Job data words, made simple.
Simple meanings for the words you hear when working with job data: ATS, job feed, API key, change feed, job aggregator and more.
Updated
The short answer
This page explains common job data words in plain language. Use it when a word in our docs or another guide is new to you.
- API
- A way for one computer program to ask another program for data.
- API key
- A secret code that proves a request comes from you. Keep it private, like a password.
- Applicant tracking system (ATS)
- Software companies use to post jobs and manage people who apply. Workday, Greenhouse and Lever are examples.
- Career site
- The jobs page on a company’s own website.
- Job board
- A website that lists jobs from many companies, so people can search them in one place.
- Job aggregator
- A service that gathers jobs from many places into one list.
- Job feed
- A file or link that lists many jobs at once, often in XML or JSON.
- Change feed
- A list of what changed since you last checked: new jobs, updated jobs and jobs that closed.
- Expired job
- A job that is no longer posted by the employer.
- Backfill
- Loading all the current jobs once, before you start following changes.
- JSON
- A simple text format for data that most programming languages can read.
- Pagination
- Getting a long list in pages, like 1,000 jobs at a time, instead of all at once.
- Rate limit
- How many requests you can send in a short time.
- Remote job
- A job you can do from home or from anywhere the employer allows.
- Pay transparency
- Rules in some places that ask employers to show a pay range in job posts.
Questions people ask
Is a job board the same as an ATS?
No. An ATS is used by one company to post its own jobs and track applicants. A job board shows jobs from many companies.