Glossary
A plain-language definition from the Curriculo hiring glossary.
Time to hire is the number of days between a candidate entering your pipeline, often when they apply, and accepting your offer.
The formula
Time to hire = offer acceptance date minus the date the candidate entered the pipeline.
For a sourced candidate, the start date is often the day they agreed to be considered. To get your average, add up time to hire for every hire in a period and divide by the number of hires.
Why it matters
Strong candidates rarely wait. The longer your process runs, the more likely they accept another offer. Time to hire shows how fast you move a person from interest to a yes, and where the slow stages are.
A worked example
Three hires last quarter took 18, 25, and 41 days. The average time to hire is (18 + 25 + 41) / 3, or 28 days.
Now break the 41-day hire into stages. If 16 of those days were the wait between the final interview and the offer, that's the step to fix first.
Where days get lost
- Resumes waiting days before anyone reads them.
- Calendar gaps between interview rounds.
- Slow feedback from interviewers.
- Offers stuck waiting for approval.
Common mistakes
- Confusing time to hire with time to fill, which starts when the job opens.
- Only tracking the average and missing the long outliers.
- Cutting interview steps that actually help you judge candidates.
- Measuring it once a year instead of every month.
How to shorten it
Screen new applicants within a few days. Book interview rounds back to back. Ask for written feedback within one day. Prepare the offer before the final round, so you can send it quickly.
Use the time to hire calculator, read the full time to hire guide, and compare it with time to fill.