There’s an urgency to hiring, for both parties involved. Once they apply, workers want to get into new jobs quickly, to start earning their salaries and snap into the rhythm of a novel position. Speedy hiring is also important for employers, since vacant roles cost companies both lost productivity and inefficient distribution of resources to compensate for empty seats.

Even though hiring should move fast, however, it never has – even now as so many are people currently looking for new jobs amid a great talent reshuffle, and employers are eager to get these workers into their ranks.

Realistically, in many places, recruitment takes weeks – sometimes well more than a month. Logistical issues, industry-specific processes or factors unique to a given job all feed into the turnaround time from job advertisement to formal offer. But although the long, drawn-out process can be frustrating, there may be an upside for candidates to hanging in there during the hiring marathon.