应聘

• Pinyin: yìng pìn
• Hanzi breakdown: 应 = 广 + 应 (to respond to a call); 聘 = 耳 + 任 (ear + appoint — to be engaged for a post)

Meaning

To apply for a position; to respond to a job offer or recruitment. The act of submitting one's candidacy for an advertised post.

More formal than 找工作 and specifically refers to responding to a posted vacancy. Commonly used in HR, recruitment, and professional contexts. Opposite: 招聘 (to recruit/hire). Common collocations: 应聘者 (applicant), 应聘材料 (application materials), 成功应聘 (successfully land a position).

Examples

1. 这家咨询公司校园招聘竞争激烈，本季共收到四万余份应聘简历，最终只录取了三十七人。 Competition for this consulting firm's campus recruitment was fierce; this season it received more than forty thousand application résumés and finally hired only thirty-seven people.
2. 她回国后向十余家科研机构投递应聘材料，两个月内收到五家面试邀请。 After returning to China, she sent application materials to more than ten research institutions and received interview invitations from five within two months.
3. 这批应聘者在限时技术测评中独立完成综合工程题，结果将决定录用。 This group of applicants independently completed a comprehensive engineering problem in a timed technical assessment, and the results will determine hiring.

Usage Guide

Context: employment, HR, career, education

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 该集团今年的应聘条件要求产品经理有五年以上移动端管理经验，能用英语带队协作。(This year's application requirements from the group call for product managers to have more than five years of mobile product management experience and to lead team collaboration in English.)
• 他每次应聘前都会花数周研究目标企业财报、战略和行业格局，以便面试时更有洞察力。(Before each application, he spends several weeks studying the target company's financial reports, strategy, and industry landscape so he can be more insightful in the interview.)

Don't Say

• 我应聘了他来做这个工作 — 应聘 is used by the job seeker, not the employer; say 我聘用了他 or 我录用了他 if you are the one hiring

Origin & History

应 (to respond — to answer a call) + 聘 (to engage for employment — 耳 ear + 任 appoint, originally 'to listen and appoint', hence to offer/accept employment)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal