“Time to hire” gets used online for at least two genuinely different measurements, and most calculators pick one silently without telling you which. This tool keeps both: Time-to-Fill, the employer-side metric from requisition to candidate start date, and Time-to-Hire proper, the candidate-side metric from application to offer acceptance.
Time-to-Fill starts the clock when a requisition opens, before sourcing has even begun, and ends when the new hire actually starts, including their notice period at their previous job. Time-to-Hire starts later, at the point a specific candidate applies, and ends earlier, at offer acceptance rather than start date. For a senior role where candidates commonly serve 60 or 90-day notice periods in India, these two numbers can differ by two months or more for the exact same hire, which is why quoting a single “time to hire” figure without specifying which one you mean invites confusion when comparing against a competitor’s or a past cycle’s benchmark.
Sourcing lag, the gap between opening a requisition and getting your first real application, is worth watching on its own. A long sourcing lag usually means the job posting, channel mix, or role definition needs work before you touch the interview process at all.
It varies enormously by role seniority, industry, and location, commonly cited figures range from under 30 days for high-volume junior roles to 60 days or more for specialized or senior positions. Treat any single benchmark number as a rough, industry-cited estimate rather than a hard target, and compare your own trend over time instead.
In India this is very often explained by the candidate’s notice period at their current employer, commonly 30 to 90 days depending on industry. See our notice period guide and our Notice Period Calculator for the mechanics behind that gap.
Whichever gap is largest relative to your own past hires for a similar role. Pair this with our Recruitment Funnel Calculator to see whether the delay is concentrated at a specific conversion stage rather than spread evenly.
Generally yes, since open requisitions carry ongoing recruiter time and lost productivity for the team waiting on the hire. Our Cost Per Hire Calculator quantifies the direct recruiting cost side of that.