Why do you use your own definitions?

Because there is no mandatory standard in recruitment, every party chooses for itself what to count. That makes numbers impossible to compare. Because we document and publish our definitions, you know exactly what every SocialFind number means and can put it next to your own figures.

Is the media budget included in the cost per hire?

Yes. We count all costs attributable to the recruitment effort: media budget, content and creative, sourcing effort and the partnership with SocialFind. Only then do you see what a hire really costs and can you fairly compare different solutions.

Can we see the underlying data?

Yes. As a client you receive reports per vacancy, built according to the definitions on this page. So you don't just see the outcome, but also the funnel beneath it: reach, applicants, qualified candidates, interviews and hires.

Do these definitions also apply to the cases on this site?

Yes. Every case and every result we publish follows the same definitions. If you see a number anywhere, it was measured according to this methodology. And if it wasn't, we don't publish it.

How we measure results

Numbers without definitions are marketing. On this page you can read exactly what SocialFind means by a hire, a qualified candidate, cost per hire and time to hire, and how we report on them.

How does SocialFind measure recruitment results?

SocialFind measures recruitment against fixed definitions: a hire is an accepted offer, cost per hire includes every cost attributable to the recruitment effort including media budget, and time to hire runs from completed intake to acceptance. Results are recorded per vacancy and per period, so every report is traceable and comparable.

See our results

Why we publish our definitions

You can tell two completely different stories with the same campaign. It all depends on what you count. Do you count everyone who clicks on an ad, or only candidates who match the profile? Do you include the media budget in the costs, or just the fee? Anyone who wants their numbers to look good simply picks the most flattering definition.

We take the other route: we write our definitions down and stick to them, in every report and in every case on this site. That makes our results verifiable, and it makes conversations about expectations a lot more honest.

What counts as a hire

For us, a hire only counts as a hire once the candidate has accepted the offer. Candidates who are in the final interview round do not count. That prevents results from looking better on paper than they are in practice.

Cost per hire

In cost per hire we include every cost attributable to the recruitment effort: media budget, content and creative, sourcing hours and the partnership with SocialFind itself. A low fee can hide a high real cost, which is why we always look at the total. Want to apply that logic to your own situation? Take a look at the business case.

Time to hire

For us, time to hire runs from the moment the vacancy intake is completed to the moment the candidate accepts the offer. Because we use the same start and end point every time, time to hire is genuinely comparable across vacancies and periods.

Applicant versus qualified candidate

An applicant is anyone who responds. A qualified candidate is someone who, after screening, meets the criteria we agreed with you up front. That distinction is essential: a high volume of unqualified applicants solves nothing, so the difference should be visible in every report.

Measurement period and reporting

We report per vacancy and per fixed reporting period, from the first day of the campaign through the last. No cherry-picking the best month, no leaving out the ramp-up phase. What went well and what did not are shown side by side in the same report.

Privacy

We handle candidate data in line with the GDPR. In cases and reports that are shared more widely, we work with aggregated numbers. Results are traceable to the measurement, never to an individual candidate.

Reporting

You see the funnel, not just the outcome

As a client, you receive reports per vacancy, built on the definitions on this page. So you see not only how many hires there are, but the entire funnel underneath: reach, applicants, qualified candidates and interviews. That way you know exactly where things are running smoothly and where we adjust.