How Long Should a Role Be Open on Your Website Before It Looks Like a Red Flag?

Spoiler Alert: It’s 30 Days.

If your job listing has been live for 30 days or more, it’s time to pause and consider how it looks, especially from a jobseeker’s point of view.

Candidates see open roles lingering on your site and wonder: Why hasn’t anyone been hired yet? To them, it can feel like a red flag. Even if there’s a perfectly valid reason for the delay, it raises questions about the role, the company, or the hiring process. This can unintentionally scare away great talent before they even apply.

As recruiters, we encourage you to step into the candidate’s shoes and ask: What message are we sending? Sometimes, this reflection leads companies to realize they need some extra help filling those tough roles.

We also want to ask some important questions: Who’s covering the job in the meantime? Is the role still a priority? What’s been the biggest challenge in filling it so far? Are the job requirements or salary still aligned with the market? How urgent is it to have someone in place? And at what point will you consider bringing in extra help to speed things up?

An exploratory conversation with a recruiter can be a game-changer. It’s a no-pressure chat to help you figure out if outsourcing your hiring makes sense now, or if you’re better off continuing your own search a little longer.

The bottom line: lingering open roles can cost you more than you think. Let’s talk about how to turn that red flag into a green light, attracting the talent you really want.