The Alternative Recruitment Glossary

This is my attempt at starting an Urban Dictionary for recruitment.

Aloofing

The act of sounding distant or detached in your job adverts by describing the reader as “the candidate”, “the person” or “the incumbent”. Commonly practised by HR people and others who think that being rigid and formal is the same as being professional. More about aloofing.

Badjectives

Obvious descriptors used in job adverts such as “dynamic”, “ambitious”, “motivated” that seek to describe the ideal candidate, but which describe 99% of people reading it. e.g. “We’re looking for a hardworking, committed individual.” More about badjectives.

Bulletproofing

Attempting to prove that an advertised job is really important, complex or senior by adding a massive list of requirements from the person specification as bullet points, even though no one knows what half of them means. More about bulletproofing.

Ironicantly

A way of describing a job vacancy as “an exciting opportunity” and then boring the reader to death by expecting them to read a 900-word job description. More about ironicantly.

Jobsplaining

Using a job advert for a mid/senior level position to tell target candidates what they do every day (often in excruciating detail) in spite of the fact hat they already know what their job is because they’ve been doing it for years.

Recliché

A word that has appeared in job adverts so often that candidates have become immune to its intended meaning e.g. “passionate”, “fantastic” and “dynamic”. More about recliché.

Recruiterbot

A recruiter who thinks they ought to write job adverts the same was as a million other recruiters, instead of writing like a human being. More about recruiterbot.

Sauce-ing

The act of injecting lascivious vocabulary such as “desire”, “exciting” and “passionate” into job adverts even though you’re not writing a profile for a dating website e.g. “Are you passionate about double-entry bookkeeping?” More about sauce-ing.

Selphish

Purporting to sell a real job but actually a phishing exercise. Attempting to get candidates onto the agency’s books that they can place in other jobs which are usually inferior to the on being advertised. More about selphish.

More to come? Maybe. Send me your ideas on LinkedIn.

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