GLOSSARY
Reference definitions for recruitment, staffing firms, recruitment agencies and AI applied to recruiting. 2026 updates.
An AI worker is an autonomous AI agent that owns a complete, continuous scope of work, like a digital colleague: it sources, qualifies, follows up, schedules and reports, with human approval on sensitive actions.
See definitionAn ATS is a candidate management software that centralizes, sorts and advances candidates through a recruitment process, from application to hire.
See definitionA vector database stores data (resumes, roles) as numerical vectors capturing their meaning. It enables semantic search: finding profiles by similarity of meaning rather than exact keywords.
See definitionBoolean search uses AND, OR, NOT operators and quotation marks to filter candidates in an ATS or on LinkedIn. In 2026, it's largely replaced by AI semantic search.
See definitionA Business Manager (BM) is a staffing firm salesperson responsible for a client and consultant portfolio. They sell services, manage missions and bench time.
See definitionA recruitment CRM centralizes the relationship with candidates (talent pool, history, scoring) and clients (missions, pipeline, renewal), unlike an ATS which focuses on application tracking.
See definitionThe competency file (dossier de compétences / DC) is the commercial document of a staffing firm presenting a consultant to a potential client: enriched CV, key achievements, certifications, tech stack.
See definitionAn ESN (IT staffing firm) is a French company specialized in IT services: it places consultants (employees or freelancers) at client sites for 3-month to 2-year missions.
See definitionExecutive search is headhunting for executive leaders (C-level, VPs, directors) performed by specialized firms. Long cycle (3-6 months), high fees (25-35% of annual package).
See definitionFreelance management encompasses sourcing, contracting, onboarding and tracking practices for freelance consultants on short or long missions.
See definitionGEO is optimizing content to be cited by generative engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews). The successor to SEO: the goal is no longer ranking first, but being the source the AI cites.
See definitionAgentic AI refers to AI systems able to pursue a goal autonomously: planning steps, using tools (ATS, email, calendar), executing actions and self-correcting. Generative AI answers, agentic AI acts.
See definitionThe bench (intercontrat) is the period during which a staffing firm consultant is not placed on a client mission. They're paid but generate no revenue.
See definitionAI matching uses machine learning models to evaluate a candidate's relevance to a mission by crossing skills, experience, availability and cultural fit. It replaces Boolean search.
See definitionMCP is an open standard created by Anthropic that lets AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT) connect directly to business tools like an ATS or CRM, to read data and execute actions in natural language.
See definitionConsultant NPS (Net Promoter Score) measures satisfaction and likelihood a consultant recommends their staffing firm. NPS >40 indicates a healthy firm, <20 signals high turnover risk.
See definitionOffshore IT refers to delocalization of IT services to lower-cost countries (India, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia). Day rates 40-60% cheaper but limited fit on senior profiles.
See definitionCV parsing automatically extracts information from a CV (contact, experiences, skills, education) to structure it in an ATS. Modern AI reaches >95% accuracy.
See definitionGDPR applied to recruiting imposes strict rules on collection, processing, retention and deletion of candidate data. Max retention: 2 years after last contact.
See definitionRPO is the complete or partial outsourcing of a company's recruitment process to a specialized provider. Used mainly by large companies to scale recruiting.
See definitionSemantic sourcing uses AI to understand natural language queries (e.g., "DevOps AWS 5 years Paris available March") and retrieve relevant candidates without Boolean search.
See definitionTime-to-fill measures days between a position opening and a candidate's placement. Median 2026: 45 days for an IT consultant. Top 10% staffing firms: 18 days.
See definitionTJM (Taux Journalier Moyen) is the price billed by a staffing firm or freelancer per day of service. In 2026, median IT consultant day rate in France: €580/day.
See definitionConsultant turnover measures the annual % of consultants leaving a staffing firm (voluntary + involuntary departures). France 2026 median: 18%. 15-50 consultant firms: 23%.
See definitionThe talent pool is the qualified talent database a staffing firm or agency has already identified and maintains relationship with. 80% of placements at top firms come from it.
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