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Book a call ↗Time to fill is the number of calendar days from opening a job to a candidate accepting the offer. SHRM, the US HR professional body, counts from the day the requisition is opened, weekends and holidays included (SHRM 2025 benchmarking).
It is the standard measure of how long a search takes, and the number a hiring manager feels. It differs from time to hire, which starts only when the eventual hire enters the process.
What the benchmarks say
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median time to fill, executive and non-executive roles | About 45 days (2025) | SHRM 2025 |
| Median time to fill, non-executive roles | 39 days (2026 data) | SHRM 2026 |
| Organizations struggling to fill roles | Over 2 in 3 (2026) | SHRM 2026 |
| EU job vacancy rate | 2.0% (Q2 2026) | Eurostat |
SHRM's figures are medians from surveys of its members, mostly US organizations. In Europe, Eurostat's job vacancy rate shows how tight each market is: 4.1% in the Netherlands and 3.3% in Belgium in Q2 2026, against 0.8% in Poland and Bulgaria and 0.5% in Romania (Eurostat). A low vacancy rate does not mean specialists are easy to find, but it does mean less competition for each hire.
How to calculate it
For each filled role, count calendar days from the opening date to the date the offer was accepted, then report the median. Leave always-open roles out of the figure, because they have no real start date (Workable). Use the same start point every time, whether that is the hiring manager's request, budget approval or the day the job goes live.
What moves the number
- A vague brief: the search restarts when the profile changes halfway through.
- Slow approvals: days lost before the job is even posted.
- Too many interview rounds, or a panel that is hard to schedule across time zones.
- Pay set below the market, which shows up as declined offers late in the process.
What it means when you hire in Europe
Set the pay range with salary benchmarking before you open the role, and decide the contract model upfront. Choose where to hire with the country-by-country guide. If speed matters more than running the search yourself, compare the options in recruitment agency fees explained.
Euro Remote Talent runs searches across Europe for a flat $6,500, with a shortlist of three vetted candidates in 21 days and a 12-month replacement guarantee, through Hiring Done For You. If you would rather run the search yourself, a job post is $299, live for 60 days, and the fee is credited in full if you later move to the done-for-you service.
