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Job search glossary: 151 terms in plain English

The words that come up in job postings, interviews and offers, each explained in a sentence or two. Open a term for what to do about it and, where there is one, a figure from today’s 45,510 open postings.

Applicant tracking system (ATS)
The software a company uses to publish jobs and keep track of applications. Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby and Workday are examples.
Apply on company site
The button that takes you to the employer’s own page, where you fill in the application. This site never collects applications.
Apprenticeship
A paid job with training, where you learn a trade or a profession while doing the work.
At-will employment
In most US states, either side can end the job at any time, without notice and without a reason, unless a contract says otherwise.
Background check
A check of what you said about yourself, run after an offer: past employers, degrees and sometimes a criminal record.
Base salary
The fixed pay for the job, before bonuses, commission and equity.
Behavioral interview
An interview built on questions about what you did in past situations, such as “Tell me about a time you missed a deadline”.
Benefits
What the employer gives on top of pay: health insurance, a pension, paid holidays and the like.
Bonus
Extra pay on top of salary, either fixed (a sign-on bonus) or tied to results (a yearly bonus).
Bootcamp
A short, intensive course that teaches a job skill, such as coding or design, in weeks or months.
Career change
Moving into a different kind of work, often by reusing skills from the old one.
Case interview
An interview where you work through a business problem out loud, common in consulting, product and analyst roles.
Category
The kind of work: engineering, design, sales and so on. This site works it out from the job title and the employer’s department.
Certification
A credential from a test set by a vendor or a professional body, such as a cloud or accounting certificate.
Clawback
A rule that you must pay back a bonus, often a sign-on or relocation payment, if you leave within a set time.
Closed job
A job the employer has taken down. Its page stays on this site, marked as closed, so old links keep working.
Commission
Pay tied to what you sell, usually a percentage of each deal, on top of a base salary.
Contingent offer
A job offer that becomes final only after checks pass, such as references, a background check or a work permit.
Contract
Work for a fixed period or a single project, usually paid by the hour or the day, without the benefits an employee gets.
Contract-to-hire
A job that starts as a fixed-term contract and may turn into a permanent one.
Cost of living
How much it costs to live in a place: rent, food, transport and taxes.
Cost per hire
Everything a company spends to fill one job, divided by the number of hires: ads, agency fees, tools and staff time.
Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
A raise meant to keep pay in step with rising prices, not a reward for performance.
Counteroffer
An offer from your current employer to make you stay after you resign: usually more pay or a new title.
Cover letter
A short letter sent with a resume that says why you want this particular job.
Culture fit
Whether a person suits how a team works. It is often a stand-in for “people like us”, so good employers test values, not likeness.
CV
The word many countries use for a resume; in research and teaching, a longer record of all your work and publications.
Day rate
A contractor’s price for one day of work.
Diversity statement
A paragraph in a posting about the employer’s commitment to equal opportunity, or an essay some employers ask candidates to write.
Elevator pitch
A summary of who you are and what you want, short enough to say in 30 to 60 seconds.
Employee referral bonus
Money an employer pays a staff member who recommends someone it then hires.
Employer of record
A company that legally employs a worker on behalf of another company, often in another country, handling payroll and taxes.
Employment gap
A period between two jobs that a resume does not account for.
Entry-level
A job for people at the start of a career: internships, graduate roles and junior positions.
Equity and stock options
A share in the company, or the right to buy shares later at a price fixed today. What it is worth depends on what the company turns out to be worth.
Exempt and non-exempt
In the US, exempt staff are paid a salary with no overtime; non-exempt staff must be paid extra for hours over 40 a week.
Exit interview
A conversation with HR after you resign about why you are leaving.
Exploding offer
A job offer that expires very quickly, often within a day or two, which leaves little time to compare.
Fixed-term contract
Employment for a set period, such as 12 months, with an end date in the contract.
Freelance
Working for several clients on your own account rather than as an employee.
Full-time and part-time
Full-time is usually about 40 hours a week. Part-time is fewer, often with fewer benefits.
Garden leave
A notice period in which you are still employed and paid but told not to work or come in.
Geographic pay
Pay that depends on where the employee lives, common for remote jobs at large companies.
Ghost job
A posting for a role the employer is not actively filling: an old ad left up, or one kept to collect resumes.
