Time to Hire Calculator

Q: What is the average cost per hire?

SHRM's 2025 benchmark reports a median cost per hire of $1,200 for nonexecutive roles and $10,625 for executive roles, counting agency and job board fees, recruiter pay and recruiting systems (SHRM 2025 recruiting benchmarking). For the full cost of an engineering hire, including interview time and the open seat, use the recruitment cost calculator.

Add up your hiring process stage by stage, from opening the requisition to the accepted offer and the start date, compare it with the SHRM 2025 benchmark of 44 days, and see what each open day costs.

How to calculate time to hire

Time to fill = calendar days from the day the requisition opens to the day the candidate accepts the offer. Add the stages below to get yours, then add the notice period to get the start date. SHRM's 2025 benchmark puts the median at 44 days for nonexecutive roles.

1. Days in each stage

Approval and posting

days

Requisition opened to job posted

Posting to screening

days

Job posted to first screen

Screening

days

Screening all applicants

Interviews

days

All interview rounds

Decision and offer

days

Last interview to offer sent

Offer to acceptance

days

Offer sent to offer accepted

2. Start date and cost

Notice period

days

Assumption: two weeks

Annual salary

For the cost of the open seat

Time to fill, days

Vs SHRM median, 44 days

Days to start date

Cost of the open seat

Time to fill runs to the accepted offer; the start date adds the notice period.

Requisition to start date: your process vs SHRM 2025

Approval and postingPosting to screeningScreeningInterviewsDecision and offerOffer to acceptanceNotice period

Your process

0 days

SHRM 2025 median, nonexecutive roles (time to fill)

44 days

SHRM 2025, organizations with 5,000+ staff (time to fill)

61 days

Stages follow SHRM's definitions. The default days are illustrative and add up to SHRM's 44-day median; the two-week notice period is an assumption. Enter your own numbers from your applicant tracking system. Benchmarks: SHRM 2025 recruiting benchmarking, time to fill measured in calendar days from requisition to accepted offer. Cost of the open seat is the hire's loaded pay (salary divided by the 69.2% wage share of total compensation, BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026) for each calendar day until the start date.

Hiring through Second Talent

Second Talent helps US startups hire vetted AI-Native Engineers and Specialists from Asia, matched in 24 hours, so sourcing and screening start from a vetted shortlist. $0 cost until you hire; then $29 to $39 USD an hour, billed monthly, with a 90-day, one-time replacement guarantee.

Time to hire questions, answered

How do you calculate time to hire?

Count the calendar days, weekends and holidays included, from the day the job requisition opens to the day the candidate accepts the offer. SHRM calls this time to fill and breaks it into stages: approval, posting, the wait before screening, screening, interviews, the decision and offer, and the candidate's acceptance (SHRM 2025 recruiting benchmarking). Add the days for each stage, as the calculator does, then add the notice period to get the start date.

What is the average time to hire?

SHRM's 2025 recruiting benchmark puts the median time to fill at 44 days for nonexecutive roles and 45 days for executive roles. Executive hiring got faster: it took 60 days in 2022 (SHRM 2025 recruiting benchmarking).

What is the difference between time to hire and time to fill?

Time to fill starts when the requisition opens, which is how SHRM measures it. Many teams use time to hire for the shorter span from the day a candidate enters the pipeline to the day they accept. The calculator works from the requisition, so it matches the SHRM benchmark, and also shows the start date.

Why do large companies take longer to hire?

In SHRM's 2025 data, organizations with 5,000 or more staff took 61 days to fill nonexecutive roles and 60 days for executive roles. They spent nearly twice as long getting positions approved, getting jobs posted and conducting interviews, and their recruiters handle the most requisitions each (SHRM 2025 recruiting benchmarking).

What does each open day cost?

The calculator values an open seat at the hire's loaded pay for every calendar day until the start date. For a $135,980 salary, loaded with benefits and payroll taxes at a 69.2% wage share (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026), that is about $538 a day: $23,700 over 44 days, or $31,200 once a two-week notice period is added.

How can I shorten time to hire?

Look at the stage that takes longest in the calculator. Common fixes: approve headcount before the search starts, screen applicants as they arrive instead of in batches, keep interview rounds to the ones that test something new, and decide within a day or two of the final interview so strong candidates do not accept other offers.

What is the average cost per hire?

SHRM's 2025 benchmark reports a median cost per hire of $1,200 for nonexecutive roles and $10,625 for executive roles, counting agency and job board fees, recruiter pay and recruiting systems (SHRM 2025 recruiting benchmarking). For the full cost of an engineering hire, including interview time and the open seat, use the recruitment cost calculator.

How fast can Second Talent fill an engineering role?

Second Talent helps US startups hire vetted AI-Native Engineers and Specialists from Asia. You are matched with vetted candidates in 24 hours, so sourcing and screening start from a shortlist. There is $0 cost until you hire; then $29 to $39 USD an hour, billed monthly, with a 90-day, one-time replacement guarantee.

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