This report analyses the recruitment process from intake to placement. The drop-out rate at the first interview is 72%: nearly three in four candidates go no further after the first conversation. The average lead time from intake to placement is 47 days. Salary bands have been calculated per market and per seniority, with the largest jump at Embedded: a 56% increase from mid-level (€3,850) to senior (€6,000).
The recruitment funnel
Of all candidates proposed to an employer, 28% reach the second interview. The drop-out rate at the first interview is therefore 72%. The figure is consistent across all twelve markets and does not differ significantly by market or seniority.
Of the candidates who do continue to the second interview, about 65% are eventually placed. Total conversion from proposal to placement therefore sits around 18%.
Lead times
The average lead time from intake to placement is 47 days. The median is 39 days, which shows that a small group of long-running processes pulls the average up.
By phase: intake to proposal averages 8 days, proposal to first interview 11 days, first to second interview 9 days, second interview to offer 7 days, offer to start 12 days.
Salary bands per seniority
The largest jump from mid-level to senior sits at Embedded: from €3,850 to €6,000, an increase of 56%. Security shows a similar pattern: mid-level €4,200 to senior €7,500, a 79% increase.
At Cloud the difference is smaller: mid-level €5,100 to senior €6,400 (25%). Architecture, the best paid market, has juniors entering at €5,500 and seniors above €9,000.
The junior, mid-level and senior mix differs by market. Cloud and Data carry a relatively large share of seniors, while Testing and PHP count more juniors and mid-levels.
Conclusion
The 72% drop-out at the first interview is the most striking figure. Three in four candidates do not get past the first conversation. That points to a structural matching problem in preselection, not to a lack of candidates.
The 47-day lead time is comparable to international benchmarks, but the spread is wide: 10% of processes take longer than 90 days.
Sources
- Pearson & Partners process data, August 2024 through August 2026