Job search glossary 2026, 32 terms you actually need to know
The terms that come up in job searching, ATS screening and recruiting. Defined the way we at careerify define them, to help you surface your honest red thread, not to game an ATS. Short definitions, no fluff. Bookmark and look up as you go.
The vocabulary matters because it decides how your profile gets read. The work of choosing what your CV leads with starts in the pillar on positioning and the step-by-step method is in the honest positioning playbook.
Terms are not tricks. An honest glossary helps you name your red thread precisely, not guess at what an ATS wants to hear.
#
- 2-page rule, Two-page rule
- CV is max 2 pages. Junior 1, mid 1-1.5, senior max 2. Three pages starts losing readers. Whatever you most want read belongs on page one. The full structure, section by section, is in our CV template for 2026.
A
- ATS, Applicant Tracking System
- The software companies use to receive and manage applications. Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor are common. Most of them parse your CV into structured fields so a recruiter can search and sort it. To see how an ATS reads your own CV, run a free ATS scan.
- You meet the ATS before you meet a person: the form that makes you re-enter your CV field by field, the confirmation mail, the status page. What happens to the application after that is configured by each employer, so the same system behaves differently at two companies.
- AI screening, AI screener pass
- A step where a language model reads CV and letter together and judges consistency, missing hard requirements and the quality of the achievements, instead of counting words. Whether an employer uses one, and where in the process, varies. It is one of the three sub-scores careerify estimates.
B
- Boolean search, Boolean search
- Sourcing technique where the recruiter combines terms with AND/OR/NOT in LinkedIn Recruiter. "Controller AND SAP NOT junior" surfaces senior controllers with SAP experience. Useful to understand so you can be found (right terms in your LinkedIn profile).
C
- Cover letter, Cover letter
- The letter that accompanies the CV. 250-300 words, one page. Complements the CV, does not mirror it. Nordic recruiters still read it to calibrate CV credibility.
- CV, Curriculum Vitae (American: Resume)
- Structured document with your professional history. Nordic: max 2 pages. American CV (academic) is longer. "Resume" in business English usually means Nordic-style CV.
E
- Easy Apply, LinkedIn Easy Apply
- LinkedIn's one-click apply. Sends your LinkedIn profile as the default. Fast but low differentiation, the recruiter sees the same profile as everyone else who clicked.
- Embedding-based matching, Embedding-based matching
- Matching on meaning instead of exact strings. "Led a team" can match "team leadership" without being identical. Where it is in use, keyword stuffing loses value and text actually written for a reader wins.
G
- Greenhouse, Greenhouse (ATS)
- A widely used ATS at tech companies in the US and Europe. Built around structured interview scorecards and an aggregated candidate assessment.
H
- Hard requirement, Hard requirement
- A requirement in the ad that is non-negotiable. "5+ years SAP S/4HANA" is a hard requirement. If you meet it, make sure it is visible in the CV; if it is not visible, the rest rarely gets weighed.
- Hiring manager, Hiring manager
- The person who will actually have the candidate as a direct report. Different from the recruiter (who runs the process).
I
- Interim role, Interim role
- Time-limited employment, often 3-12 months, for a specific gap or project. Common in senior finance, IT, leadership.
J
- JobScan, JobScan (tool)
- Established ATS-score tool from the US. You upload a CV and an ad and get back a match rate. A practical way to check whether the ad's own wording actually appears in your CV. Whether that wording then holds up for a reader who judges meaning is a separate question.
K
- Keyword stuffing, Keyword stuffing
- Stuffing the CV with terms from the ad that do not belong. The trick was built for filters that only compared strings. Any reader that judges meaning, human or model, reads it as padding. It costs more than it gives. The right keywords, the ones you can actually back up, are broken down domain by domain in ATS keywords for finance.
L
- LLM screening, LLM screening
- See "AI screening". The LLM (GPT, Claude, etc.) reads CV+letter together and judges credibility, consistency, quality. In the EU, recruitment screening counts as a high-risk use under the AI Act, which puts transparency duties on the employer.
M
- MBB, McKinsey, Bain, BCG
- The three top strategy consultancies. When an ad asks for "MBB background or equivalent", it is filtering for a consultant toolkit (case frameworks, structured problem solving, executive presence). Common in senior finance/strategy roles at PE portfolio companies.
- Master CV, Master CV
- The complete version of your CV that does not get sent out. Contains every role, every bullet, every number. The source from which each tailored application version cuts.
- Mock interview, Mock interview
- A practice interview against a mentor, coach, or AI. You run through typical questions under time pressure and get feedback.
N
- NDA, Non-Disclosure Agreement
- A confidentiality agreement you sign during the process, often for senior roles with access to strategic details. Standard practice, nothing to worry about.
O
- One-pager, One-pager
- A CV exactly one page long. Standard for juniors (under 5 years). For senior, 1-1.5 pages is fine, but a condensed one-pager works for intro meetings with C-level.
P
- PE-backat bolag, PE-backed company
- A company owned by a private equity fund. Hallmarks: aggressive growth ambition, financial discipline, 4-7-year exit horizon. Roles there are usually high-tempo with quarterly reporting to PE owners.
- Pre-screen, Pre-screen call
- A short 20-30-min call with the recruiter before the first interview with the hiring manager. Verifies basic fit: availability, salary, location, deal-breakers.
R
- Recruiter, Recruiter
- The person running the recruiting process. Can be in-house or external (agency like Jefferson Wells, Alumni Global, People of Finance).
- Reference check, Reference check
- When the company calls your listed references (usually 2-3: current or former manager + a peer). Final filter before the offer.
S
- STAR-metoden, STAR method
- A framework for answering behavioural interview questions. Situation, Task, Action, Result. Standard prep, especially at MBB and tech companies.
- Skräddarsytt CV, Tailored CV
- A version of your CV adapted to a specific ad. Bullets reordered, core competencies reordered, headline maybe changed, but chronology and facts unchanged. Not fabricated, just reoriented around the red thread the role is looking for. How you find and lead with that thread, for finance roles, is in finance positioning.
- Sourcing, Sourcing
- When the recruiter actively searches for candidates instead of waiting on inbound applications. Mostly via LinkedIn Recruiter with boolean search. If you get contacted without applying, you have been sourced.
- Stretch story, Stretch story
- A pre-approved framing for a gap that ads often raise, like "no formal master's degree but ran the work in practice for several years". Stored in the knowledge bank and reused when the same gap reappears in new applications, always true and defensible in the interview.
T
- Take-home, Take-home task
- A practical task you do at home between interviews. Common for senior finance + tech. Usually 3-8 hours of work.
- Two-stage interview, Two-stage interview
- Common Nordic process: pre-screen + hiring manager + final round. Total time: 2-4 weeks from first contact to offer.
V
- VAT-ID, VAT registration number
- The company's VAT registration number. Relevant if you apply as a consultant: B2B EU invoicing applies reverse charge (0 % VAT) when both parties have valid VAT IDs.
W
- Workday, Workday (ATS + HR)
- An enterprise HR platform whose recruiting module is used by many large employers. You recognise it by the application URL, which contains myworkdayjobs.com, and by the form that asks you to fill in your CV field by field. A single-column CV with clear dates makes that transfer less painful.
Missing a term?
I add terms here as they show up in careerify\'s tailoring flow or in applications I have seen. If you want a specific term added, drop me a line on LinkedIn, most updates here come from user questions.
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