A notice period is the contractually required or professionally expected time between an executive's resignation from their current role and their actual departure date. Notice periods for VP and C-suite leaders typically range from 2 weeks (US standard) to 3 months (common for executives in Europe, the UK, Australia, and at larger US companies), and they directly affect the timeline of any executive search.
Notice Period Norms by Geography
In the United States, the default notice period for most employees — including executives — is two weeks, as employment is typically at-will. However, many senior executives at established companies operate under employment agreements specifying longer notice periods of 30, 60, or 90 days.
In the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and most of Europe, notice periods for senior executives are significantly longer — commonly 1 to 3 months, and sometimes up to 6 months for C-suite roles. Some UK and European employment agreements also include garden leave provisions, where the executive is paid through their notice period but required to stay away from the workplace and not join a competitor.
Notice Period Norms by Geography
How Notice Periods Affect Executive Search Timelines
Notice periods are a primary variable in executive search planning that hiring managers consistently underestimate. A strong candidate with a 3-month notice period, found in week 6 of a search, does not start for another 12 weeks — pushing the total timeline to 18 weeks or more from the mandate opening.
For searches with urgency (a departing incumbent, a product launch, a funding event), the notice period drives offer timing strategy. The goal is to identify the right candidate and move to offer early enough that, even accounting for notice, the start date meets the company's needs.
“Hiring managers ask 'how soon can you start?' in the first interview, then forget to track notice period as a risk through the whole process. Map it at the beginning. It determines when the search actually needs to close.”
Managing Notice Periods in Executive Offers
Strategies for managing long notice periods include: negotiating a reduced notice period with the candidate's current employer (more common than hiring managers assume), offering a start date that accommodates the full notice, or identifying a strong runner-up candidate with a shorter notice as a hedge.
Majhi Group maps notice period risk for every finalist candidate before an offer is constructed. A strong hire who cannot start for 3 months may still be the right choice — but the company needs to make that decision deliberately, not discover it after the offer is extended.