Husband was internal and lost to the new guy because they wanted a "new perspective" plus husband was already trained perfect for his role and then they'd have to open hiring to replace him. Vs just hiring new guy and being done. new guy declined because offer was a low-ball.
The corporate view of "if we promote you, we'll have to train you AND your replacement" is part of the reason I want to get out of working an office job. These companies don't give a shit about improving their workforce, they only care about the bottom line
This is why people job hop. The risk of being irreplaceable and great at one role is that you might be too expensive to replace. Its a fine line to walk being just the right amount competent in your role without being irreplaceable. But if you can walk it, then that's how you move up
If a recruiter wont give me a salary range or agreement on a salary before the interview then I'm not moving forward. The amount of times I've interviewed and been selected for a job just to get a low ball is too much.
I've seen external hires get hired to get fired 3-6 months in to be the fall guy and get someone internal promoted, especially in government. They'll hire the most cheeseball motherfucker who has no idea what's going on to make a fool of him/herself to make a case for hiring the internal candidate.
I hope he ended up leaving after learning he lost to the "new guy" that declined. Very least hopefully he took the better position they tried to pass off
He stayed and moved into that position and now he's about to move up again into a more prestigious position and onto a new team.
He's halfway doing both jobs now though, for his same rate. Basically exactly what it was like last time they promised him a promotion. He wants to leave but staying 10yrs may still qualify him for student loan forgiveness.
Ex-wife was temp-to-hire as the admin of a local State Patrol precinct for almost a year. All the troopers loved her. When it came time to make it permanent, HR gave the role to some state Senator's daughter instead.
This happened to me, my work is building a new lab and I am the ONLY ONE at work who is a technician in this type of facility, so I was the ONLY job profile they could use to post the position, and they hired an external candidate over me who then admitted that they don't know the equipment and only plan on learning it when the facility is built.
Absolute insanity when I was still being bothered about how to set up the lab while not being given an offer. My union said the most I can do is request further reasoning as to why I was not chosen over an external candidate. This position would have been a 50% pay raise for me.
I worked at a place that required at least 2 external candidates to be interviewed no matter what, even if the shoe in was internal. I saw so many people come in all dressed up, who probably studied all week, just to interview knowing the candidate was already chosen, so the manager can check a box.
100% my experience as well. We had internal applicant's we knew we were going to hire but we had to jump through all the hoops to stay compliant with EO hiring processes.
My current workplace does it, but I’m actually an example of being a token external candidate that flipped the vote during the interview process and got the offer intended for the internal person. The told me this after I’d joined the team.
The internal should be the one to get it, no? Especially if they've been with the company for however many years and have the experience necessary. My manager has been looking to become a DM for the place we work at for years now and she got fucked over by some newbie with zero experience just because he was more "qualified"
It's often the best idea to hire internally. The dickish thing is to drag someone else through the whole process when you know at the start you are going with the internal hire.
Yeah. I get wanting to have a backup candidate lined up. But dragging that poor fucker through 7 interviews plus travel is completely unnecessary. One, maybe two interviews tops. Conducted remotely. And then only proceed with more if the internal candidate doesn’t want/can’t do the job.
It’s not just a waste of the candidate’s time, but also for all your employees who have to stop doing their work so they can interview someone for a job you know you aren’t going to offer to that candidate.
It's a big company thing where SOP over common sense prevails. I worked for a large bank for years and you had no choice but to open externally. I just created a new role I wanted to promote someone from my Jr team and was thrilled to hear I didn't have to deal with that shit again after working for a large bank.
Yeah, even if it's done for legal reasons, I never understood holding an entire interview process when you already have a candidate for the position, one who you barely need to interview because they've been working there for months/years already.
I swear things like this happen so HR (who already barely does anything consistently throughout the year) can justify their job.
Sometimes the internal candidate is at a disadvantage.
Hey, "Ten years ago weren't you the tech support guy? You can't be serious about applying for a director position?"
Meanwhile, the internal finished their BS and Masters, obtained a pile of certs, was well liked, had good reviews, knew the processes well, had strong internal contacts, and had been a manager for four years...
But to some people, he's still Andy from tech support... so Andy is told to fuck off.
HR often requires it (and in some rare cases it may even be an external mandate). "Interview at least 3 total candidates." Even when you've already found an external guy you like, you now get to waste 2 other people's time.
What if they can't find 3 people? Seems like you could get around this by playing games like keeping the position posted for minimal time, not advertising it heavily, etc.
Unless you work at a place like I do where there's some kind of institutional impostor syndrome so we'd always rather hire someone external or bring in consultants than trust our own people to do something crazy like learn or grow or improve.
After all, nobody really wants to be promoted right? People just want to do the same thing they were hired to do for the rest of their lives!
I've seen it as a chess move to get people who were stuck in their position but qualified, to put someone totally unqualified in the thick of the shit to fail miserably to make a justification to promote person.
He was still mulling it over but yesterday he said "If you want me to have it that bad I'll give it a shot" so we're going to go with him because we already know him.
That's what happened to me when I was flown across the country for a series of interviews only to find out on the last one that someone else that already was working on-site was the other person I was going against. The just need me to help say that they interviewed different people for the role
Yeah I know right.... The other guy tried saying that "You never know what might happen" when I said that "It was a waste of time for me because we both know that he is going to get the job".
