The Secrets of Successful Hiring (Part 2): Timing Is Everything – Why Urgency Kills Quality

Hiring under pressure is the norm in many organizations. A resignation, a surprise funding round, a new project starting faster than expected – and suddenly, there’s a vacancy that needs to be filled now.

But here’s the problem: urgency almost always compromises quality.

According to research by Glassdoor, the average hiring process takes 23.8 days globally – but in high-pressure scenarios, companies often try to shortcut this to under two weeks. In Finland, organizations report that a rushed recruitment is 3x more likely to result in a mismatch during the probation period (source: Duunitori employer insights).

What starts as agility turns into compromise: – Less time to clarify role expectations
🩷 Fewer qualified candidates reached
🩷 Weakened candidate experience
🩷 Rushed interviews and vague feedback

Reactive hiring has a hidden cost

A reactive recruitment process often feels like action – but it rarely leads to strategic outcomes. According to the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), failed hires cost companies €20,000–€50,000, not to mention lost momentum, team trust, and leadership time.

Quality hiring requires lead time

We recommend starting recruitment processes 2–3 months before the desired start date, especially for specialist and leadership roles. This allows:

🩷 Space to align internally before going live
🩷 Time to build a relevant candidate pipeline
🩷 Flexibility for iterations when needed

At DreamIt, our clients who plan ahead consistently: – Reach better candidates earlier – Move faster with more confidence – Have higher onboarding success and long-term retention

Your timing checklist:

🩷 When do you want the person to start?
🩷 What is the real latest possible start date?
🩷 How long will decision-making realistically take in your team?
🩷 Have you accounted for vacations, notice periods, and onboarding?

Starting early doesn’t mean slowing down – it means removing panic from the process.

This blog post is part of our five-part series: The Secrets of Successful Hiring.

👉 Read Part 1: Start with Clarity – Not a Job Ad

Part 3: Culture Fit is Outdated – Aim for Shared Vision → Coming soon.

Want to build a proactive hiring roadmap for fall?
We’re booking recruitment projects for Q3–Q4 2025 now.