Your Complete HR & Recruitment
Knowledge Base

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. It is a structured technique used in behavioural interviews to assess how candidates have handled real scenarios. As a recruiter, probe each part: What was the situation? What was your specific role? What actions did you take? What measurable result did you achieve? STAR gives you structured, comparable data across candidates.

Employer branding is the perception candidates and employees have of your company as a place to work. Strong employer brands attract higher-quality applicants, reduce cost-per-hire, and improve retention. Tactics include showcasing company culture on LinkedIn, publishing employee testimonials, maintaining a responsive career page, and responding to Glassdoor reviews professionally.

Headhunting (executive search) involves proactively identifying and approaching senior or highly specialised candidates who are NOT actively job-seeking. Unlike standard recruitment where you wait for applications, headhunting requires deep market mapping, cold outreach skills, and discretion. It is typically used for Director-level and above positions.

An effective JD has six parts: (1) Clear job title matching market language, (2) 3–5 bullet summary of the role, (3) Key responsibilities in plain English, (4) Must-have vs. nice-to-have qualifications, (5) Compensation range and benefits, (6) Company culture snapshot. Avoid jargon, gendered language, and laundry-list requirements that discourage strong candidates from applying.

Cost-per-hire = (Internal Recruiting Costs + External Recruiting Costs) ÷ Total Hires in a Period. Internal costs include recruiter salaries, referral bonuses, and interview time. External costs include job portal subscriptions, agency fees, and background checks. This metric is essential for justifying HR budget and demonstrating recruitment ROI to leadership.

Recruitment is reactive — filling an open position as quickly as possible. Talent acquisition is strategic — building long-term pipelines, employer brand, workforce planning, and succession planning. A recruiter fills today's vacancy; a talent acquisition specialist ensures the organisation always has access to the right people even before a vacancy opens.

A talent pipeline is a pool of pre-qualified candidates you maintain for future roles. Build it by: tagging strong candidates in your ATS even after rejection, staying connected on LinkedIn, running talent communities and webinars, and re-engaging past applicants every 3–6 months. A warm pipeline reduces time-to-fill by 40–60% for recurring roles.

Follow a structured script: (1) Introduce yourself and the company, (2) Confirm current role and notice period, (3) Check current and expected CTC, (4) Briefly pitch the role and check interest, (5) Ask 2–3 knockout questions relevant to the JD, (6) Close with next steps. Keep it under 15 minutes. Document responses immediately after the call.

A notice period buyout (NPB) means the new employer pays the candidate's equivalent salary for their notice period so they can join earlier. For example, if a candidate has a 60-day notice and the company needs them in 30 days, the company pays 30 days' equivalent salary. NPB is used for critical roles where a delay is costlier than the buyout amount.

A counter-offer is when a candidate's current employer offers a raise or promotion to retain them after they resign. To prevent candidate drop-out: (1) Discuss the counter-offer risk proactively before they resign, (2) Understand their primary motivation for leaving — if it's only money, counter-offer probability is high, (3) Keep the candidate engaged during notice period, (4) Loop in the hiring manager for a personal call if the candidate wavers.