The state of hiring in the 2022 job market relies on an urgency to recruit, for both parties involved. However, why is 41 days the average time to hire?
“Companies in the industry tend to value precision – sometimes false precision – over speed. That can mean putting candidates through endless technical interviews, assessing deep textbook knowledge that’s far beyond what job may require.”
Graham, 2021, Senior Editor at LinkedIn
Recent data suggests that we are returning to some kind of normalcy. This will mean a far shorter job search than many people experienced in the last few years. After The Great Resignation phenomenon took over the US economy, job-seeking became a speed-friendly environment in order to hire and maintain top talent. Today, there is a severe talent shortage, and hiring departments are feeling the pressure to speed up their processes.
Time to hire and when is it considered too long?
The typical job offer process consists of multiple rounds of interviews and several candidates. Multiple collaborators and departments are involved in the interview and recruiting processes. This increases the chances of delays and lengthy procedures. So, how long does it take to find a candidate by industry?
Here is the median time-to-hire for each role type:
- Engineering – 49 days. STEM roles are significantly the most time-investing for recruiters because of the number of specialties required. Skills tests also are sometimes given to candidates to test their knowledge on a certain subject matter. , All these steps are very time-consuming, making them the slowest in the hiring ratings.
- Research – 48 days.
- Product management – 47 days. Job openings that need engagement with a variety of stakeholders take a long time to fill.
- Business development – 46 days.
- Information technology – 44 days.
- Marketing – 40 days.
- Sales – 38 days.
- Administrative – 33 days. The quickest hiring processes.
Can you accelerate your hiring process? If your hiring process is exceeding the median time-to-hire, it is way too long. There is a risk of losing top-tier candidates when you take too long to get back to them.
You can have a thorough hiring process and efficiently vet candidates without it taking too long. You must be vigilant in the hiring process and learn how to communicate efficiently to make sure your top picks stick around. With the current state in the job market, being quick and efficient is necessary.
How to make a hiring process more efficient in this job market 
Setting up a more efficient hiring process is more than just responding quicker or deleting filters to get the job done faster. You must develop a consistent hiring strategy to utilize with every opening and every candidate:
Prepare the messages for all candidates
Make a document with all the messages approved by the supervisors before beginning the hiring process. Include welcoming messages and closing ones. Inform the candidate when they can expect feedback and what happens next after each round. Eliminating overthinking and lack of clarity speed the process along because you do not have to figure it out throughout the process, but you have a solid guide to follow. This way you will increase your speed to hire while maintaining the quality.
Establish reminders and follow-up
Everyone’s time is valuable, make sure that you set up alerts to remind candidates of meeting times. With today’s technology, you can even set up automated text updates to get back to applicants and make yourself reliable.
Circle back to the candidate quickly
After the first interviews, you want to make sure feedback is given, whether it is good, bad, or indifferent. It is critical to manage a quick feedback loop not only to speed up processes, but also to show candidates that you care about each interview. Feedback helps interviewers become better at the interview process and shows them what you expect of them.
Make the most of each interview
Pre-plan expectations with each interviewer and interviewee. After your team is on board, it is quicker to deliberate and delegate who will be a part of the hiring process. Do not have more than 4-5 people as part of the interviewing/hiring process. It will cause delays and may make the candidates more nervous during the interviews.
Share your strategy with the rest of the team
After testing your strategy, share it with your team. This way they have a clear roadmap of how to execute the process, which makes things simpler and more time-effective. When a position is vacated, they will know exactly what steps to take next.
What is in store for the job market in 2022?
The US is at the start of a new economic cycle that may adversely impact the job market. And when things aren’t going as planned, you can’t keep doing what you have been doing.
With that said, many types of work may continue to expand. Positions for contract work, project work, and self-employment are other types of work people are deciding on rather than conventional employment. These changes in candidates’ preferences require businesses to adjust to a significantly more diverse job environment. Today, more and more individuals require greater flexibility in the position they are willing to accept.
Finally, there is a big increase in public awareness about social justice issues. Any company that wants to succeed with consumers and employees is prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. From a moral and factual sense, there is no question that this is the proper thing to do. A more equal and inclusive workplace will recruit and maintain a happier workforce, which is a win for the company in every way.
About The Brixton Group
Founded in 1998, The Brixton Group Inc. is a values-based, technology staffing and project solutions company. Our mission is to provide unparalleled service to our clients, consultants, and colleagues through a focus on long-term satisfaction. For more information, visit www.brixton.net.
