A (spooky) Halloween guide to recruitment terminology
Happy Halloween 👻 from us here at eFinancialCareers! To celebrate, here’s a list of terms that recruiters are using to talk about candidates behind their backs (spooky!), sent to us courtesy of an anonymous professional in the recruitment industry.
Ghost: A term commonly experienced by candidates who are ignored by headhunters or in-house recruiters. It can be experienced at any time in the recruitment process regardless of how many discussions or interviews they might have already had.
Pumpkin: Any recruiter who posts fake job ads. More accurately reflecting pumpkins left outside for days/weeks after Halloween – a rotten pumpkin!
Skeleton: A candidate (regardless of sex) over the age of 50. Frequently highly talented and experienced individuals who are thought to be passed their best by pretty much everyone involved in recruitment.
Satan: Online recruitment platforms which never import your CV correctly and then force you to re-type 90% of what is already on your attached CV. Finally, asking candidate profiling questions to determine age, sex, ethnicity, religious beliefs and educational background.
Zombie: Any candidate that doesn’t fit into a firm’s latest DEI recruitment target. DEI is vital, of course, and there should be opportunity for all regardless of sex, ethnicity, and everything else. But why do people feel that openly knocking down a certain group is the best way to raise another?