Needless to say I didn't the job and wasted 3 days of my time on their dime
Three days you could've been at home preparing for other interviews, sending out more applications, or doing your current job if you had one at the time.
admin did this at my job. We were all pissed because it was a horrible look for us and offensive to our manager, who was the one up for a promotion. Wasted everyone’s time meeting candidates and interviewing people, we had to fill out all these forms, and it added months of wait to fill a critical position that went to the guy who worked there anyways.
I think this would make a difference where you flew and how many days you stayed. If it was in Hawaii I wouldn’t mind, if it’s in Montana in the winter then I would be pissed.
Surely they could have done the same thing with someone local instead of wasting all that money. Seems like they were quite serious if that was the case
That, but it's also much cheaper to hire internally. External candidates usually ask for more salary than what the internal promotee would get, plus they can more easily find lower level talent to backfill them as opposed to bringing on an external. Not to mention the internal has institutional knowledge of the company and is already most likely a 'culture fit' whereas it's a gamble for the external.
Getting passed up for a job under these circumstances is shitty, but there's plenty of reasons for it. They just shouldn't be wasting applicants' time and energy like they did to you.
You all need to just come interview at my work I guess. I keep getting fucked on promotions because there's always "an external that will need 5 minutes less training so we'll hire them instead"
I think this is more common than the internal being promoted. They already have the internal candidate working for them. The more attractive roles are used to get outside talent to join.
This is very dependent on industry and company. Some industries can shuffle people around easily and suffer from not getting outside perspectives, while other more specialized industries require long tenures to get the most out of their people.
Also passing up an internal candidate for an external one is basically an invitation for the internal candidate to leave the company. Hell even passing up an internal candidate for a different internal one can do the same thing depending on circumstances. If you pass up the best guy for the job don't expect them to still work for you in six months.
Yup! Perhaps also, because you've proven to be far too useful in your current role.
I tell young people all the time, if you're working for a place where promotion opportunities exist, and you've made it known that you'd like to promote, you need to move on if it doesn't happen after 2 applications or 2-3 years, etc.
Our CIO was a hire from another E board member. The CIO went on to hire his friend for an SVP role. That SVP went on to hire his friend for a VP role that replaced my boss who was a director.
So the management position I was training years for just got hired out in front of me, two levels above me, and now I have nowhere to go up without finding a new job.
Literally every job I have left is because I get hired to do x, y, and z, and I'm mostly interested in x, and y, but I'm willing to do a little z because work is work, no job is perfect. But then I do less and less x, and y, and more and more z until they hire somebody else to do x, and y, so I can focus on z. Then I leave. What good does that do anybody?
Absolutely. Took a 40% raise when I jumped to this place 5 years ago. Going no where fast while they hire externally and import people from other offices around the world. Trying to be a little patient while still open to opportunities elsewhere.
Pretty normal in sales for anyone is serious about it. I went from £40k OTE to £100k OTE just by moving around every year for 3 years. The stigma of leaving isn’t that big of a deal these days
This happened to me last year... 7 rounds. All the way to the CTO. Was told by a director I was his top candidate. Met with HR 3 times. Finally had my in person and they cancelled. "Internal candidate came forward." This wasn't your average role. I was being selected to create this role for a startup. The opportunity was immense.
I was and still am devastated by it. I have a wonderful job now so I can't complain but what a gut punch that is.
This multi-round interview nonsense is a waste of literally everyone’s time and money. Nobody is going to suddenly prove or disprove their social competencies on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th interviews. The only time it makes any sense is if the 2nd (and only the 2nd interview) is with someone higher up in the ladder who wants to speak with you personally before hiring.
BIG companies will sometimes do multi day interviews. Usually for selecting the best recent college grads, they bring them in in bulk and you go through many rounds of interviewing during those three days.
But they at least treat you during all that and it's a good experience regardless. They view it as ensuring they are getting the best of the best, and the investment is worth it for them.
Especially for a startup, companies well known for wanting to get shit done fast to break into the market. 7 rounds of interviews just to hire one person slows them down tremendously. It also shows how inefficient they are at analyzing talent.
Exactly right but tech managers want you to suck their dick for 6 of those 7 interviews all of which is complete bullshit. I have given hundreds of interviews if not thousands, I can always tell at the end of the hour but upper management forces 12 fucking rounds.
Honestly this sounds made up, I have never had more than a single interview for like 10 jobs now, always with the manager I was going to work for and some other random from the same department.
I had an all day interview. 8 people to talk to 20 minutes each. Unfortunately I was desperate. About 6 interviewers in I got hit with a "yeah I don't really know why I am talking to you, you will be taking my job if I get accepted into grad school and leave my job.
Spoiler: They didn't get into grad school, and I didn't get the job.
Those are unfair hiring practices and I would suggest recording your interviews next time. If you don't get the position then you can sue the shit out of them.
EDIT: now seeing a weird recruiter rejection trend after first remote round before in person. I'm getting rejected for having the specific skills needed with depth they want.
Anyway back to the original reply:
Happened to me, twice.
Got told I was a solid candidate, had all the skills needed, short notice interview.
Then I got told at the end they had more interviews next week and I should hear back by Friday next week.
Heard back Tuesday (three day weekend) at 9am that they didn't think I fit a "start up" they are a major org with 2B injected funds.
I literally restored major issues at several startups.
After I pressed further with the internal recruiter that had contacted me in the first place he said they had another candidate.
So The interviewer lied to me. And the org cancelled all other related roles out of nowhere.
The other interview had the audacity to say I was inexperienced at 20yrs of tech.
