Relevant for: Recruiters
What's the difference between openings, jobs, and job postings?
An opening is a headcount seat you need to fill. A job (or job profile) is the internal description of the role and is linked to one or more openings. A job posting is the ad candidates see, and it's created from a job. You need an open opening before you can publish a job, and a published job before you can publish a posting.
Keeping the three apart lets each team do its part. Finance can approve headcount, recruiters define the role once, and postings can vary by location or channel without repeating the setup.
- Openings connect headcount planning and recruiting, so every hire maps to an approved seat with a team, budget, and timeline.
- Jobs define how you hire: basic info, linked openings, evaluation process, compensation, and hiring team. Candidates apply to a job and move through its evaluation process.
- Job postings are what candidates see on your career portal. Each posting has its own title, description, location, and application form.
Table of Contents:
- When should I create an opening, a job, or a posting?
- How do openings, jobs, and postings work together?
- What does a job's page show?
- What statuses can openings, jobs, and postings have?
- Who can see and manage openings, jobs, and postings?
When should I create an opening, a job, or a posting?
- Create an opening when headcount is approved or needs approval.
- Create a job when you're ready to define how you hire for one or more openings.
- Create a posting when you want candidates to find and apply for the job.
How do openings, jobs, and postings work together?
Go to 'Recruiting' > 'Jobs'. The page has three tabs: 'Openings', 'Jobs', and 'Postings'. The main button changes with the tab ('New job opening', 'New job', or 'New job posting'). You'll find the other create actions in the '...' menu next to it as well.
A typical setup looks like this:
- Create an opening and set it to Open, or submit it for approval. To learn more, see Managing openings: creating, approving, and filling.
- Create a job, link the opening, choose an evaluation process, and add a hiring team. To learn more, see Creating a job profile.
- Publish the job. To learn more, see Publishing a job and managing its lifecycle.
- Create and publish a job posting from the job. To learn more, see Creating and publishing a job posting.
Good to know:
- One job can be linked to several openings, and the same opening can be linked to more than one job.
- Each posting belongs to exactly one job.
- An application belongs to a job and can refer to a specific opening and posting.
Note: The job description and job compensation are internal. They're the starting point for new postings, where you decide what candidates see.
What does a job's page show?
Open a job to see its team, location, evaluation process, and hiring team at the top. Everything connected to the job is in the tabs 'Candidates', 'Openings', 'Postings', 'Analytics', and 'Evaluation process'.
Click 'Edit' to change the job, or 'Add candidate' to add a candidate. Use the '...' menu to 'Close' or 'Archive' the job.
What statuses can openings, jobs, and postings have?
- Openings: Draft, Waiting for approval, Open, Filled, Canceled, or On hold
- Jobs: Draft, Published, Closed, or Archived
- Job postings: Draft, Published, Closed, or Archived. Postings can also be listed or unlisted.
Status changes flow downward. If you close or archive a job, its postings are closed or archived too. If you mark an opening as Filled, the jobs it completes can be closed.
Who can see and manage openings, jobs, and postings?
- Openings, jobs, and postings each have their own permissions to view, create, and manage them, including "assigned" versions.
- "Assigned" permissions apply to jobs where the person is part of the hiring team. For openings, they also apply where the person is a responsible user.
- A tab on the 'Jobs' page only shows if the person has access to that type.
To learn more, see Hiring team roles and permissions.