Ghosting
When an employer or a candidate stops answering without saying why.
Gig work
Short paid tasks or jobs found through apps or platforms, without an employment contract.
Graduate program
A structured first job for recent graduates, often moving through several teams over one or two years.
Gross and net pay
Gross pay is before tax and deductions; net pay is what reaches your account.
Hard skills
Skills that can be tested directly: a language, a program, a method or a licence.
Headcount
The number of people a team or company is allowed to employ. An “approved headcount” is a role with a budget behind it.
Headhunter
An agency recruiter who looks for candidates for a specific role, usually senior, and is paid by the employer.
Hiring committee
A group that reads the interview feedback and decides on an offer, instead of one manager alone.
Hiring freeze
A pause in new hiring, usually to save money, while the people already employed stay.
Hiring manager
The person who will be your boss and makes the final hiring decision, as opposed to the recruiter who runs the process.
Hiring system
Another name for an applicant tracking system: the software that publishes jobs and collects applications.
Home office stipend
Money from the employer for a desk, a chair or internet when you work from home.
Hourly rate
Pay for each hour worked, usual for part-time, shift and contract work.
Hybrid
Part of the week in the office and part at home.
Individual contributor (IC)
Someone who does the work themselves rather than managing people; senior ones are often called staff or principal.
Informational interview
A short conversation with someone who does a job you are curious about, to learn about the work rather than to ask for a job.
Internship
A short placement, usually paid, for students and recent graduates.
Interview loop
The set of interviews a candidate goes through for one job, often on the same day.
Interview scorecard
A form on which every interviewer rates each candidate on the same points, agreed before the interviews start.
Job alert
An email or message that tells you when a new job matching your search is posted.
Job board
A website that lists job openings from many employers.
Job description
The text of a posting: what the job is, what it asks for and what it offers.
Job hopping
Changing jobs often, for example every year or less.
Job offer
The employer’s formal proposal: title, pay, start date and terms. A verbal offer should be followed by a written one.
Job title
The name of a role, such as “Senior Data Analyst”. The same work can have different titles at different companies.
JobPosting markup
Hidden structured data on a job page that lets Google show the job in its job search, with the pay and the place.
Last checked
The date this site last saw the job on the employer’s own page.
Layoff
When an employer ends jobs for business reasons rather than because of the person’s work.
Learning budget
Money the employer gives each year for courses, books and conferences.
Level
How much experience the job asks for. Junior means little, senior means several years, and lead, staff or principal are the most experienced people in a team.
LinkedIn Easy Apply
Applying through LinkedIn with your profile instead of on the employer’s site.
Median
The middle value. Line up all the salaries from lowest to highest and take the one in the middle: half are above it and half below.
Mock interview
A practice interview with someone playing the interviewer, followed by feedback.
Moonlighting
Doing a second paid job alongside your main one.
Negotiation
Asking for better terms after an offer: more pay, equity, a sign-on bonus or a later start date.
New grad
A role meant for people who finished their degree within the last year or so.
Night shift
Work that takes place mostly between evening and morning, often paid at a higher rate.
No degree required
A posting that says outright that a university degree is not needed for the job.
Non-compete
A clause that bars you from working for a competitor for a time after you leave.
Notice period
How long you must keep working after you resign, as set by your contract or the custom where you work.
Offer deadline
The date by which an employer wants your answer to a job offer.
On-site
Work done at the employer’s office or site every day.
Onboarding
How a new employee is brought in: accounts, training, first tasks and introductions.
Open for
How many days have passed since the employer posted the job. A job open for more than 90 days is flagged.
OTE (on-target earnings)
In sales jobs, base salary plus the commission you earn if you hit your target.
Overqualified
Having much more experience than a role asks for, which some employers fear will make you leave soon.
Overtime
Hours worked beyond the normal week; in many jobs paid at a higher rate.
Panel interview
An interview with several interviewers at once, each usually asking about a different area.
Parental leave
Time off when a child is born or adopted, paid in full, in part or not at all.
Pay in lieu of notice
Pay for the notice period instead of working it, when the employer wants the person to leave at once.
Pay transparency
Laws and practices that require employers to state a pay range in the posting.
