10 Recruitment Buzzwords and their Meanings

The way companies hire employees is constantly changing. You may have heard of trends like silent layoffs, silent hires, boomerang employees, and shift shock. These trends reflect how people think about jobs. The job market is constantly evolving. And people's ideas about work are changing.

You may have heard some fancy recruiting buzzwords. It is important for companies to keep pace with these changes. And understanding these trends helps companies find and retain good employees. So, keep yourself abreast of these changes to improve your workplace.

What are buzzwords in recruiting?
Recruitment buzzwords are trendy terms used in job advertisements, resumes, and interviews. They aim to attract the attention of employers or job seekers. While they can demonstrate abilities, if used too often they can become less effective.

In this article, we will discuss 10 new and common recruiting buzzwords. We also discuss their importance and their impact on hiring.

1. Quiet quitting

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Quiet quitting is when employees do just enough at work and avoid doing more. They might say no to working extra or helping others. This lack of effort can make them less motivated and less likely to share new ideas or assist their team. This behavior can give the workplace low energy. And it can make it less productive.

The term quiet quitting was coined by Brian Creely. He is an employment influencer and Gen-X career coach. He used the phrase when summarizing an Insider article that talked about how employees were doing the bare minimum at work instead of quitting. The phrase went viral on TikTok, especially with Generation Z employees.

Quiet quitting happens when employees feel tired and burnt out and not interested in their jobs anymore. According to research from Gallup, at least 50% of U.S. employees are quiet quitters. Moreover, more of the quiet quitters are the young working population and Generation Z.

IMPACT ON HIRING

To stop employees from quitting quietly, hire good people. Be fair and kind at work. So, listen to their ideas and help them. Show you appreciate their hard work. And you must be a good boss and create a happy workplace.

Listen when they talk and help them when they need it. It is also important to say thank you and recognize their hard work. Even small gestures can mean more than you think. Also, good leadership matters a lot. Being friendly, understanding, and guiding your team creates a happy workplace. So, you must encourage teamwork and give chances to grow. Talking openly with employees makes them feel happy, connected, and less likely to quit quietly.

Here are some more actions you can take:

Write correct job descriptions: Make sure the job description matches the actual job tasks. If there’s a difference, employees won’t be happy and might quit quietly.
Create a conducive working environment: Create a workplace culture that promotes respect, healthy work-life balance, and collaboration.
Provide career growth opportunities: Help your workers learn and grow in your company. So, offer training and courses. When employees know they can grow, they work harder.

EXAMPLES OF QUIET QUITTING

Having extended or too many work breaks
Coming to work late
Reduction in productivity levels
Refusing to do roles outside of the job description
Not attending meetings and when they attend they don’t participate

2. Resenteeism

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Resenteeism is a new term that describes employees showing up for work just for the sake of it while they are fundamentally unhappy and resent the job. While it isn’t a new thing for employees to go to work for the sake of it, this term has gained popularity in 2023. This is because of the concerns about job security, cost of living, and the lack of good work alternatives.

In addition, this resentment extends to the organization as a whole. And it might even spread to the colleagues they interact with daily. In short, resenteeism is a worrying trend for 2023.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Resenteeism has many negative impacts on recruitment. These include reduced retention rates, lower employee referrals, and negative employer branding. Plus, it can also make it hard to attract and hire top talent.

When employees are unhappy and not interested in their work, it causes problems for hiring new people. If workers leave because they’re unhappy, it’s hard for the company to keep a steady team. Unhappy employees won’t suggest the company to others, so fewer people apply.

This negative talk makes it tough to find good employees. Plus, a bad work atmosphere damages the company’s image, making it even harder to hire skilled workers. So, fixing these issues is vital for both current employees’ happiness and finding the best new workers.

As an employer, you can’t control external factors such as the rising cost of living in 2023 that increases resenteeism. But here are some strategies to help you prevent the problem:

Support your employees with resources and information to help with their mental health.
Create a work environment that encourages open communication. This way, all your employees can talk freely with each other.
Encourage your employees to take holidays. Talk to them about the importance of taking breaks. And ensure they know how to request time off from their job.
Show that you care and reward your employees for good work.
Provide tools for career growth. This can be through one-to-one mentoring, training courses, and job shadowing.

EXAMPLES OF RESENTEEISM

A change in behavior or attitude
Lack of enthusiasm either in person, over email, or Zoom calls
Notable decline in work quality
Missing deadlines and continued procrastination

3. Quiet hiring

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Quiet hiring means a company fills empty jobs without hiring new people. Instead, they give more tasks to current employees. This fills the roles without hiring new staff.

