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Book a call ↗Time to hire is the number of days between a candidate entering your hiring process, by applying or being approached, and accepting your offer. It measures how quickly you move once the right person is in front of you (Workable).
It is often confused with time to fill, which starts earlier, when the job is opened. The difference matters: a long time to fill can mean a hard market, while a long time to hire usually means a slow process, and good candidates accept other offers while they wait.
Time to hire vs time to fill
| Time to hire | Time to fill | |
|---|---|---|
| Clock starts | When the eventual hire applies or is sourced | When the job is opened or approved |
| Clock stops | Offer accepted | Offer accepted |
| What it tells you | How fast your process moves | How long the whole search takes |
| Example | Applies day 10, accepts day 25: 15 days | Opened day 1, accepted day 25: 25 days |
How to calculate it
For each hire, count the days from the date the person entered your process to the date they accepted. Report the median across hires rather than the average, because one unusual search can pull an average a long way. Then split it by stage: application to screen, screen to interview, interview to offer, offer to acceptance. The stage with the longest wait is where to act first.
What the benchmarks say
No standards body defines time to hire, and companies set the start point differently, so outside benchmarks are rough guides. The recruiting software company Gem reports an average of 41 days in 2024, up from 33 days in 2021, across more than a million hires in its data; financial services was slowest at 63 days (Gem 2025 report). Fewer interview rounds help: Google found that four interviews were enough to predict a hiring decision with 86% confidence, and adopted that as a rule (Knowledge at Wharton).
What it means when you hire in Europe
Remote hiring across time zones adds days at every step, so plan the process before you post. Agree the interview panel and the scorecard upfront, keep a short 20-minute screening call as the first step, give feedback within a day or two, and have the offer terms ready, including the contract model: an independent contractor or an Employer of Record. If you run the search yourself, how to hire a remote employee without a recruiter sets out the steps.
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.
