Employer branding, job advertising, and recruitment marketing are terms that often appear in HR and marketing contexts – but what do they actually mean? In this glossary, you’ll find clear and easy-to-understand explanations of all the key terms and concepts you need to know to successfully attract, engage, and recruit the right talent. Perfect for anyone working in HR, communications, marketing, or recruitment.
Employer Branding – Strategy & Brand Building
Employer Brand – The overall image and perception of an employer, based on both internal and external experiences, communication, and reputation. Influenced by everything from EVP and culture communication to candidate experience and employees’ own stories. A strong employer brand makes it easier to attract the right talent, build internal pride, and reduce turnover.
Employer Branding – The work of building and communicating your employer brand to attract and retain the right talent. Can include everything from storytelling and social media to career sites and internal culture programs. Closely connected to Employee Value Proposition and Talent Attraction.
Employee Value Proposition (EVP) – The unique value you offer both current employees and potential candidates. An EVP often includes five key elements: compensation, benefits, development opportunities, work environment, and culture. It is the core of your employer branding efforts and should be clearly communicated both internally and externally.
Employer Brand Strategy – The long-term plan for how the organization will build, strengthen, and maintain its employer brand. Often includes objectives, target audiences, key messages, channel selection, and KPIs.
Talent Attraction – Strategies and activities that draw and engage the right candidates. Can include recruitment campaigns, social recruiting, employer branding content, and targeted advertising. Based on an understanding of the candidate target group and combines long-term brand-building with quick-impact campaigns.
Candidate Target Group – The defined group of candidates a recruitment effort is aimed at. Often identified by skills, experience, industry, interests, and geography. A clearly defined target group makes it easier to tailor job ads and messaging.
Corporate Brand vs Employer Brand – The difference between the brand aimed at customers (corporate brand) and the brand aimed at employees/candidates (employer brand). Both influence each other but require different strategies and communications.
Employee Branding – The process of engaging employees so they proudly represent the company as an employer. Built on internal culture, communication, and employee advocacy.
Employee Advocacy – When employees voluntarily share and promote the company’s content and messages, often on social media. This strengthens both the employer brand and the reach of recruitment campaigns.
Ambassador Program – Structured initiatives to educate and inspire employees to act as ambassadors. Can include content templates, training, and reward systems.
Internal Employer Branding – Initiatives that strengthen pride, engagement, and loyalty internally. May include internal events, employee training, and recognition programs.
External Employer Branding – Activities aimed at the job market and potential candidates, such as campaigns, social media, and PR.
Job Advertising – Ads & Channels
Job Ad – The written and visual presentation of an open position. Should be clear, engaging, and inclusive, and reflect the company’s EVP and culture.
Ad Strategy – The plan for how and where job ads are published to reach the right candidates. Includes target group analysis, channel selection, and budget allocation.
Targeted Advertising – Advertising designed to reach a specific audience based on factors such as age, gender, job title, location, education level, or industry.
Interest/Data-Driven Advertising – Advertising based on user data, including behaviors, interests, and previous interactions, to deliver more relevant ads to the right candidates.
Recruitment Campaign – A coordinated marketing effort to distribute job ads across multiple channels over a specific period. Can include paid advertising, retargeting, and employer branding content.
Audience Customization – Tailoring ad content to a specific candidate target group to increase relevance and conversion.
Retargeting – Advertising aimed at people who have previously visited your career site or seen a job ad, reminding them to take action.
Call to Action (CTA) – The prompt that drives the candidate to act, such as “Apply now” or “Learn more about the role.” Should be clear and strategically placed.
A/B Testing of Ads – Testing two versions of an ad to see which one performs better based on measurable results.
Social Recruiting – Using social media to reach and engage candidates. Can include both organic posts and paid ads, as well as storytelling and ambassador content.
Social Media for Recruitment – Platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, used to attract candidates and build an employer brand.
Job Posting on Platforms – Publishing open positions on job boards or job portals, often to reach active candidates.
Job Site / Job Portal – A website where employers post job ads and candidates can apply. Can be general (e.g., Indeed, LinkedIn) or industry-specific.
Active Candidates – Candidates actively searching for jobs, often browsing job sites and applying.
Passive Candidates – Candidates not actively looking for a new role but open to opportunities if the right one comes along. Best reached through social recruiting or outbound recruiting.