It’s mostly done unofficially, involving only a few employees or applicants. The organization may also hire contract and temporary employees to do specific tasks. The term quiet hiring came about in 2023 to address the layoffs by US organizations to reduce costs in fear of a predicted recession.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Quiet hiring impacts recruitment positively in these ways:

Help with hiring sensitive executive roles: Hiring top leaders can be tricky, especially when replacing someone important. Quiet hiring keeps things secret and confidential during this time.
Reduced hiring costs: Organizations can save money on hiring expenses by using their current employees’ skills.
Helps address skills gaps because organizations may hire temporary or contract workers.
Quiet hiring is useful in competitive industries where finding good employees is hard. It stops other companies from offering jobs to the same people you’re talking to.

EXAMPLES OF QUIET HIRING

Workers are given new responsibilities without a salary increase.
Companies train some workers for more or other jobs. This is done so that these workers can take on more responsibility.
Companies create new job titles discreetly.
Your organization asks you to do work outside your job description.
An organization hires freelancers for short-term projects.

4. AI for Recruiting

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Although the concept of artificial intelligence in HR has been around for a while, it has steadily grown in 2023. For example, in 2023, organizations have used AI in recruiting to perform automated candidate screening, video interview analysis, intelligent job matching, and bias detection.

Different AI recruitment statistics show that 65% of recruiters are using AI in their recruitment. And even more, 67% of recruiters say AI has improved their hiring process.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Artificial intelligence has benefits for the entire recruitment process. AI can help with:

Candidate sourcing: AI can find your ideal job candidates online. It does this by looking at social media and other databases. So, this way you’ll find profiles that match what you want.
Saving recruiters’ time: Hiring is a long process with tasks like scheduling and checking resumes. And this can be boring for humans. But AI can do these tasks, letting you focus on building relationships with candidates.
Ensure diversity and inclusion: AI can also help you to identify and remove bias from your job descriptions. For example, take the IceHrm. It empowers recruiters and employers with AI capabilities to recognize bias in JDs such as gender, racism, ageism, ableism, and more.

EXAMPLES OF AI FOR RECRUITING

Automated candidate interview scheduling
Resume screening and candidate sourcing
Chatbots for candidates’ engagement
Streamlined employee onboarding process
Organizations using AI for candidates’ skills assessment

5. Data-driven recruiting

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Data-driven recruiting means using information to hire better. It includes using data to find the best people and offer them jobs. This way of hiring started to become popular in the 1990s and 2000s when online job boards were widely used.

Now, with advanced technology, it’s even more important. Companies can collect and study data to make smarter choices about who to hire. Thus, this method is popular because it helps businesses figure out what works and what doesn’t in hiring. It makes it simpler to find the right people for the job.

In 2023, with the availability of machine learning and big data, the adoption of data-driven recruitment has increased. Modern recruitment platforms now have analytics features. These features enable recruiters to check if their sourcing strategies are working and make data-driven hiring decisions.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Embracing the use of data-driven hiring will help you grow your entire recruitment strategy in these ways:

Improve the candidate experience: If you find your data points, you can see what works in hiring and what does not. For instance, you can figure out why candidates are not completing job applications.
To speed up your recruitment process, with data, you can focus on KPIs like time to productivity of candidates and time to fill.
It helps to lower hiring costs. You can check how ads are working and also check how much hiring one person costs.

EXAMPLES OF DATA-DRIVEN RECRUITING

Organizations use recruitment data to plan their entire recruitment strategy.
Organizations use the data in the selection process. For example, in job interviews, skills assessments, and resume screening.
Using the data to improve the candidate’s engagement.

6. Career cushioning

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Career cushioning means employees have backup plans if they think they might lose their job. It’s like having a safety net. They might do extra projects, freelance work, or learn new skills (called upskilling) to be more knowledgeable.

These backup options help them feel safe and ready if something goes wrong at their current job. It’s a way for them to stay secure, especially if they worry about their job’s future. People do this to protect their careers in case the job market changes.

But the backup plan doesn’t always mean they are ready to quit their job or they want to leave. It may also mean they are just creating side projects.

This trend started during the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009. And it has gained popularity in 2023 due to the looming economic crisis, rising costs of living, and the value of diverse skill sets.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Career cushioning can affect your organization’s hiring efforts both negatively and positively. It leads to high employee turnover and decreased performance. Also, it can cause changes in the career paths of your employees. And this might mean they might leave your company to go and explore new interests.

