Candidates, applicants and talents. That all stands for the same thing, doesn't it? Unfortunately, that's not quite the case. We explain the terminology and give you tips on how to set the right incentives for the target group in the recruiting process or to which category you can assign yourself in the process.
What are candidates?
Increasingly, the term "candidate" is used to describe a person who shows interest or curiosity in the company.
While between the active candidate, who has actively searched for the company and the passive candidate, whose interest must be won by marketing the company itself, the semi-passive candidate can be included. The semi-passive candidate is characterized by a currently still restrained interest in the company.
Possibilities to expand the interest are reflected in the individual approach in active sourcing, the creation of a network connection or the preparation of the landing page. Such recruiting methods create an opportunity for companies to address candidates individually and make a significant contribution to the candidate experience. Conversely, candidates can not only interact with the company on their own initiative, but can also be recruited.
What is the difference between candidate and applicant?
An applicant, unlike the candidate, performs a targeted action. In this case, the submission of an application. Not to be left out, however, is that each applicant nevertheless remains a potential candidate. He or she may have applied, but his or her interest in the company logically remains. By definition, he or she is now both a candidate and an applicant.
How does the talent of the candidate and the applicant differ?
A talent is to a large extent a specialist, a professional, a manager or a future manager or a group of people with special talents and potential for the company. They enrich the company through future-oriented thinking within their motives, skills and ability. This kind of candidates has to be acquired by the company in most cases.
Talent acquisition focuses on the talent and must be courted. The acquisition of this talent focuses on medium and long-term planning across the board, so that more comprehensive measures can also be taken to find such talented individuals for specialized positions.
Conclusion
Candidate, applicant and talent are terms that sound the same to outsiders, but are marked by crucial differences for recruiters. Candidates are interested, applicants have applied, and talents are people who are interesting to companies because of their skills.
For companies, it is therefore a central task to convince talents, candidates and applicants about themselves or to win them for the project partners.
Sources:
Employer Branding: Definition, Benefits and Strategies (builtin.com)
What are we actually talking about: candidates or applicants? (xing.com)
What is the difference between candidates, applicants and talent? (intercessio.de)
Definition Talent: What distinguishes the best (weka.ch)
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