Glossary of Job Search Terms

You may come across some of these more common terms in your job search:

Job Description: A detailed description of the responsibilities, activities and deliverables of the person holding the position.

Minimum Qualifications : Usually these are the requirements that must be met to be considered for a position. For example, they may include certain education degrees, experience, proficiencies and licenses.

When there are a large number of applicants, the interviewer may not select all candidates that meet the minimum requirements for interviews.

Desirable Qualifications Desirable Qualifications :These may not be stated in all cases. They may include the candidate's experience, character, work habits, special skills (eg second languages, special computer skills) and demonstrated achievements.
Candidates with the best desirable qualifications are likely to be the finalists for jobs.

Staffing Staffing: This refers to filling open position - either by hiring new employees or by reassigning persons already employed. The interviewing process is usually used in either case.

Advertising or Posting publication Printing and distributing notices of 'help wanted' documents.

L'impression "help wanted" of documents.
These usually include the Job Description, Minimum Qualification and (sometimes) Desirable Qualifications.

Human Relations :Currently the most popular term for what is sometimes called the Personnel Department, or Human Resources Department.

In large companies, this organization is responsible for managing the following activities: posting and advertising, recruiting, staffing, interviewing, hiring, layoffs and firings, career growth, training, and performance measurements.

Hiring Manager Embauche Manager : The person for whom the candidate will actually work if hired - usually the interviewer. In the case of recruiting college graduates for a corporate training program, there is no specific hiring manager.