Time to fill measures the days from when a job requisition is opened to when an offer is accepted — it reflects the full recruiting cycle including approvals and sourcing. Time to hire measures the days from when a candidate enters the pipeline to when they accept an offer — it reflects the efficiency of the candidate experience specifically. Both metrics are useful but answer different questions.
Time to fill is calculated from the job requisition open date (or job posting date) to the offer acceptance date. It captures everything: internal approval delays, sourcing time, screening, interviews, and offer. Time to hire is calculated from the candidate's first application or entry into the pipeline to offer acceptance. A role with slow internal approvals but a fast candidate-facing process will show a long time to fill but a short time to hire — and that distinction tells you where to look for improvements.
Both metrics serve different audiences. Time to fill is most useful for business planning — it tells hiring managers how long to expect before a vacancy is filled. Time to hire is most useful for optimizing the candidate experience and the interview process — it shows how long candidates spend in your funnel. Teams serious about recruiting operations track both, segment them by role level and department, and set separate SLA targets. Tracking only one can lead to optimizing the wrong part of the process.
Time to fill is often inflated by slow requisition approvals, delayed job postings, and passive sourcing strategies. Time to hire is most often inflated by scheduling bottlenecks between interview rounds and slow offer generation after a final decision. Fixes are distinct: reduce time to fill by streamlining pre-posting approvals and building a proactive talent pipeline; reduce time to hire by implementing self-scheduling, setting debrief SLAs, and pre-drafting offer letters before the final interview.
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