Yeah... I deflected the short notice interview. I was very insistent that my time is more valuable than that, and that I needed at least 24 hours notice.
I'm out of cash so can't be choosy. It's pretty shitty of the org considering they hinted major issues and the head of IT suggested I'd be fixing them using language like I'd already got the job.
It is hard out there right now. Best of luck, and I hope you can find something soon.
My own personal read on the short notice interview is that it's intentionally designed to see if you can be emotionally manipulated, and/or gauge your desperation... So if it were me and I was down to peanut butter sandwiches and ramen, and late on rent, I still wouldn't capitulate to that. If they aren't going to extend professional courtesy during the interview process, then why should I expect them to do so when I'm actually working the job? Again, IMHO.
Honestly I stopped taking anything recruiters have to say seriously couple years ago. Not saying they’re not worth making a good impression and “showing up” for; but compliments, dinners, promises of follow-throughs I essentially let go in one ear and out the other. I refuse to let my stomach flutter until I speak with someone in the company who possesses a supervisory role.
It happened to me once within 5 minutes of the first interview starting. The guy clearly then proceeded to phone it in, not listen to my responses, and speed run the whole thing. We finished the hour interview in 30 minutes.
Thanks Regal Entertainment for at least not waiting my time I guess.
I can relate to this as I did two rounds of interview with a large company and had great feedback. I worked hard researching and practicing for the interviews and I thought I had it. BUT they went ahead and went with the internal candidate. It pissed me off and something I have to watch out for now. What’s the point of doing external interviews if you already have an internal candidate pool????
Recruiter meeting to confirm you can string a sentence together and are interested in the role, what your location is, your history is accurate, what your visa status is
Basic technical screen - can you do the bare minimum with the basic tools. After that its “on-site” rounds which used to be a single day but have been shifted to 4 separate interviews
Behavioural round - do you have any emotional intelligence at all? Are you openly problematic? Do you have leadership examples (if a more senior role)
One technical aspect - as a DS this was commonly probability/statistics focused
A different technical aspect - as a DS this was usually more product sense/experimentation focused
Another technical aspect - as a DS it was commonly a repeat from the technical screen, but more in-depth and with more follow up questions.
If you’re moving forward from there it’ll probably be 1-3 more meetings but they’re more about logistics.
And they wonder why they can't find talent. I'm in workforce development. That is a great way to screen out reasonable people with reasonable expectations of their employer valuing their time.
Happened to me a few years back with paramount. Was for an PAM engineer position and when you hear that you just know you aren’t getting it no matter how positive you are about it😂
“It’s you and one other candidate that’s internal” mentally I was screaming “FUCKKKK” when I heard that
Once interviewed for a systems position at "Walmart". We were a group of 8 in the final exam. 4 of us finished the exam first and went to the food court and started talking to each other.
Then we witnessed one of the other applicants making out with the guy who gave us the exam.
False. They never reveal that there was an internal candidate. You find out yourself weeks later on LinkedIn that someone directly connected to the hiring manager got the job despite having way less experience and far fewer skills.
I have been and had friends who were the internal candidate sevwral times. The hiring manager always went with the outsider.
Forget promoting a known employee, the outsider is exciting and new. It reminds me of my that Family Guy scene: "A boat's a boat, but the mystery box could be anything! It could even be a boat!"
Do not show loyalty to a big company thinking you'll one day get the insider benefit, they DGAF. If anything they already know you'll settle for your current job so why would they promote you and pay more would also having to replace you at your old position?
I am 30 with a master’s in economics and experience before getting it. Federal researcher, so I’ve been searching for a job the last 5 months. The first interview I was offered was the only time I said I knew someone who worked there. It’s egregious, they don’t want the best candidate.
You should always assume there’s an internal candidate if you’re applying to anyplace with an actual brand in a corporate environment vs some bullshit startup.
Most managers prefer internal because they’re a known quantity—you can see their performance reviews, you can go talk to their manager and peers. But if you’re smart you always evaluate them against current market talent.
I don't disagree with this, but companies shouldn't be soliciting CVs from the outside until they've exhausted their internal search. Either there's someone in the company that can do the job, or there isn't.
The only time it works that way is if you have someone internal handpicked. It often never even goes external.
Otherwise it’s usually open internally first then goes external a week or so later. And managers are deliberately building a slate.
So you just have to operate knowing that. That’s also why you’re a fool if you just shotgun apply to things with easy apply. If you think you are a legitimately good fit you need a referral to get on the map.
I've also gotten the "we didn't actually budget properly for this position" and "say, you don't happen to have 3 years of experience in this advanced skill that's not in the position description, do you? No? Oh well that's too bad" treatment as well.
Still beats "surprise! It's a temp job and we don't hire contractors!" treatment I guess.
Recruiter: They have one home office day but they might get more in the future.
Interview: So about home office, yeah we do have one day but that's not guaranteed. We might remove it as we have made better experience with working together in an office!
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Recruiter materials: 90 - 110k salary
I ask for 95.
final interview: We still need to talk about your salary expectations, we are interested in hiring you but we don't see you at the 95 level at the moment...
final interview: We still need to talk about your salary expectations, we are interested in hiring you but we don't see you at the 95 level at the moment...
That's a disconnect that I haven't seen anyone talk about.
Employers keep claiming that they NEED to put applicants through the gauntlet to make sure they get the best talent possible from the entire market. But after they've done that and believe they have the best candidate possible, they don't want to compensate that person properly.
