketing tactics to attract, engage, and nurture candidates.
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) – Service where an external provider manages all or part of a company’s recruiting function.
• Redeployment – Reassignment of a contractor to a new role after completing an assignment.
• Requisition – See Job Requisition.
• Retained Search – Executive search arrangement with fees paid in stages regardless of placement outcome.
• Retained Search Services – Premium executive recruiting service with upfront and milestone-based fees.
• Retention Rate – Percentage of employees who remain employed over a defined period.
• Screening – Initial evaluation to determine whether candidates meet basic role requirements.
• Seasonal Staffing – Temporary workforce solutions for businesses experiencing predictable fluctuations in labor needs based on seasons, holidays, or cyclical business patterns.
• Skills Gap – Difference between required job skills and available workforce capabilities.
• Skills-Based Hiring – Hiring approach focused on demonstrated skills rather than credentials alone.
• Social Recruiting – Use of social media platforms to source and engage candidates.
• Sourcing – Process of identifying and engaging potential candidates for open roles.
• Split Desk – Recruiting model where one recruiter focuses on business development and client relationships while another recruiter sources and manages candidates, dividing responsibilities between two specialists.
• Staffing Agency – Organization that supplies temporary, contract, or permanent workers to client companies.
• Statement of Work (SOW) – Formal agreement defining scope, pricing, responsibilities, and deliverables for staffing services.
• Submittal – Presentation of a candidate’s qualifications to a client for review.
• Submittal to Interview Ratio – Metric comparing candidates submitted to those selected for interviews.
• Talent Acquisition – Strategic approach to identifying, attracting, and hiring skilled workers.
• Talent Pipeline – Pool of candidates being actively engaged for current or future roles.
• Talent Pool – Database of potential candidates suitable for future hiring needs.
• Talent Scarcity – Degree to which qualified candidates are limited in a specific market.
• Temp-to-Hire / Temporary-to-Hire / Temp-to-Perm – See Contract-to-Hire.
• Temporary Staffing – Placement of workers for short-term assignments managed by a staffing firm.
• Time to Fill / Time to Hire – See Days to Fill.
• Time to First Submittal – Elapsed time between job intake and first qualified candidate submission.
• Turnover Rate – Rate at which employees leave an organization and must be replaced.
• Vendor Management System (VMS) – Software platform used to manage staffing vendors and track contingent labor.
• Video Interviewing – Use of video technology to conduct candidate interviews remotely.
• Virtual Onboarding – Remote process for integrating new hires.
• W-2 Employee – Worker classified as an employee and issued a W-2 tax form.
• Workforce Management – Approach to optimizing workforce productivity and scheduling.
• Workforce Planning – Process of forecasting and aligning staffing needs with business goals.
• Work Order – See Job Order.