job posting

Definition

The public advertisement of an open position, often legally required even when there's already an internal candidate selected. Corporate theater pretending the decision isn't already made.

Example Usage

We're required to put out a job posting for 30 days, but we're obviously promoting Karen—just go through the motions.

Origin

Became standard practice with the rise of formalized recruiting in the 20th century

Fun Fact

Studies suggest up to 80% of jobs are filled through networking before ever being posted, making many job postings mere compliance exercises.

Source: Recruiting and employment compliance terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

bona fide occupational qualification

A legally permissible reason to discriminate in hiring based on characteristics like age, sex, or religion because they're essential to the job. Abbreviated as BFOQ, the rare loophole in anti-discrimination law.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

Talent Acquisition

The fancy name for hiring that makes recruiting sound like a military operation or an art heist. We don't just post jobs -- we acquire talent, as if candidates are rare artifacts being extracted from rival organizations under cover of darkness.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

disputes

In HR land, the polite corporate term for 'people yelling at each other about who ate whose yogurt,' escalated to include formal grievances, arbitration, and occasionally lawyers. These disagreements can range from genuinely important issues like discrimination to Jerry insisting his cubicle is 2.3 inches smaller than Sarah's. Most companies have a 47-step dispute resolution process designed to make everyone too exhausted to continue fighting.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

onboard

The corporate ritual of transforming a confused new hire into a confused employee with system access. It involves drowning people in orientation materials, compliance videos, and paperwork while expecting them to magically understand company culture. Tech companies have elevated this to an art form, complete with swag bags and mentors who are too busy to mentor.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

job enlargement

The practice of expanding an employee's role to include more tasks at the same level of responsibility. It's giving someone more work without calling it a promotion or raising their pay.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

job enrichment

Expanding a role to include higher-level responsibilities and decision-making authority to increase motivation and satisfaction. Unlike job enlargement, this actually adds meaningful work rather than just more work.

👥 Human Resources

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