Requisition Aging

Requisition aging is the number of days a job requisition has been open. You take the date the requisition was opened, count forward to today, and the result is its age.

HR and recruiting leaders watch it to find roles that are stuck. An old requisition usually points to a problem with the job, the pay, the pipeline, or the approval process.

How Do You Calculate Requisition Aging?

Subtract the date the requisition opened from today's date. A requisition opened on September 1 is 50 days old on October 21. Most teams count calendar days, including weekends.

Pick the start date once and apply it everywhere. Some teams start the clock at approval, others at the day the job posts. Approval is more common because it matches when the business decided it needs the role.

Decide how to treat requisitions on hold. Many teams pause the clock so a frozen role does not look like a failing one.

How Is Requisition Aging Different From Time to Fill?

Aging looks at requisitions that are still open. Time to fill looks at ones that have closed. SHRM's recruiting research describes median time to fill as the period from job requisition to offer acceptance.

Time to fill tells you how you performed last quarter. Aging tells you what needs attention this week. Together they show whether your open roles are on track compared with how similar roles filled in the past.

What Age Bands Should You Use?

Bands let you scan a list of open roles quickly. The cutoffs below are one common setup, not a standard. Choose limits that fit how long your roles normally take to fill.

Set separate bands for hard-to-fill or senior roles. A single set of limits makes a specialist search look worse than it is, and it trains managers to ignore the report.

Why Do Requisitions Age?

The causes are usually fixable once you name them. Requirements may be unrealistic, or pay may sit below what candidates can find elsewhere. The posting may attract the wrong people.

Process delays also add days. Slow approvals, long gaps between interviews, and hiring managers who take a week to give feedback all stretch the clock. Candidates take other offers while they wait.

Sometimes the role is simply no longer a priority. If nobody is pushing it, the requisition keeps aging without anyone noticing, and it still counts in your open-role totals.

How Do You Clean Up Stale Requisitions?

Set a regular review, such as monthly, for every requisition past your oldest band. For each one, confirm the role is still funded, the hiring manager still wants to fill it, and the requirements still match the work.

• Close requisitions that are no longer needed instead of leaving them open.
• Put approved but paused roles on hold and stop the clock.
• Mark evergreen requisitions separately so they do not distort your averages.
• Rewrite the job or adjust pay when the market is the problem.

A clean list matters because open requisitions also shape your reports and recruiting workload. Our entry on the job requisition covers how requisitions are created and approved.

How Does HR Cloud Fit Into Requisition Aging?

HR Cloud's recruiting page describes dashboards that cover open roles and pipeline movement, plus custom hiring stages with owners, tasks, and deadlines.

The page does not describe requisition management, requisition approval workflows, or an aging report. Check whether you can see how long each role has been open, and track age in a spreadsheet if not.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is requisition aging?

A: It is the number of days a job requisition has been open, counted from the date it was opened or approved.

Q: How do I calculate requisition aging?

A: Subtract the open date from today's date. Use calendar days and the same start date, approval or posting, for every requisition.

Q: Is requisition aging the same as time to fill?

A: No. Aging measures requisitions that are still open. Time to fill measures how long a closed requisition took to reach an accepted offer.

Q: What is a bad requisition age?

A: It depends on the role and your history. Set age bands from how long similar roles take to fill, and review anything beyond your longest band.

Q: Should on-hold requisitions count toward aging?

A: Most teams pause the clock while a role is on hold. Choose one rule and apply it to every requisition so reports stay comparable.

Q: How often should I review old requisitions?

A: Monthly works well for most teams. Review each one past your oldest band and close, fix, or freeze it.