Recruiter screen
Also called phone screen, HR screen.
The first conversation in most hiring processes — a 20–30 minute call confirming basics and deciding whether to pass you to the hiring manager.
The recruiter on this call is usually not evaluating your technical depth. They're confirming that your experience matches what the resume implies, that your compensation expectation is inside the band, that your logistics work — location, notice period, authorization — and that you can describe your own work clearly.
It is nonetheless a real filter and people underestimate it. The most common failures are rambling through a two-minute question for eight minutes, being unable to say why you're leaving without sounding aggrieved, and naming a number without knowing the band. All three are preparable.
It's also your best information-gathering opportunity in the whole process. The recruiter will usually tell you the full interview loop, the timeline, the team's situation, and the salary range if you ask directly — and they have less incentive to be evasive than anyone you'll meet later.
Salary range
The published minimum and maximum for a role — increasingly required by law, and usually wider than the band the employer will actually use.
Hiring manager
The person the role reports to — who owns the requisition, makes the decision, and is the only interviewer whose "yes" is close to sufficient.
Pipeline
All the opportunities you have in progress at once, seen as a funnel from application through offer.