English Vocabulary for Human Resources

ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES 

I can’t stress enough the importance of English vocabulary for  human resources professionals, tasks that require high levels of spoken English range from employee resourcing and talent management to training and development. Today we are going to focus on English vocabulary for recruitment and selection.

English Vocabulary for Human Resources professionals:

Recruitment and selection

The process of finding and hiring new recruits is not simple, and certainly harder if we don’t have the vocabulary skills to pull it off smoothly. While it can help to study lists of English vocabulary for human resources, at Break into English we like to provide more context for our English language learners.

 USEFUL VERBS FOR HR RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESSES

The recruitment and selection process involves four stages, all of which involve English vocabulary human resources employees will need. These verbs represent proactive steps towards contracting a new employee.

DEFINING JOB REQUIREMENTS: ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES

The first step is defining the job requirements. Companies often use a job profile to build accurate job descriptions. Here is an example with some great English vocabulary for human resources employees:

IDENTIFYING SUITABLE CANDIDATES: 

PHRASES AND ENGLISH VOCABULARY  FOR HUMAN RESOURCES

Candidates initially apply for a job providing information about themselves in a C.V and covering letter, or sometimes using a job application form. When human resources departments consider English speaking applicants they ask themselves 4 questions: 

1. Which essential and desirable qualities does the candidate possess?
2. What qualities are missing or impossible to know about the candidate?
3. Do the candidate’s strengths make up for these weaknesses?
4. Does the candidate’s professional experience look suitable for the job?

It can be useful to summarize information about a candidate using common phrases

Noun (+ preposition)	with a verb or verb + infinitive	with a noun
experience of	working in	international sales
(extensive) knowledge of		the telecoms industry
the ability	to gain	new clients
skills in	motivating and creating	a winning team

Considering this information, the next step is to invite suitable candidates for an interview. 

CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS: VOCABULARY FOR HR

English vocabulary, for the human resources department is essential while planning and conducting interviews. Not only in order to define the interview method and style, but also to ask the right type of questions in order to assess the candidates efficiently

 

VOCABULARY FOR INTERVIEW METHODS

Organisations use a variety of interview methods including but not limited to

1. Panel interview
2. Sequential interviews with a number of managers
3. Interview with just direct manager
4. Interview with HR representative
5. Interview with manager and HR representative

COMMON TYPES OF QUESTION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE INTERVIEWS

Although interview question types and structure  may be considered more grammar than English vocabulary for human resources, it is still an essential part of the selection process and cannot be avoided.

Leading question: give your view, encouraging the candidate to agree

Example: We take training very seriously, why do you think it is important?

Closed question: get a specific yes/no or single response

Example: Were you the only person responsible for the training budget?

Hypothetical question: present an imaginary situation ‘What if….?’

Example: What would you do if your manager asked you to do something you didn’t agree with?

Multiple question: ask a number of question within one question

Example: Do you think it’s more important to be a strong leader, part of a team, a strategic thinker, a bit of everything, or something else?

Open question: start with who, when, where, etc. and encourage a detailed answer

Example: What did your last job involve?

Alternative question: provide a choice of two answers

Example: Was that before or after the company became part of RBGH international?

HOW ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES HELPS TO CHOOSING THE RIGHT CANDIDATE

There are further assessment methods that many human resources departments use when interviewing for more senior positions. Three such techniques are

• • In-tray exercises which test prioritization and decision making under time pressure
  • Team tasks which observe leadership and influencing skills
  • Presentations which allow oral communication and English vocabulary to be assessed by human resources.

IMPORTANT ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS: COLLOCATIONS

The most useful type of English vocabulary for human resources departments are collocations related to the work environment and job skills.

Here is a list of collocations, indispensable English vocabulary for human resources workers

1. Team cohesion
2. Unpopular decisions
3. Meticulous preparation
4. Goal oriented
5. Low/high anxiety
6. Social skills
7. Soft selling
8. Unplanned situations
9. Natural disposition

Useful links with info on English vocabulary for human resources:

https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/229581

http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/business-professional-and-vocational/cambridge-english-human-resources/cambridge-english-human-resources-students-book-audio-cds-2

https://www.thoughtco.com/human-resources-1210147 

https://www.hrenglish.com/hirefire/menu.php

This article was written by Elizabeth Drayton of Break into English click here for a free trial English class via skype.