In shortExpect four to eight weeks from agreed brief to accepted offer for most permanent roles, plus the successful candidate’s notice period (usually four weeks, sometimes more for senior roles). Senior and scarce-skill roles run longer. The biggest avoidable delays are a slow or unclear brief, slow interview scheduling, and a drawn-out offer.
“How soon can we have someone?” is the first question on most briefs. The honest answer for a permanent role is: a good process to an accepted offer takes four to eight weeks, and then you wait out a notice period on top.
A typical timeline
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Agree the brief (role, must-haves, package, process) | 2–4 days |
| Search and approach — building a shortlist of matched candidates | 1–2 weeks |
| Shortlist presented, first interviews | 1 week |
| Second interviews, references, decision | 1–2 weeks |
| Offer, negotiation, acceptance | 2–5 days |
| Brief to accepted offer | 4–8 weeks |
| Notice period before they start | 4 weeks (often more for senior) |
What makes it faster
- A clear brief agreed on day one. Every day the brief is vague or still being debated internally is a day the search cannot really start.
- Pre-booked interview slots. Block two or three windows in the diary before the shortlist lands. Scheduling is where a week disappears.
- A tight decision group. Two or three people who can actually decide, not a committee of six with calendars that never align.
- A realistic package. If the offer is below market, the process stalls at shortlist and restarts — that is two weeks gone.
- Moving quickly on the person you want. Strong permanent candidates are usually in two or three processes. A week of internal silence after a great interview loses them.
What makes it slower
- Scarce skills — senior estimators, design managers, experienced civil site managers. Add two to four weeks.
- Regional or remote locations, or roles competing with a nearby major project.
- A drawn-out or multi-round interview process for a role that does not need it.
- Offers that go out low and need two or three rounds of negotiation.
- Long notice periods — senior people may owe eight to twelve weeks.
If you need someone sooner
For genuinely urgent gaps, labour hire or a fixed-term contractor can bridge the period while the permanent search runs properly in the background. Rushing a permanent hire to fill a gap this month is how mis-hires happen — and a mis-hire costs far more than a few weeks of a contractor.