Organic Reach – The number of people who see your content without paid promotion. Influenced by engagement, shares, and platform algorithms.
Paid Advertising – Posts and ads sponsored with a budget to reach a broader and often more precisely defined audience than organic posts alone. Used to quickly increase visibility, drive traffic to job ads or career sites, and reach beyond your existing network.
Native Advertising – Ads designed to blend in with the editorial content of a platform, such as sponsored articles.
Recruitment Marketing – Methods & Metrics
Recruitment Marketing – A strategy that combines recruitment and marketing to attract, engage, and nurture relationships with candidates before they are actively job-hunting. The goal is to build a strong employer brand and create a steady flow of interested and qualified talent. Efforts may include talent attraction, inbound recruiting, social recruiting, targeted paid advertising, employer branding content, and optimizing the candidate journey.
Talent Pipeline – A database or network of qualified candidates that can be contacted when a relevant role becomes available.
Lead Nurturing – Maintaining relationships with potential candidates through consistent and relevant communication, such as newsletters.
Inbound Recruiting – A strategy where candidates are drawn to the company through valuable content and a strong employer brand, rather than direct outreach.
Outbound Recruiting – Directly contacting candidates, for example via headhunting or personalized LinkedIn messages.
Candidate Journey – The stages a candidate goes through from first contact to hire, including application, interviews, and offer.
Candidate Experience – The candidate’s overall experience of the recruitment process. A positive experience strengthens the employer brand, even if the candidate doesn’t get the job.
Conversion Rate – The percentage of candidates who move on to the next stage in the process, e.g., from clicking an ad to submitting an application.
Cost per Hire – The total cost of hiring a person, including advertising, recruitment tools, and labor.
Time to Fill – The number of days it takes to fill a position from the time it is advertised until the candidate accepts the offer.
Employee Turnover – The percentage of employees leaving an organization during a specific time period, often expressed annually. Measured to understand the impact of employer branding, candidate experience, and internal culture efforts.
ROI (Return on Investment) – A measure of the profitability of recruitment or employer branding initiatives.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator) – Key metrics used to measure success, such as number of applications, cost per application, or time to hire.
Digital Tools & Platforms
ATS (Applicant Tracking System) – A system for managing and organizing candidates throughout the recruitment process. Streamlines workflow and reduces administration.
CRM for Recruitment – A system for building and nurturing relationships with candidates over time, often linked to the talent pipeline.
Career Page / Career Site – The company’s own web page for jobs and careers, showcasing open positions, culture, and EVP.
Recruitment Chatbot – AI-powered tool that answers questions and assists candidates in applying.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for Job Ads – Optimizing job ads to rank higher in search results and attract more qualified applications.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) – Paid advertising in search engines like Google and Bing, often focused on driving traffic to job ads.
Diversity, Inclusion & Values
DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) – Strategic efforts to create an inclusive work environment and increase diversity within the organization.
Inclusive Language – Wording that actively welcomes everyone and avoids exclusionary expressions.
Diversity Goals – Measurable objectives for representation of different groups within the organization.
Accessibility in Recruitment – Designing processes and materials to be accessible to people with different needs and abilities.
Bias – Unconscious or conscious prejudices that influence assessments and decisions in recruitment.
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) – A company’s work with social responsibility, sustainability, and community impact.
Trends & New Concepts
Boomerang Employees – Employees who leave an organization and later return.
Quiet Quitting – When employees do exactly what their role requires, but no more, and disengage from going “above and beyond.”
Quiet Hiring – Filling skills gaps internally through reallocating roles and responsibilities instead of hiring externally.
Skills-Based Hiring – Recruiting based on candidates’ skills and potential rather than formal qualifications.
Bare Minimum Mondays – Slowing the pace on Mondays and focusing on only the most essential tasks to reduce stress and avoid an overwhelming start to the week.
Task Masking – Concealing low productivity or disengagement by performing simpler, less important tasks that appear as work.
Career Breaks – Planned periods of time away from work, often for travel, study, caregiving, personal development, or recovery. Increasingly accepted in the job market and sometimes seen as an asset, providing new perspectives and skills upon returning to work.
We hope this glossary helps you in your work with employer branding, job advertising, and recruitment marketing – whether you’re a recruiter, HR specialist, or marketer.
Missing a definition or want us to expand on a term? Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
