'pre-recruitment' originates from the prefix 'pre-' meaning 'before' and the word 'recruitment' which comes from the French word 'recruter', meaning 'to enlist or enroll'.

'recruter' transformed into the English word 'recruitment', and with the addition of the prefix 'pre-', it became 'pre-recruitment'.

Initially, it meant 'activities before recruitment', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.