A BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING:  A number of readers have asked if they can reprint/reproduce these "Dear Sarah" pieces for use with their own candidates.  The answer:  Yes, absolutely - as long as they are properly credited, with a link to this blog and my email address (sarah@head2head.ca).   Dropping me a line to let me know you're using it would be great, too - I appreciate a good ego-stroke as much as the next person.

Note to recruiters (job-seekers, just scroll down to the next bolded heading!)

This week, Jeff Lipschultz  and I were guests on Daisy Wright's  Blog Talk Radio show.

At first I wondered how we'd fill in a whole hour, but I needn't have worried:  As I said in the first "Dear Sarah" post, those of us who work in recruiting - and spend most of our time talking about, thinking about, and writing about recruiting - would do well to remember that for the average person, recruiting is something they only think about once every few years.  Information that we think of as common knowledge - and therefore not worth even talking about - is definitely not common knowledge for the average person.

(Speaking with Jeff after the show, we agreed the lack of recruiting knowledge is particularly evident in Gen Ys, even among the best-and-brightest.  Given that Jeff's in Dallas and I'm in Toronto, I wonder how many A-listers North American recruiters are missing out on, simply because these candidates don't know how to get our attention.)

If you're a job-seeker - or a recruiter/hiring manager who frequently interacts with candidates who are new to working with recruiters - you might want to send them a link to the podcast of the show. 

HALF THE BATTLE IS LEARNING  THE LINGO

The first question in the show was about the difference between a 'headhunter' and a 'recruiter' - and in fact it's a question I get probably once a week.  Like any other profession, recruiting has its own lexicon that isn't necessarily well understood by the average job-seeker.

So below, you'll find explanations for some of the most common recruiting terms.  It's definitely not exhaustive, but it's a good start.  (Remember:  Being familiar with the terminology tells recruiters that you've done your homework and 'get it'.)

What's the difference between a 'recruiter' and a 'headhunter'?

The short answer is:  Nothing.   The only reason anyone gets confused is that recruiters never use the word 'headhunter' to describe themselves, and among recruitment professionals it's considered a slightly derogatory term.  (It's sort of how real estate peole always call themselves 'real estate salesperson' or 'realtor', but the rest of the world calls them 'real estate agents'.)

However, while all headhunters are recruiters, not all recruiters are headhunters.  'Headhunter' is a term used to refer to agency recruiters, who typically work on commission or retained search on behalf of a client, and are the ones most likely to call you up at your current job to 'headhunt' you for another position.

'Recruiter', on the other hand, is used to describe anyone who recruits candidates.  This includes headhunters, but also includes corporate recruiters who work within organizations, are less likely to 'headhunt' candidates, and who are more involved in recruitment strategy.

When do I go from being a 'job-seeker' to a 'candidate'?

Recruiters use the term 'candidate' to refer to any person who may be a potential applicant, interviewee, or hire.  Like 'headhunter', 'job-seeker' or 'job-hunter' aren't terms recruiters use very often.  (Personally, I've always wondered why they don't use those terms, but so far no one's explained it to me.)

Here are some of the most common ways in which you'll see yourself described as a candidate:

Potential candidate:
This is any person who is part of the talent pool for a given role and/or meets the parameters (of skills/experience/geographical location/education, etc.) for that role, whether or not they are interested in or have applied to particular job. 

For example, a job board may say it has "30,000 potential candidates" in accounting.  What that means is there are 30,000 people registered in their database who have indicated 'accounting' as part of their skills/experience, and who may be interested in an accounting-related role. 

Passive candidate:
'Passive candidates' are people who aren't actively looking for a new job, but who may be interested in making a move if the right opportunity came along.

Among recruiters looking to fill intermediate and senior roles, passive candidates are considered the most valuable, because they tend to be high-performing achievers who are too busy making a contribution to, and moving up within, their current organization to become sufficiently dissatisfied to embark on an active job search.

(When you hear recruiters talk about using social media for recruiting, it's usually about using social media to establish and maintain long-term relationships with passive candidates.  A-list overachievers, especially at the Director-level and above, aren't likely to respond to some recruiter who calls them out of the blue to try to sell them on a new job; it may take months of 'wooing' the passive candidate to get them interested in considering a move.)

Pre-screened candidate:
The process of going from "5000 applications" to "a short-list of the top candidates" as the 'screening process'.

Depending on the role and number of applicants, there may be several stages to the screening process, including 'paper screen' (a review of all the resumes/applications, discarding any that are obviously unsuitable or incorrect); 'phone screen' (the recruiter makes a 5-minute phone call to the candidates who passed the paper screen, and again discards any who are obviously unsuitable); 'detailed phone screen' (a second phone call, longer and more detailed).  At each screening stage, the candidate pool is whittled down.

A pre-screened candidate refers to an applicant who has passed one or more screening stages.

Submitted to client:
Once the screening process is complete, the recruiter will submit a shortlist of the top candidates to the client (i.e. the potential employer) so that they can select the ones they'd like to interview. 

What that submission contains depends on the client:  Some clients want to see a brief summary of 10+ different candidates; others want more detailed info on just the top 3 candidates.   Depending on the relationship between the recruiter and his/her client, your name may be included with your profile, or it may be hidden.

This is why recruiters always ask you if you're working with another recruiter, and, if so, to whom that recruiter has already submitted your profile.  Employers often engage more than one recruiting agency to fill a given role; when two or more recruiters submit the profile of the same candidate, it makes everyone - including you - look bad. 

It can be even more sticky if the client ends up hiring you.  Remember, recruiters get paid only when the employer makes a hire.  If two or more recruiters submit you, either one of them goes unpaid, or they have to split the commission.  Either way, the recruiters are going to be cheesed off, and won't be in a hurry to take your call the next time you're looking for a job. 

Have a recruiting-related lexicon question?

Send it to sarah@head2head.ca.