To wonder if anyone has ever had a job earmarked for them?

[SnugShaker]

I’ve heard of situations where a job is advertised but it’s essentially made with someone specific in mind. Sometimes, it feels like the best candidates in interviews are just part of a formality, and other times, a job is put out there so a particular person can apply. And then, when that person does apply, the job mysteriously gets closed.

Has anyone had this happen to them or am I just being paranoid?

You're not being paranoid. It's happened to me.

I work in the public sector so there are rules around 'fair recruitment' processes, which meant that jobs have to be advertised. I bumped into a former colleague and we got chatting. She had left my organisation a couple of years earlier to take on a senior leadership role elsewhere. I mentioned that I wasn't entirely happy where I was and was half-heartedly looking for new opportunities, she asked whether I'd consider coming to work for her organisation, which I said I absolutely would but didn't really expect anything to come of it. A couple of days later I got a message asking about my current working hours and what grade I was at. A few days after that she sent me a link to a job advert, it was a new role for them (but very similar to what I was currently doing, just a step up in terms of responsibility), same hours and the grade above my current role.

I still had to interview and deliver a presentation. I know that two other external candidates were also interviewed, they had to interview them as they met the criteria on the Person Spec. Ultimately, if one of them had performed better than me on the day they would have been given the job, but I accept that they were at a disadvantage as the job description was written with me in mind.

I've also been on the interview panel for a job that was created with a particular internal candidate in mind. Unfortunately, to our surprise, he performed so terribly at interview we couldn't appoint him. Everyone assumed he was a shoe-in, but due to protocol we had to give the role to the candidate who scored highest on the day, although we knew he would have done a good job once in post.

I’ve been headhunted a few times, it’s very flattering. I did supply in a school then was contacted for a permanent promotion. In another place, a friend was leaving and recommended me, seemed a bit of an easy process. In another, the manager wanted me because I’d done primary liaison so she knew of me. When I recruit, I’ll take the best person for the job, haven’t ever headhunted.

It happened to me last year, and it was confidence-destroying at the time. I knew that the role was created with this other person in mind and it was only advertised internally - I was the only other person qualified in the business. They are now my manager and is actually a great colleague, very fair and respectful of the fact I have a lot more experience. And they have to deal with all the rubbish bits, and I don't, which is good!

Yes it has happened for me twice and its really common

I should add, i still went through a very rigorous interview process and the individual who requested i be hired was not allowed to be part of the panel.

I remember one time my boss effectively telling me to please do a decent interview because they don't want to have take on someone unknown.

Yes, it’s happened to me twice, both times through volunteering.

Whenever I have had someone earmarked for a role I have never advertised it (internally or externally). It seems like a waste of everyone's time!
Sometimes I have advertised a role widely and then an internal candidate has ended up being the best applicant, but they tended to be someone unknown to us before the process began.

Yes this definitely happens, certainly in the NHS (I’m a doctor). I’m pretty sure I was at one point being set up as an “also-ran”, as I was suddenly invited while at work one day out of the blue to apply for a GP partner job I did not know was being created (I later found out one of the partners was leaving, but they’d kept it quiet from the rest of us) when working there as a salaried GP, “but the interviews are tomorrow”…

When I asked for more details it became pretty clear that they really wanted someone to work full-time (I was working part time and didn’t want to change that), though they couldn’t technically discriminate on that basis. One of the partners in particular was pretty misogynistic and I am 100 percent sure the role was already earmarked for a (male) doctor they already knew, who got the job and almost immediately reduced to part time hours after securing a mortgage based on his full time salary. Infuriating!

I decided not to apply mainly because I really wasn’t in a position to work more than full-time, and take on the extra work and responsibilities of the partnership role at that moment in time, plus I don’t know much about the business side of things so it wouldn’t be a steep learning curve at a difficult time. I also thought it was pretty clear I was only being asked as a complete afterthought, and someone probably pointing out that it wouldn’t look good for them not to invite the female GP already working there to apply for the role…. I was under a lot of stress in my personal life and decided I didn’t want to risk knocking my confidence and have the likely upheaval of applying and not getting the job, then having to continue working under the person who did, or find a new job somewhere else.

