Applicant
A person who completes the defined application action for a role.
Glossary
Sales hiring and applicant-generation glossary
Use consistent definitions when planning campaigns, calculating costs, reporting results, and writing agreements.
Applicant conversion rate
The percentage of landing-page visitors or ad clicks that complete an application.
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
Software used to receive, organize, review, and disposition applicants.
Candidate value proposition
The reasons a qualified candidate should consider the role, employer, compensation, manager, product, and career opportunity.
Cost per applicant (CPA)
Advertising or campaign cost divided by the number of applicants under the agreed definition.
Cost per click (CPC)
Advertising spend divided by the number of recorded ad clicks.
Duplicate applicant
An applicant who matches a prior record under the campaign’s agreed duplicate rules.
Employer brand
The market’s perception of the employer and the experience it offers candidates and employees.
JobPosting structured data
Schema.org markup used to describe a real job opening to eligible search engines.
Knockout question
A role-related application question used to identify a stated minimum requirement or logistical conflict.
Landing page
The destination page designed to explain the job and convert a visitor into an applicant.
Organic traffic
Unpaid visits from search engines, links, direct navigation, referrals, or other non-sponsored sources.
Pay per applicant
A pricing model in which the buyer pays according to an agreed applicant definition and campaign terms.
Pay per slate
A pricing model based on delivering an agreed group of organized or curated applicants.
Qualified applicant
An applicant who meets the written campaign criteria. This does not necessarily mean the employer will interview or hire the person.
Ramp time
The period between a new hire’s start date and expected full productivity.
Sales OTE
On-target earnings: expected total compensation when defined performance targets are achieved.
Source attribution
The process of identifying the channel, campaign, or referral associated with a visit or application.
Structured interview
An interview process that uses consistent job-related questions and evaluation criteria.
Time to fill
The elapsed time between opening a position and accepting a hire, based on the organization’s chosen start and end points.