I had an interview, but apparently the decision was made before I even applied

I honestly don't understand why some companies still do this. I recently applied for a position where my experience matched the requirements almost perfectly. I made it through the first steps, got invited to an interview, prepared for it, and went in expecting a real conversation. I even drove about an hour to get there. And to be clear: the distance itself was not a problem. I am already planning to move to that city anyway, so I would have happily made that effort for a real opportunity. The interview seemed fine at first. But looking back now, there were already signs that I should have noticed. The entire interview lasted less than 30 minutes. Not a single person took notes. Nobody asked for specific examples, details about my experience, or anything that would actually help them evaluate whether I was a good fit. Apart from one obvious "let's ask something so it looks like an interview" question, most of the questions were completely superficial. At the time, I thought maybe they just had a very casual interview style. A few days later, I got the rejection. The reason they gave me was that they had decided to go with someone who was already connected to the organization. And suddenly the whole interview made a lot more sense. I'm not angry that someone else got the job. That's part of hiring. Sometimes another person is simply chosen. But if the decision was already made, why invite other candidates? Why make people spend time preparing, researching the company, rearranging their schedules, driving there, and showing up with the ex…

Posted by /u/anonRexus on r/recruitinghell
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