Performance review
A regular meeting, often yearly, where your manager rates your work and decides on raises and promotions.
Perk
Something the employer offers beyond pay, such as visa sponsorship or a budget for courses. This site shows a perk only when the posting mentions it.
Portfolio
A collection of your work that proves your skills: designs, code, writing or case studies.
Posting
One job advertisement, with the duties, the requirements and how to apply. Also called a listing or a job ad.
Probation period
The first weeks or months of a job, when either side can end it with short notice.
Promotion
A move to a higher level or title, usually with more pay and responsibility.
Raise
An increase in pay for the same job.
Recruiter
A person whose job is to find candidates for an employer. In-house recruiters work for the company; agency recruiters are paid a fee per hire.
Reference
A former manager or colleague who confirms your work to a new employer.
Referral
Being recommended for a job by someone who works at the company.
Relocation
The employer helps pay for your move to another city or country.
Remote
Work done from home or from anywhere outside an office. Many remote jobs are still limited to certain countries or time zones.
Remote-first
A company where working from home is the normal way of working and the office, if there is one, is optional.
Requisition (req)
The internal approval to hire for a role, with its own number in the hiring system.
Resignation letter
A short letter or email that tells your employer you are leaving and on which day.
Reskilling
Learning the skills for a different kind of work, usually to change careers.
Resume
A one- or two-page summary of your work and education. Also called a CV.
Resume keywords
The skills, tools and job titles a recruiter searches for in an applicant tracking system.
Resume summary
Two or three lines at the top of a resume that say who you are, what you are best at and what you want next.
Return offer
An offer of a permanent job made to an intern at the end of the internship.
Return to office (RTO)
An employer’s rule bringing staff who worked from home back to the office for some or all days.
RSU (restricted stock units)
Company shares promised to you as part of your pay, which become yours step by step as they vest.
Salary band
The pay range a company sets for one level of one job; everyone at that level is paid inside it.
Salary expectations
The pay you name when an employer asks what you want to earn.
Salary range
The lowest and the highest pay the employer says it may offer for the job, before tax.
Screening call
A short first call, usually with a recruiter, to check basics: interest, pay expectations, work rights and start date.
Seasonal work
A job for a few weeks or months of the year, such as the holiday season or the summer.
Severance
Pay given when an employer ends your job, often tied to years of service.
Shift differential
Extra pay per hour for working nights, weekends or holidays.
Shortlist
The few candidates chosen for interviews after a first look at all the applications.
Sign-on bonus
A one-time payment for joining, often to make up for a bonus you lose by leaving your old job.
Skill
A tool or a language that a posting mentions, such as Python or Figma.
Soft skills
Habits of working with people and tasks: communicating, setting priorities, handling change.
Sourcer
A recruiter who finds and approaches people for a job before they apply.
STAR method
A way to answer interview questions with a story: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Stipend
A fixed sum paid for a purpose, such as an internship or a home office, rather than a salary.
Take-home assignment
A task to do at home as part of an interview, such as a small project or a case study.
Talent pool
A standing invitation to send a resume, not one specific opening.
Technical interview
An interview that tests the skills of the job directly: coding, a design problem or a work sample.
Thank-you email
A short email to the people who interviewed you, sent the same day, thanking them and repeating your interest.
Time to hire
The days from a posting going up to an offer being accepted.
Timezone overlap
The hours in a day when you and your team are all working.
Total compensation
Everything a job pays in a year: base salary, bonus, equity and the value of benefits.
Transferable skills
Skills that are useful in many kinds of work: writing, planning, handling numbers, dealing with people.
Two weeks notice
Telling your employer you are leaving two weeks before your last day: the usual minimum where the contract says nothing else.
Unlimited PTO
A policy with no fixed number of paid days off: you take time off when your manager agrees.
Upskilling
Learning new skills for the kind of work you already do.
Verbal offer
A job offer made in a call or a meeting before anything is written down.
Vesting
How stock options or shares become yours over time, often over four years with nothing until the first year (the cliff).
Visa sponsorship
The employer helps a worker from another country get the permit needed to work there.
Widget
A small box with a list of jobs that the owner of a website can place on their own site.
Work authorization
The legal right to work in a country: citizenship, residence or a work visa.
Work from anywhere
A remote job whose posting names no country and no region at all.