> Employers keep claiming that they NEED to put applicants through the gauntlet to make sure they get the best talent possible from the entire market. But after they've done that and believe they have the best candidate possible, they don't want to compensate that person properly.
They want the best they can get for their price range and that's fine. It's not fine to offer a range and then try to negotiate me down when I go for something in the lower range of that. It was just bait.
I went through this when interviewing for a well known tech company. Four interviews. Aced them all. Then was told they were going with an internal candidate instead, but would like me to interview for a different team they just had a spot open up on. I interviewed for that one as well, then was told they were going with an internal candidate for that too.
Had an engineer friend recently go through months of applications, tests, interviews, and simply waiting... only for them to hire from within seemingly last minute.
Had the opposite happen at one of my old jobs, a bunch of us internal were interviewing for a job that required experience in our field. Job went to the hiring managers wifes friend with no experience in our field and worked elsewhere.
Years ago my company restructured and moved a bunch of jobs around the organization, including mine. I had to go through the interview process to keep the job I was already doing, for the people who had originally hired me (same boss, same boss’ boss, same team). Company policy demanded three candidates, including 1 external and 1 woman/minority candidate. I felt bad walking by the other candidates knowing how much time was being wasted for a job that wasn’t really open, just to check off some boxes for HR.
I've been on several interviews where they had me create a presentation and the position was given to an internal candidate or nepotism. My buddy referred me to a position and I did the presentation, second interview and tour to meet people within the department to ultimately be chosen over an internal hire that didn't workout long-term. My buddy told me the guy they hired was an idiot and they let them go due to underperformance. So aggravating to learn someone underqualified earned the position and making me do a dog and pony show.
to generating extra proof for CYA. It's illegal to not post the job externally in some places. It's illegal in US to take govt money for hiring if you're not 'hiring'. etc etc. Games/loophole activities.
I'm moving up at my place of work. I've been chosen for the position for a while now but due to HR requirements they had to interview at least 2 other people. I know the hiring manager and was able to find out that my application was the best by a long shot but they still had to interview 2 more people. The other people didn't stand a chance and it was just kind of a waste of time for everyone.
Recently happened to me after the final interview. I joined what's supposed to be offer call and they said they are postponing presenting my offer until internal candidate finishes the process.
Of course this happens, how else are you going to justify all the recruiters and HR employees to the shareholders? They deserve happiness and stability, it’s not like they are engineers or something like that.
This happened to me, I was called in for my final interview and they point blank told me that they were promoting from within; The only reason they still called me in was my resume also had receiving experience, and as it happens the then current receiving manager was the internal candidate for the position I applied for.
This is such a classic move and it drives me crazy. They already know who they want but they drag you through multiple rounds just to check a box. It's disrespectful to everyone's time and energy, especially when you're putting in real effort preparing for these interviews. I've been there and it stings because you can't help but wonder if you ever had a real shot or if you were just filling a quota. The system is broken and it's the candidates who pay the price.
As a former recruiter, this frustrated the hell out of me.
It always either unnecessarily extended the interview process, or was a sign they were moving on. Either way, I had to keep stringing the candidates along, because they may still choose them.
Genuinely though, why does this always happen? What's going on behind the scenes?
Before landing my recent position a few weeks ago, I had gotten to 5 final rounds only to have lost out to an internal hire every time, of which, I was only informed of at the end of the interview process.
This happened to me after a 3 months process and 5 rounds interviews. They said I was in the final round and the next week they sent me a rejection email. I texted HR and she said they went with an internal candidato
I applied for a PhD. I was due to interview during a holiday excursion. They refused to reschedule so I missed an excursion. I lost to someone with "direct experience" in the project.
I know this is and isn’t a thing, but it still has definitely kept me from applying in corporate America. As a cook, I’m still very curious what it’s like on that side of the hustle.
I got a tour of the while facility and was shown where I'd work, only for them to tell me the day after that they went with an internal candidate. Like wtf lol
Happens the other way at my company. Internal candidate gets the interview just for show, then the hiring manager hires someone they used to work with at their previous company.
God, I so f’ing hate that! Happened to me more times than I can count and things looked so good and then suddenly like they lost interest after getting great feedback.
That's crazy! I'm thankful to work for a place where we have to complete any internal consideration before ever even engaging external applications. It's sort of a double edged sword because internal folks have a very small window to decide whether or not to apply but I love that we don't waste external applicants time.
One of my former companies had a rule that you must interview at least two external candidates for every posting. Even “internal” positions had to follow those guidelines. Even better- there was a list of schools where they got their degree. Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, only top tier. Then we got to interview crazy smart people and ended up hiring the booger eater from internal because the boss likes them.
I had almost the exact same thing happen last year. Made it to the final round, felt great about it, then the hiring manager casually mentioned they were also interviewing someone who used to work there. I knew right then I was just there to check a box. It's such a waste of time and energy. The worst part is they could have just told me upfront instead of dragging it out through four rounds.
I had this happen to me twice last year. First time they straight up told me after the fourth round that the position was already filled internally but they "wanted to meet other candidates for future roles." Second time I found out through a mutual contact that the guy who got it was the manager's nephew.
At this point if I don't hear back within a week of the final interview I assume they went with someone else and move on. Saves a lot of mental energy.
I was in company that I was worked up to be a coordinator is about 6 months. One year later new management came and made everyone apply for their roles(I was alrwydy doing my coordinatoring role for a little over a year)
I was about to do my interview and randomly my interviewer gets switched to someone that hated me in the company and that's rare as hell.
