Advertised jobs that aren't really available.

[raccoon]

I work part-time for a state agency. When a full-time position is advertised on the agency's website, the vast majority of the time, those who do the hiring have already decided who's going to get the position.

The rare exception would be if a position required some unusual skills and/or experience.

I've seen this a lot with state and county government. Undoubtedly it happens with city governments too.

I realize that some positions have to be advertised for legal reasons. If anybody here has worked in H.R., please feel free to share your experience.

[Flying Dream Blues]

1. True for schools and school district administration, too.

Corporations are not required to but post publically so there's less of this, so in most cases only entry level positions are advertised. (Special skills are obviously an exception.)

[Kolesar]

3. I learned that when I was a new college grad in 1983

GE had to "post" jobs with the state employment service as a condition of getting a federal contract.

[leveymg]

2. Most professional jobs are already filled from within or networked

Almost all federal and state positions are advertised, even though someone has already been chosen to fill it. Most non-profits have to go through "competitive recruitment" to fill positions. It's rare that a job gets filled these days by an outside applicant who was previously unknown to the incumbent or the hiring committee.

[napi21]

4. Lots of places do that. It's primarily for legal reasons.

another thing I've seen done is if someone of influence at a Co. wants to hire someone he knows from outside the Co, but the Co. has made a committment to it's employees that they would always fill vacancies from within first, that person writes a personal request so specific in the requirements, there's only one person who would fit, and of course that's the person of influences's friend.

[raccoon]

5. I'd never thought of companies doing that, but I'm sure that it

happens.

[Dora]

6. Not always true.

I work for a large state university. All departments in the university are required to post all openings for a minimum number of days on the HR website. Granted, some of those will go to somebody who has been pre-selected, but those positions are usually going to somebody already in the department, and HR marks all those in order to prevent outside applicants from applying. Nearly all posted openings are in fact "open" and seeking transfer or external applicants.


I can't speak for other state agencies, however.

[raccoon]

10. That's good that your workplace does that,

"HR marks all those in order to prevent outside applicants from applying"

That way, they won't waste people's time and money applying and going for interviews when they have no chance of getting the job. People who are under/unemployed don't exactly have a lot of money to throw around.

[skids]

7. What is needed, and has been for some time...

Is a "union of the unemployed." That may sound silly because how can the unemployed strike?

Easy: when it's determined that a company is blatantly wasting the time of the unemployed, the union floods it with applications from people who don't really want the job, but will even go so far as to attend interviews, and then turn the job down. Thus shutting down their hiring process until the corporation stops this behavior.

[napi21]

9. The bigest problem is the unemployed have no $$ to fund a union.

To function, a union need at least SOME money.

[raccoon]

11. That's what really gets me about this,

"when...a company is blatantly wasting the time of the unemployed"

AND their money. Even if the interview is in your city, there are costs associated: the cost of dry-cleaning your suit, the cost of taking time off from your current job (these days, more than likely, without pay), etc.

[smacky44]

8. This is true throughout this nation especially in government.

It's a way to comply with fair employment and equal opportunity without really complying. In case you haven't noticed, we are still very much a racist, elitist society.