Shorter Time-to-Hire: Solving Time Consumption Issues for Both Candidates and Hiring Teams

The overall goal of most hiring teams is to fill a role with the most qualified candidate in the least possible time. But this is not always possible, and not meeting up comes with consequences.

This creates a time-to-hire crisis, which is an inconvenience and productivity killer that affects both candidates and hiring teams.

Candidates fall into a black hole of anxiety, checking their mailbox every hour for weeks after applying, wondering if they’ve been ghosted.

As a hiring manager, the biggest burden is the frustration of seeing critical roles sit empty for months, watching your team burn out while you wade through hundreds of unqualified resumes.

Recent data has revealed that the global average time to hire has crept up to nearly 44 days. That is six weeks of lost productivity, stalled projects, and rising hiring costs. But why is this happening, and more importantly, how can we solve it without sacrificing quality?

Why is Hiring So Slow?

Before we can fix the problem, we have to understand exactly what is broken. Why, in an age of instant communication and advanced digital technology, does hiring take longer than ever?

1. Overwhelming applications for each open role

A slowing job market and uncertain economy have created a surge in job seekers. Every open role now receives hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of applications and resumes. Many hiring teams lack the structure needed to effectively manage this high volume, and this turns resume screening into a bottleneck that can freeze the process for weeks.

2. False or exaggerated skills and experience by candidates

Desperate to have a perfect application to help get jobs, candidates are increasingly using AI tools to tailor their resumes. While resourceful, this leads to falsified or vastly exaggerated skills. Recruiters now have to spend extra time becoming detectives, trying to filter out candidates who look perfect on paper but lack the actual experience.

3. Manual hiring workflow

Despite living in a digital world, many hiring teams are stuck with analog habits. Manually reading hundreds of resumes, engaging in "email tag" to schedule interviews, and sending individual status updates are repetitive, low-value tasks that bleed hours out of every workday.

4. The assessment gap

Many companies engage in "resume-first" hiring, where skills assessments are either absent, poorly designed, or introduced too late. This means hiring managers waste valuable hours interviewing candidates who look good on a resume/CV, but lack the technical or soft skills required. Without an early filter, the funnel remains clogged with unqualified talent.

5. Fear of the "Bad Hire"

The cost of replacing an employee is higher than ever, creating a culture of hesitation. To mitigate risk and maintain quality, companies are adding more interview rounds and consensus meetings. While the intention is quality, the result is "analysis paralysis," causing the best candidates to drop out due to prolonged delays.

The High Cost of a Slow Hiring Process

The impact of a long time-to-hire goes far beyond frustration. It is a tangible drain on resources for both sides.

For the Candidate: Candidates today expect speed. Statistics show that 57% of candidates lose interest if the hiring process drags on too long. When top talent encounters a slow process, they assume the company is indecisive or bureaucratic. They don’t just wait; they move on to competitors who move faster.

For the Company: Every day a seat sits empty, it costs money. This is the "Cost of Vacancy" (COV), calculated as the lost productivity and revenue potential of that unfilled role.

• Burnout: Existing teams have to cover the gap, leading to overwork and lower morale.
• Lost Revenue: For sales or technical roles, a 44-day vacancy can mean missing quarterly targets entirely.

MTestHub, The Solution to Slow Hiring

If the problem is manual bottlenecks and disjointed processes, MTestHub is the solution. MTestHub isn't just another hiring tool. It is an AI-powered, full-funnel, hiring automation and assessment platform designed to improve hiring efficiency and significantly reduce time to hire without sacrificing quality.

MTestHub tackles the three biggest time-thieves in recruitment: Screening, Assessment, and Scheduling.

1. Instant Resume Screening: Instead of a recruiter spending 7 days reading 300 resumes, MTestHub’s AI Copilot does it instantly. It parses applications against your specific job criteria (skills, experience, certifications) and ranks them. You don't waste time on unqualified applicants; you start your day looking at the top 10% who are actually a fit.

2. Automated Skill Assessments: Usually, assessments for verifying skills happen late in the hiring process or not at all. They also often require manual evaluation or grading.

With MTestHub, hiring teams can create and administer customized, role specific assessments early on in the hiring process (immediately after resume screening and shortlisting) to help determine quality candidates who have actual skills before spending any time on interviews.

The platform creates the test, proctors it to prevent cheating, and grades it instantly. You only interview candidates who have already proven they can do the job.

3. Automated Scheduling: MTestHub removes the "When are you free?" email back and forth. It integrates with calendars to allow pre-qualified candidates to book their own interview slots based on the hiring team's real-time availability.

The Transformation: What Happens When You Switch?

Integrating MTestHub doesn't just shave off a few hours; it fundamentally transforms the hiring dynamic.

- Time-to-hire drops by over 70%: Users have reported reducing their hiring cycle from 42 days down to roughly 10-12 days.

- Data-driven decisions: Instead of "gut feeling" hiring which often leads to hesitation and delays, you have objective data (test scores, AI rankings) that allows managers to say "Yes" with confidence, faster.

- Better candidate experience: Candidates receive faster feedback and a transparent process. Even those who aren't hired leave with a positive impression of a professional, tech-forward company.

Conclusion

In 2025, speed is the new currency of recruitment. A long time-to-hire is no longer just an annoyance; it is a competitive disadvantage that costs you your best potential employees.

MTestHub offers the antidote to this sluggishness. By automating the manual "grunt work" of screening and testing, it frees up human recruiters to do what they do best: connecting with people.

MTestHub isn't just about paying for a new hiring software; it's about deciding that your candidates - and your internal teams - deserve a process that respects their time.

Ready to see how it works? Book a demo via the button below now.