Not to be dramatic, but I’m starting to feel like the decoy candidate. I’ve made it to final rounds three times this year for roles I genuinely wanted, only to lose out to internal candidates every single time. The most recent one stung. I crushed the case study, got positive feedback from every interviewer, and still got the “we’ve decided to promote from within” email. It’s hard not to feel like I was just brought in to tick a box or benchmark the real hire. Be honest, are these roles ever actually open, or am I wasting my time applying to jobs that are already spoken for?

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Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

It sucks, but it’s also reality. Some roles are posted just to meet policy, but there are still legit openings out there. Focus your energy where the odds are better.

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It's true that some job postings are a formality and there could be an internal candidate who will be the obvious frontrunner. The problem is there's no way of knowing what's going on, so the only way to avoid that situation is to apply for no jobs at all. If you've gone through three rounds of interviews three times I'm not so sure you were simply out of contention. That's a lot of time to waste on someone who they know will not get the job.

Just happened to me. I thought the interview had gone well and was told to wait for next steps. Interviewer didn't respond to my follow up, so I checked the careers page and sure enough the job was no longer posted. She finally got back to me 3 weeks later saying she appreciated my time but they'd gone with an internal candidate instead.

Ugh, it’s so frustrating. Sometimes roles are technically “open,” but the company already has an internal candidate in mind. That doesn’t mean your time is wasted, though you’re still gaining experience and showing your skills. Still, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t sting; it’s hard not to wonder which roles are truly up for grabs.

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