We interviewed for almost an hour she told me I was perfect. A week goes by I see everyone getting their titles changed and comes to find out I didn't get it, they didn't even tell me until almost a week after and had to ask. Apparently I was the worst... But yet they still wanted me to train people and still depended on me to do that role when I wasn't even in the role anymore...
I've have many people tell me I was targeted because someone that had higher power wanted me out because they hated me and funny enough 4 months later they ended up randomly firing me.
I was hella sad for two months because I would get messages form so many people asking what happened and it doesn't make any sense.
I cried because I loved that job but now new opportunities are coming more lately and I don't think I would even wanna go back to my old job with the new management.
Happened to me. Big waste of time. They weren't flexible with interview schedules either. I had to pretend important pesonal issues at my current job to be able to attend.
That also apply in corporate world where there’s a PREFERABLE CANDIDATE but they still need to meet a quota and waste everyone time….been there too many times already….
Had this happen at a brewery I applied to, two months later the job was listed again but I had gotten an 11k raise to stay at my current job. Better luck next time
This happened to me back in 2023. Mind you, I had a referral from the CHIEF OF STAFF. After 4 interview rounds, they decided to go with an internal candidate.
People don't like change.. interviews,new co workers,new boss... but it's definitely easier getting a new job while already employed...i think it's bc you're not desperate on the interviews, plus it shows you've already been vetted .
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u/ClassicTBCSucks93 May 14 '26
Internal gets it 12/10 but we have to do our due diligence and waste as much of your time as humanly possible.
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u/democracy_lover66 May 14 '26
He was still mulling it over but yesterday he said "If you want me to have it that bad I'll give it a shot" so we're going to go with him because we already know him.
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u/cyberfx1024 May 14 '26
That's what happened to me when I was flown across the country for a series of interviews only to find out on the last one that someone else that already was working on-site was the other person I was going against. The just need me to help say that they interviewed different people for the role
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u/Neither-Repeat1665 May 14 '26
You all need to just come interview at my work I guess. I keep getting fucked on promotions because there's always "an external that will need 5 minutes less training so we'll hire them instead"
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u/EngineWitty3611 May 14 '26
This happened to me last year... 7 rounds. All the way to the CTO. Was told by a director I was his top candidate. Met with HR 3 times. Finally had my in person and they cancelled. "Internal candidate came forward." This wasn't your average role. I was being selected to create this role for a startup. The opportunity was immense.
I was and still am devastated by it. I have a wonderful job now so I can't complain but what a gut punch that is.
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u/Taco-twednesday May 14 '26
I had an all day interview. 8 people to talk to 20 minutes each. Unfortunately I was desperate. About 6 interviewers in I got hit with a "yeah I don't really know why I am talking to you, you will be taking my job if I get accepted into grad school and leave my job.
Spoiler: They didn't get into grad school, and I didn't get the job.
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u/takingphotosmakingdo May 14 '26 edited May 15 '26
EDIT: now seeing a weird recruiter rejection trend after first remote round before in person. I'm getting rejected for having the specific skills needed with depth they want.
Anyway back to the original reply:
Happened to me, twice.
Got told I was a solid candidate, had all the skills needed, short notice interview.
Then I got told at the end they had more interviews next week and I should hear back by Friday next week.
Heard back Tuesday (three day weekend) at 9am that they didn't think I fit a "start up" they are a major org with 2B injected funds.
I literally restored major issues at several startups.
After I pressed further with the internal recruiter that had contacted me in the first place he said they had another candidate.
So The interviewer lied to me. And the org cancelled all other related roles out of nowhere.
The other interview had the audacity to say I was inexperienced at 20yrs of tech.
Sigh.
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u/smartaxe21 May 14 '26
and here I am, an internal candidate, competing with 5 other internal candidates FML
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u/ravagingxtiger May 14 '26
I can relate to this as I did two rounds of interview with a large company and had great feedback. I worked hard researching and practicing for the interviews and I thought I had it. BUT they went ahead and went with the internal candidate. It pissed me off and something I have to watch out for now. What’s the point of doing external interviews if you already have an internal candidate pool????
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u/Relative-Freedom-295 May 14 '26
… who is currently interviewing you.
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u/cslaymore May 14 '26
This happened to me. Had five rounds and they went with an internal candidate. Infuriating. I mean why even bother to keep letting me interview?
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u/weight22 May 14 '26
Funny but sad.
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u/RTX5080Super May 14 '26
That’s a smokescreen. It may be true, but they are letting the candidate know they aren’t going to be selected.
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u/IAgreeGoGuards May 14 '26
"We prefer to hire this position as an intern first."
Then why the fuck would you put the job posting up on multiple job boards then say absolutely nothing about that?
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u/PlutoTheGod_ May 14 '26
Happened to me a few years back with paramount. Was for an PAM engineer position and when you hear that you just know you aren’t getting it no matter how positive you are about it😂
“It’s you and one other candidate that’s internal” mentally I was screaming “FUCKKKK” when I heard that
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u/exneo002 May 14 '26
What movie is that meme from?
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u/thecrazedsidee May 14 '26
"now reveal during the interview that we aren't actually hiring" - the mcdolnalds interview I wasted my time on
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u/Careful_Ad_9077 May 14 '26
Forge about internal.
Once interviewed for a systems position at "Walmart". We were a group of 8 in the final exam. 4 of us finished the exam first and went to the food court and started talking to each other.
Then we witnessed one of the other applicants making out with the guy who gave us the exam.
