What is time to fill?

Time to fill is the amount of time between the start of the hiring process and an accepted job offer. The specific start date can vary depending on your hiring process. Many employers use the day the job is posted, while others use the date a hiring manager submits a job requisition or the day the requisition is approved.

Whichever date you use, apply it consistently across roles so your reporting stays comparable over time.

Time to fill covers the full hiring cycle, including sourcing, screening, interviews and the offer stage. It’s usually measured in days.

Calculating time to fill

To calculate time to fill, identify the start and end dates. The start date is when recruiting officially begins for the role. The end date is when the selected candidate accepts the offer.

For example, if you post a job on Sept. 1 and your selected candidate accepts the offer on Nov. 1, your time to fill is 61 days. If you post a job on March 1 and the candidate accepts on March 31, your time to fill is 30 days.

What is time to hire?

Time to hire is the amount of time between when the selected candidate enters your hiring workflow and when they accept the job offer. For most employers, that starting point is the day the candidate applies, though it can also be the day you source them or invite them into the process if that’s how your team defines the metric.

This metric focuses on the final candidate’s path through your hiring process. Because it starts later than time to fill, time to hire is often shorter.

Calculating time to hire

Calculating time to hire is similar to calculating time to fill, but the starting date is when the selected candidate first enters your recruitment process. The end date is the date they accept your offer.

For example, if you post a job on Jan. 1, your new hire applies on Jan. 10 and they accept your offer on Jan. 31, your time to fill is 30 days and your time to hire is 21 days.

Time to fill vs. time to hire

Time to fill and time to hire sound similar, but they answer different questions.

Time to fill starts when your hiring process begins. Time to hire starts when the selected candidate enters the funnel. Both end when that candidate accepts the offer.

That difference makes each metric useful in a different way:

• Time to fill: shows how long it takes to move from opening a role to getting an accepted offer
• Time to hire: shows how quickly you move the eventual hire through the funnel once they are in it

If time to fill is high but time to hire is relatively low, you may need to improve how you attract or source candidates. If both numbers are high, delays may be happening throughout the process.

Why time to fill and time to hire metrics matter

Both metrics can help you understand where your hiring process is working and where it may need attention.

Some reasons to track time to hire and time to fill include:

• Identifying delays: These metrics can show whether bottlenecks happen before candidates apply, during screening, between interviews or at the offer stage.
• Improving candidate experience: A more efficient process can reduce candidate drop-off and help signal that your organization respects applicants’ time.
• Securing talent: When quality candidates move through the process faster, you may be more likely to keep them engaged through offer acceptance.
• Planning ahead: Knowing your average hiring timelines can help with workforce planning and onboarding, backfills and temporary workload coverage.
• Reducing costs: Open roles can increase costs through added advertising, overtime or lost productivity. Filling roles more efficiently can help control those costs.
• Protecting hire quality: Faster is not always better if important evaluation steps are skipped. These metrics are most useful when reviewed alongside quality-of-hire and retention measures.

How to improve time to fill and time to hire

If your current metrics are longer than you want, focus on the stages causing the most friction. Continue measuring both metrics over time so you can see whether changes improve results.

The following strategies may help:

• Use hiring technology thoughtfully: Hiring tools can help reduce administrative work, such as scheduling interviews, communicating with candidates and organizing applications.
• Review each step in your process: If your process includes extra approvals, long interview chains or avoidable handoffs, simplifying those steps may reduce delays.
• Improve candidate sourcing quality: When you track which channels produce the most relevant candidates, you can invest more in sources that lead to better hiring outcomes. If attracting candidates faster is a priority, increasing your job’s visibility may also help. For example, Indeed data found that Premium Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed had a 50% faster time to hire than non-sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed.^[1]
• Build talent pipelines in advance: Proactive recruiting can shorten time to fill because you’re not starting from zero each time a role opens. Employers can also use proactive sourcing tools to reach relevant candidates earlier in the process. Indeed data shows that, on average, employers who used Smart Sourcing made a hire 40% faster when they invited matched candidates to apply.^[2]
• Train interviewers and hiring teams: Clear expectations, structured interviews and consistent feedback practices can help teams move faster without lowering standards.
• Standardize repeatable tasks: Templates for job descriptions, interview plans, outreach messages and offer communications can make hiring more consistent and efficient.