GLOSSARY
Time-to-fill
Time-to-fill measures days between a position opening and a candidate's placement. Median 2026: 45 days for an IT consultant. Top 10% staffing firms: 18 days.
IN DEPTH
Time-to-fill is the central recruitment KPI: number of days between opening a position (or client need) and actual placement of a candidate. Measured from client/manager brief to candidate's first day on mission. In 2026 in France, median IT consultant time-to-fill is 45 days per Cobalt study, with strong dispersion: 18 days for top 10% (often AI-first staffing firms), 81 days for bottom 10%. For specialized engineers, median rises to 65 days. Levers to reduce time-to-fill: 1) precise client brief in 2h max, 2) AI sourcing + pool in parallel, 3) automatic enrichment, 4) multichannel outreach sequences, 5) calendar scheduling, 6) auto competency dossier generation, 7) meeting transcription. An AI-first platform (Cobalt) enables going from 45 to 15-22 days.
Frequently asked questions
45 days median for an IT consultant (Cobalt 2026 study). 18 days for top 10% (AI-first staffing firms), 81 days for bottom 10%. For specialized engineers: 65 days. Top/bottom gap is 4.5x (vs 2.8x in 2020).
7 concrete actions: client pre-qualification 2h max, AI sourcing + pool in parallel, auto enrichment, multichannel AI outreach sequences, Calendly scheduling, auto competency dossiers, meeting transcription. Cobalt natively integrates these 7 levers. Realistic target: from 45 to 22 days.
Related terms
- ATS (Applicant Tracking System)An ATS is a candidate management software that centralizes, sorts and advances candidates through a recruitment process, from application to hire.
- Semantic SourcingSemantic sourcing uses AI to understand natural language queries (e.g., "DevOps AWS 5 years Paris available March") and retrieve relevant candidates without Boolean search.
- AI Matching (candidate-mission)AI matching uses machine learning models to evaluate a candidate's relevance to a mission by crossing skills, experience, availability and cultural fit. It replaces Boolean search.
- Bench (Intercontrat)The bench (intercontrat) is the period during which a staffing firm consultant is not placed on a client mission. They're paid but generate no revenue.
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