The online survey asked 2,000 members of the public: "How many working days does a vacancy for a permanent job have to be open before it starts to look like a bad job that no-one wants?"
UK CEO of Randstad, Mark Bull, said: "The results show recruiting for a job vacancy is like selling your house. Leave it on the market too long and, for whatever reason, people start to think there is something wrong with it."
He added: "With the current skills shortage, it's not a good idea to hold out too long for a candidate: eventually that tactic will back-fire and become counter-productive. If you interview a good candidate, don't wait too long before you offer them a job."
There was a slight difference depending on regions. Those in the north-east said a vacancy would have to be open just 58 working days, less than 12 weeks, before it starts to look like a bad job.
But workers in London were more tolerant of vacancies that weren't filled immediately, saying a vacancy could be open another 21 days – a total of 79 working days – before it starts to look like a job that no-one wants.
The survey claim the ideal time is half of what most people stated. Bull said: "While candidates will not start judging a job negatively until the vacancy has been advertised for 72 days, the ideal time is half this."
The results of this research are gained from three sources: the Office of National Statistics (ONS) report on unemployment rates for February to June 2012; a Randstad poll on "ideal to hire", of 250 recruitment consultants in September 2012; and data from 2,001 people surveyed by global marketing company Canadean in July 2012.