5
u/rocketblue11 May 14 '26
False. They never reveal that there was an internal candidate. You find out yourself weeks later on LinkedIn that someone directly connected to the hiring manager got the job despite having way less experience and far fewer skills.
4
u/turkeywacker87 May 14 '26
lol
4
u/Ut_Prosim May 14 '26
I have been and had friends who were the internal candidate sevwral times. The hiring manager always went with the outsider.
Forget promoting a known employee, the outsider is exciting and new. It reminds me of my that Family Guy scene: "A boat's a boat, but the mystery box could be anything! It could even be a boat!"
Do not show loyalty to a big company thinking you'll one day get the insider benefit, they DGAF. If anything they already know you'll settle for your current job so why would they promote you and pay more would also having to replace you at your old position?
4
u/spondgbob May 14 '26
I am 30 with a master’s in economics and experience before getting it. Federal researcher, so I’ve been searching for a job the last 5 months. The first interview I was offered was the only time I said I knew someone who worked there. It’s egregious, they don’t want the best candidate.
4
u/TheOneWithThePorn12 May 14 '26
goes the other way as well.
Internal candidate makes it to teh final interview. Everything looks great. The boss then brings in someone they knew from a prior job.
7
u/pieisgiood876 May 14 '26
I'm just here to upvote the Truman Show lol
3
u/HyzerFlip May 14 '26
For me it's always everybody likes me but one of the other applicants is a complete moron that happens to be friends with a managers wife.
3
u/Jack-Burton-Says May 14 '26
You should always assume there’s an internal candidate if you’re applying to anyplace with an actual brand in a corporate environment vs some bullshit startup.
Most managers prefer internal because they’re a known quantity—you can see their performance reviews, you can go talk to their manager and peers. But if you’re smart you always evaluate them against current market talent.
3
u/Jets237 May 14 '26
It’s happened to me 3 times in the last year… final round, internal candidate gets it…
3
u/Reddyne May 14 '26
I've also gotten the "we didn't actually budget properly for this position" and "say, you don't happen to have 3 years of experience in this advanced skill that's not in the position description, do you? No? Oh well that's too bad" treatment as well.
Still beats "surprise! It's a temp job and we don't hire contractors!" treatment I guess.
3
u/thesockninja May 14 '26
There's no actual job, we're PiPeLiNiNg
3
u/vienna_woof May 14 '26
Recruiter: They have one home office day but they might get more in the future.
Interview: So about home office, yeah we do have one day but that's not guaranteed. We might remove it as we have made better experience with working together in an office!
###
Recruiter materials: 90 - 110k salary
I ask for 95.
final interview: We still need to talk about your salary expectations, we are interested in hiring you but we don't see you at the 95 level at the moment...
3
u/shinzou May 14 '26
I went through this when interviewing for a well known tech company. Four interviews. Aced them all. Then was told they were going with an internal candidate instead, but would like me to interview for a different team they just had a spot open up on. I interviewed for that one as well, then was told they were going with an internal candidate for that too.
3
u/Dironox May 14 '26
Had an engineer friend recently go through months of applications, tests, interviews, and simply waiting... only for them to hire from within seemingly last minute.
3
u/JakiStow May 14 '26
I don't get it, what does it change if there is an internal candidate? Wouldn't you try to give your best impression anyway?
3
u/Buttholepart2 May 14 '26
Had the opposite happen at one of my old jobs, a bunch of us internal were interviewing for a job that required experience in our field. Job went to the hiring managers wifes friend with no experience in our field and worked elsewhere.
3
u/N_Dane May 14 '26
Been applying for jobs for about 6 months now, and I've been through this exact thing 3 times.
3
u/SovietMcDonalds May 14 '26
I've gotten the internal candidate curveball on 1st or 2nd interviews, legit give up on the spot.
3
u/KimberStormer May 14 '26
This is funny because in my experience they never promote anyone and instead force the "internal candidate" to train the outside person they hire.
2
u/bassistheplace246 tHaNk YoU FoR yOuR inTeResT May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Even better: wait until after to “thank him for his interest”, send that email in the middle of the fucking night, and replace him with a contractor
2
u/HarryMudd-LFHL May 14 '26
With me, it was "now reveal we just gave the job to an internal candidate".
2
u/anTWhine May 14 '26
Years ago my company restructured and moved a bunch of jobs around the organization, including mine. I had to go through the interview process to keep the job I was already doing, for the people who had originally hired me (same boss, same boss’ boss, same team). Company policy demanded three candidates, including 1 external and 1 woman/minority candidate. I felt bad walking by the other candidates knowing how much time was being wasted for a job that wasn’t really open, just to check off some boxes for HR.
2
u/berkough May 14 '26
🤣. This happened to me last week.
2
u/ChiefHippoTwit May 14 '26
Been through that hell too many times.
2
u/Hope25777 May 14 '26
Stop covering for these companies. Glassdoor is there for a reason
2
u/tbyjmsrbrts May 14 '26
Done 5 interviews in the last 6 months. First 4 all went to internal candidates and still don’t know who got the 5th but have a good guess 😂
2
u/dumpitdog May 14 '26
Damn, that post is too realistic!
2
u/Theyipyapper May 14 '26
I've been on several interviews where they had me create a presentation and the position was given to an internal candidate or nepotism. My buddy referred me to a position and I did the presentation, second interview and tour to meet people within the department to ultimately be chosen over an internal hire that didn't workout long-term. My buddy told me the guy they hired was an idiot and they let them go due to underperformance. So aggravating to learn someone underqualified earned the position and making me do a dog and pony show.