The significant positive effect is your organization gaining from the new skills that the employee has learned.

To prevent the negative impacts of career cushioning do this:

Hold monthly or quarterly talks with your employees. Get to know what they want with their career progression.
Offer your employees learning and development opportunities.
Have a strong employer value proposition (EVP). Show your team members why you’re a great place to work for.

EXAMPLES OF CAREER CUSHIONING

Employees update their LinkedIn and seek new opportunities that don’t align with their current skill sets.
Start of a new side hustle.
Taking courses that are different from what they are doing.

7. Rage applying

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Rage applying is when people apply to many jobs without thinking much about them. They do this if they feel underpaid, have a bad work-life balance, or aren’t appreciated at work.

The rage applying trend became popular in 2023 after a TikTok video went viral where the user got frustrated with their work and began applying for different jobs. The user got a good-paying job and a comfortable working environment.

This trend is high among Generation Z in 2023 because they value good working environments.

IMPACT ON HIRING

This trend is bad for hiring because you might hire people who leave for better jobs. It leads to high staff turnover, low engagement, and a bad reputation. So you lose good employees too.

To address the problem, pay your employees well. Also, provide opportunities for growth and create a good company culture.

EXAMPLES OF RAGE APPLYING

Candidates mass apply to any job opening they find
They ignore the important requirements of the job
Candidates apply for jobs in different industries than the ones they have experience in

8. Boomerang employees

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Boomerang employees are people who used to work for a company, left for a while, and then came back to work there again. This idea isn’t new, but it’s getting talked about more in 2023 because many people are losing jobs. When employees leave because of job cuts and then return when things get better, it shows they trust the company.

These returning employees know a lot about the company, so it’s good for businesses. Firms like having them back because they don’t need much training and can start working fast. Having these familiar faces back helps companies stay stable. And this is especially true when things are uncertain, making them really helpful during changes.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Boomerang employees are actually good for a company. They bring new experiences and know the culture. Plus, they often learn quickly. Also, hiring them is cheaper because they already know how things work. So you don’t need to spend a lot of time training them.

EXAMPLE OF A BOOMERANG EMPLOYEE

For example, an employee who left work at a marketing agency and decided to pursue different interests in a different industry. After three years, she ends up missing the work and challenges of the marketing agency job and hence decides to go back there.

9. Shift shock

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Shift shock happens when you start a new job but it’s not what you thought. In 2023, this is common because living costs are high, and jobs are hard to find. So, many end up in jobs that don’t match what they hoped for, making them feel surprised and let down.

Also, people sometimes have to take any job they can get, even if it’s not what they want. And this difference between what they expect and what they get can make them feel upset. So, it affects how happy they are at work as well as how they feel in general. Thus, it’s important to be realistic about jobs in today’s tough job market

IMPACT ON HIRING

Shift shock has bad effects on your team because it makes workers unhappy. And this leads to many leaving, less work getting done, and people not feeling involved.

To solve these problems, tell candidates about the job. This way they can know what to expect. Also, make a comfortable workplace for your employees. This goes a long way in keeping top talent. It can also help you to be more attractive to people seeking jobs.

EXAMPLES OF SHIFT SHOCK

Employees openly express frustration during meetings.
More missed days from work shows the employee is struggling with the new job.
A negative attitude towards the organization.

10. Diversity recruiting

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Diversity recruiting is when you hire people from diverse backgrounds. This includes taking into consideration ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and age. It also includes disability, race, socioeconomic background, and so on. It aims to make sure that your workforce reflects the general makeup of our society.

Diversity recruiting started to fix inequality in companies. In 2023, it’s even more important because the world wants fairness. Also, people like working in places that respect diversity.

IMPACT ON HIRING

Embracing diversity recruiting positively impacts your organization’s hiring efforts in these ways:

Enhanced innovation and creativity: Having diverse people in your team helps find new ideas and opportunities.
Positive employer brand: In 2023, organizations that value diversity and inclusion genuinely are seen as more progressive. Moreover, they attract more employees, customers, and outside investment.
Help with compliance on ethical and legal requirements: In recent years, there have been many regulations that have come up with laws on diverse and fair recruiting processes.

EXAMPLES OF DIVERSITY RECRUITING

Building diverse interview panels that are made up of people from different backgrounds in life.
Writing job descriptions that use inclusive language and emphasize your company’s commitment to inclusion.
Posting job ads on job boards where underrepresented candidates can find them.

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