What is time to hire and how do you calculate it?
To calculate time to hire, count the number of days between when a candidate enters your pipeline, usually the application date, and when they accept your offer. Time to fill counts from when the job opened. Measure your own median by role, because your hiring pace is the only benchmark you control.
At a glance
- Time to hire = offer acceptance date minus the date the candidate applied or was first contacted.
- Time to fill = offer acceptance date minus the date the requisition opened.
- Use the median, not the average, so one stuck search does not distort the number.
- This page gives no industry averages, because published averages vary by source and definition. Track your own.
How do you calculate it?
- For each hire, record: requisition opened, candidate applied, offer made, offer accepted.
- Time to hire for one hire = accepted date minus applied date.
- Time to fill for one hire = accepted date minus requisition date.
- Take the median of each across hires in the period, grouped by role family.
Worked example (illustrative dates). A candidate applies on 3 March, you open the requisition on 24 February, and they accept on 28 March. Time to hire = 25 days. Time to fill = 32 days.
Which stage is slow?
Break the total into stages and find where candidates wait:
| Stage | Measure | Common cause |
|---|---|---|
| Application to first reply | Days | No owner for new applicants |
| Reply to first interview | Days | Scheduling back and forth |
| Interview rounds | Days between rounds | Too many rounds, panel availability |
| Last interview to offer | Days | Waiting on approvals or comparison |
| Offer to acceptance | Days | Negotiation, notice period, background check |
How do you shorten it without hurting quality?
- Name an owner for each stage and set a reply rule for applicants.
- Use shared availability so candidates book themselves. See interview availability.
- Decide the criteria before interviewing with a structured interview and an interview scorecard. Panels decide faster when they score the same things.
- Cut rounds that repeat the same questions.
- Pre-approve the pay range so offers need no extra sign-off.
- Run the background check after a conditional offer, and send the forms with the offer. See turnaround time for background checks.
- Keep the runner-up warm in case the first choice declines.
Step by step: set up tracking this week
- List the four dates above for your last 10 hires from your records.
- Put them in a spreadsheet and compute both measures for each hire.
- Take the median by role family and write it down as your baseline.
- Add the stage table above and find the stage with the longest median wait.
- Fix that stage first, then re-measure after the next five hires.
Common mistakes
- Starting the clock at the interview instead of the application, which hides the early waiting.
- Using the average when one search ran for months.
- Counting only filled roles, so searches that were closed are ignored.
- Cutting steps that are legal requirements.
Legal steps that stay in the timeline
If you use a background check from a screening company, the Federal Trade Commission says the Fair Credit Reporting Act expects a written disclosure in a separate document and the person's written authorization before you get the report. Before a rejection based on the report, you send a copy of the report and the summary of rights, and after the decision you send an adverse action notice. Plan these into your timeline instead of treating them as delays. See the FCRA pre-adverse action guide.
What not to do
Do not skip legal steps to save days: notices for consumer reports, equal treatment in interviews and Form I-9 timing all still apply.
FAQ
What is a good time to hire? The one where your best candidates do not accept other offers first. Compare your median by role over time.
Does a longer process mean better hires? Not on its own. Structure and clear criteria improve quality; extra waiting does not.
Which date should the clock start on? Pick one, usually the application date, and use it for every hire. Switching mid-year makes trends meaningless.
Should I count weekends? Count calendar days unless you decide otherwise, and say which you chose.
Related guides
Sources
- LiveRec editorial method, no external data used; formulas are definitions (accessed 31 October 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, Using consumer reports: what employers need to know: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/using-consumer-reports-what-employers-need-know (accessed 31 October 2026)