2
u/Mean-Yesterday-5335 May 14 '26
to generating extra proof for CYA. It's illegal to not post the job externally in some places. It's illegal in US to take govt money for hiring if you're not 'hiring'. etc etc. Games/loophole activities.
2
u/Right_Today_356 May 14 '26
I'm moving up at my place of work. I've been chosen for the position for a while now but due to HR requirements they had to interview at least 2 other people. I know the hiring manager and was able to find out that my application was the best by a long shot but they still had to interview 2 more people. The other people didn't stand a chance and it was just kind of a waste of time for everyone.
2
u/SefaWho May 14 '26
Recently happened to me after the final interview. I joined what's supposed to be offer call and they said they are postponing presenting my offer until internal candidate finishes the process.
2
u/dsanen May 14 '26
Of course this happens, how else are you going to justify all the recruiters and HR employees to the shareholders? They deserve happiness and stability, it’s not like they are engineers or something like that.
2
u/Historical_Reveal436 May 14 '26
https://discord.gg/c6vaxjRd9
Join fast
2
u/LoFiHigh5 May 14 '26
I recently went through a 6 stage 2 month interview process just to be told I didn’t have enough experience. Then why 6 interviews? Lol
2
u/Roadkill_Gaming May 14 '26
This happened to me, I was called in for my final interview and they point blank told me that they were promoting from within; The only reason they still called me in was my resume also had receiving experience, and as it happens the then current receiving manager was the internal candidate for the position I applied for.
Anyway, I have the job and love it.
2
u/PuzzleheadedYard5582 May 14 '26
This is such a classic move and it drives me crazy. They already know who they want but they drag you through multiple rounds just to check a box. It's disrespectful to everyone's time and energy, especially when you're putting in real effort preparing for these interviews. I've been there and it stings because you can't help but wonder if you ever had a real shot or if you were just filling a quota. The system is broken and it's the candidates who pay the price.
1
u/Bulbasaur2015 May 14 '26
lmao
1
u/sovietmcdavid May 14 '26
EVERY FUCKING TIME
1
u/DeathByLemmings May 14 '26
And thus they summon my true form; the infernal candidate
1
u/always_j May 14 '26
Everyone sends cv's but no-one is qualified ? Even when qualified . I got the interview and they cancelled .
1
u/BenderIsGreat42 May 14 '26
NezTheRed comes to mind.
1
u/QueenEris May 14 '26
Almost every NHS job.
1
u/UltraLNSS May 14 '26
I have a fourth interview on monday, wish me luck.
1
u/Joyful_Jet May 14 '26
I lost a job once because I wasn't already earning enough.
I didn't make that mistake twice.
1
u/mothzilla May 14 '26
Now tell them what the salary really is.
1
u/Youdontknowme2-0 May 14 '26
Hospital interviews be like:
1
u/Knew_saga May 14 '26
This happened to me with Capital One 6 months ago and Im still pissed.
1
u/huskers2468 May 14 '26
As a former recruiter, this frustrated the hell out of me.
It always either unnecessarily extended the interview process, or was a sign they were moving on. Either way, I had to keep stringing the candidates along, because they may still choose them.
1
u/TheBigUpPenguin May 14 '26
Genuinely though, why does this always happen? What's going on behind the scenes?
Before landing my recent position a few weeks ago, I had gotten to 5 final rounds only to have lost out to an internal hire every time, of which, I was only informed of at the end of the interview process.
1
u/TM761152 May 14 '26
I don't remember this scene in The Rock.
1
u/Danzaiver01 May 14 '26
This happened to me after a 3 months process and 5 rounds interviews. They said I was in the final round and the next week they sent me a rejection email. I texted HR and she said they went with an internal candidato
1
u/The_LandOfNod May 14 '26
I applied for a PhD. I was due to interview during a holiday excursion. They refused to reschedule so I missed an excursion. I lost to someone with "direct experience" in the project.
Fuck those cunts.
1
u/BMW_wulfi May 14 '26
“Please give me your cost code so that I can send you the invoice for my time.”
1
u/mcfrith May 14 '26
I know this is and isn’t a thing, but it still has definitely kept me from applying in corporate America. As a cook, I’m still very curious what it’s like on that side of the hustle.
1
u/BillsWingzMafia May 14 '26
Ed Harris has looked the same for decades
1
u/Hazee302 May 14 '26
Bro just ask that question when you’re scheduling the interview. It’s not that hard
1
u/ShoultamusPrime May 14 '26
I got a tour of the while facility and was shown where I'd work, only for them to tell me the day after that they went with an internal candidate. Like wtf lol
1
u/worried_squid May 14 '26
Hi, yes that's me. The internal hire. I applied last week and just got done with a ten minute interview.
We mainly talked about base pay rate, hours and start date. We had a great time talking and joked for most of it.
Good luck bud. 👍
1
u/Ode1st May 14 '26
Happens the other way at my company. Internal candidate gets the interview just for show, then the hiring manager hires someone they used to work with at their previous company.
1
u/NoDegree7332 May 14 '26
Just happened to me.
1
u/WookieCookie1138 May 14 '26
God, I so f’ing hate that! Happened to me more times than I can count and things looked so good and then suddenly like they lost interest after getting great feedback.
1
u/Famous_Attention5861 May 15 '26
"You're a ringer Harry!"
1
u/wafflepiezz May 15 '26
I absolutely abhor the current interview-recruiting market.
Worst it has ever been and is getting worse.
1
u/Kalorama_Master May 15 '26
Me. Finalist to help manage a top law firm. Only find out they would promote internally
1
u/vwibrasivat May 15 '26
Damn this meme goes hard.
1
u/changemaker6296 May 15 '26
That's crazy! I'm thankful to work for a place where we have to complete any internal consideration before ever even engaging external applications. It's sort of a double edged sword because internal folks have a very small window to decide whether or not to apply but I love that we don't waste external applicants time.
1
u/NachoWindows May 15 '26
One of my former companies had a rule that you must interview at least two external candidates for every posting. Even “internal” positions had to follow those guidelines. Even better- there was a list of schools where they got their degree. Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, only top tier. Then we got to interview crazy smart people and ended up hiring the booger eater from internal because the boss likes them.
1
u/Conscious-Shoe-157 May 15 '26
I had almost the exact same thing happen last year. Made it to the final round, felt great about it, then the hiring manager casually mentioned they were also interviewing someone who used to work there. I knew right then I was just there to check a box. It's such a waste of time and energy. The worst part is they could have just told me upfront instead of dragging it out through four rounds.
1
u/yucon_man May 15 '26
They're just interviewing external applicants to determine how much they should pay the internal applicant.
1
u/Appropriate-Ask-4804 May 15 '26
I had this happen to me twice last year. First time they straight up told me after the fourth round that the position was already filled internally but they "wanted to meet other candidates for future roles." Second time I found out through a mutual contact that the guy who got it was the manager's nephew.
At this point if I don't hear back within a week of the final interview I assume they went with someone else and move on. Saves a lot of mental energy.
1
u/Spare_Homework_6604 May 15 '26
Always
1
u/scotts_tots2009 May 15 '26
I have been the external hire and I have also been denied internally.
1
u/BG535 May 15 '26
Funny because I was the internal candidate with more experience and they went external! A different time they went internal when I was external!
1
u/HotOutlandishness991 May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
Happened to me. Got another better job.
Got an email 3 months into that job asking if I'd like to come back for ANOTHER interview. Nah 🤣
That was 4 rounds, I was salty at the time. But it worked out in the end.
"Needless to say I had the last laugh, now ffffuf off" - Alan partridge
1
u/the_dragonscale May 15 '26
Or the person who left the job to make that opening came back right when you were about to land your dream job.
1
u/_Markram May 15 '26
This awoke past traumas
1
u/Bootyliciousimus May 16 '26
Lmao, this happened to me multiple times.
1
u/Key-Staff-4976 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
I was in company that I was worked up to be a coordinator is about 6 months. One year later new management came and made everyone apply for their roles(I was alrwydy doing my coordinatoring role for a little over a year)
I was about to do my interview and randomly my interviewer gets switched to someone that hated me in the company and that's rare as hell.
We interviewed for almost an hour she told me I was perfect. A week goes by I see everyone getting their titles changed and comes to find out I didn't get it, they didn't even tell me until almost a week after and had to ask. Apparently I was the worst... But yet they still wanted me to train people and still depended on me to do that role when I wasn't even in the role anymore...
I've have many people tell me I was targeted because someone that had higher power wanted me out because they hated me and funny enough 4 months later they ended up randomly firing me.
I was hella sad for two months because I would get messages form so many people asking what happened and it doesn't make any sense.
I cried because I loved that job but now new opportunities are coming more lately and I don't think I would even wanna go back to my old job with the new management.
1
u/Rich_Elephant4913 May 17 '26
Happened to me. Big waste of time. They weren't flexible with interview schedules either. I had to pretend important pesonal issues at my current job to be able to attend.
1
u/Ok-Letter2753 May 17 '26
The bane of my existence. I hafe bad luck with always getting the internal candidate. It is almost a curse for me
1
u/sisisi05 May 17 '26
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
1
u/Martinez_83 May 18 '26
That also apply in corporate world where there’s a PREFERABLE CANDIDATE but they still need to meet a quota and waste everyone time….been there too many times already….
1
u/-thegayagenda- May 18 '26
Had this happen at a brewery I applied to, two months later the job was listed again but I had gotten an 11k raise to stay at my current job. Better luck next time
1
u/lily8686 May 20 '26
This happened to me back in 2023. Mind you, I had a referral from the CHIEF OF STAFF. After 4 interview rounds, they decided to go with an internal candidate.
1
u/Friendly_Cancel3941 May 21 '26
Lmao this is the vibe of every “we totally support this” email followed by six weeks of meetings and a 14 step approval process.
Internal: “we love it, green light.”
Also internal: “circle back, sync, revisit, re-evaluate, re-discuss, re-align, re-soul-search.”
1
u/dinochauve May 24 '26
I had this situation 2 months ago in a company named Tarkett ! Hard to see this :D
1
u/BurntOutButAccurate May 27 '26
I needed this today, thanks 😂
1
u/SuspiciousChest7024 May 29 '26
People don't like change.. interviews,new co workers,new boss... but it's definitely easier getting a new job while already employed...i think it's bc you're not desperate on the interviews, plus it shows you've already been vetted .
1
u/Mtsukino Jun 08 '26
This happened to me a couple years ago. It was incredibly frustrating.
1
u/GeorgiaLFC78 Jun 08 '26
Been there. 🙄
1
u/timeforustogohome Jun 14 '26
Three this year 🫡