It’s not happened to me but I’m definitely aware of it happening. And I’m aware of it happening for jobs I haven’t applied for, so it’s not just sour grapes me saying “oh they had someone earmarked for that already!!”
I don’t think it’s uncommon.

Not exactly earmarked for me but there was no one else internally who could do the role

Been on the sour end of it, applying for Head of Year positions which had clearly been earmarked for someone.

Had phone call from previous colleague asking if I was looking for a move. Interview was a nice catch up over a cup of tea!

Yes, the job I was actually doing. The only way for me to have a pay rise was for the job to be advertised under a slightly different title. Luckily, it only had to be advertised internally so nobody wasted their time applying for the job.

They should be reimbursing your costs. This used to be quite common in the past if a job was advertised in non-local newspapers.

This happened to me. I was taken aside to be told about a ln internal job role that was coming up that they wanted me to do, and that although they had to advertise the role to everyone, they would tweak the “essential criteria” to make sure the majority of the workforce wouldn’t be able to apply. Everyone knew the job had been made for me though so although there were two other candidates they knew how it was going to end. It felt a little bit unethical but it was a role that I was extremely passionate about, and everyone knew it was the perfect role for me over anybody else so I think staff across the board just turned a blind eye to al the underhand workings that went on to make sure I got it.

Edited to say that the job was also advertised externally, and there were external candidates as well as internal ones, but it was always going to go to me.

I've been head hunted several times. I've also had roles created for me to keep me that, like a pp said, have to be advertised externally. They haven't interviewed anyone else for them, but people have obviously applied.

I think it's pretty common in many fields.

Also - if i know for certain I want to offer someone a role i don't interview others, not fair to waste their time.

The majority of people that claim this are bitter because they applied for a role but lost out to an internal candidate. In the main it doesn't happen. The example someone gave of an ad only being up for a couple of hours is the exception that proves the rule. But certainly in senior recruitment that wouldn't be allowed.

What happens is there are candidates, usually internal, that can do the job and will probably get it but, by advertising/searching, you're doing an exercise in proving they're the best for the job and, if there's someone better out there, they will get it. I've rejected many, many candidates over the years that think the job is earmarked for them, only for an external to prove to be the better candidate. On the flipside, there's a high percentage of internals that do get the job. There's a raft of reasons for this, (including internals often not getting paid as much), but mostly 'better the devil you know'. An internal may be pretty average but if you know they're loyal, keen and can hit the ground running, employers (particularly public sector), often appoint them as it's the lowest risk option.

I'm fairly sure I was earmarked for a specific job, but was unaware at the time and still have no proof. It was private sector and I think for internal candidates only. My manager specifically asked me to apply.
Best of luck OP.

My current role - I was already doing it on a temporary secondment, even helped shape what it should look like but due to internal HR policy they had to advertise. They did at least state on it that there was a preferred candidate though.

It happens all the time 🙄 especially in teaching.

This is more common than people think. It happens a lot in Local Authority/public sector jobs.

Yip happened to me. A seconded job was written with my skill set. I applied and got it. Few years later it was advertised as permanent. 8 people got interviewed for it. I got the role but someone else also got offered the job. They decided to split it on 2 and add a few extras on as we both scored the same.

Yep, my husband’s recent promotion was exactly this. It was his job, always going to be his job, but procedure said they had to advertise & interview etc, it was just a song and dance and a total waste of time for the other candidates who had no idea so undoubtedly spent a lot of time filling out the application and prepping for interview which is really rubbish.

I’d say in my own workplace this genuinely now is the case for around 85% of job adverts, they go out and we can say immediately who the job is for. They’ll post it, take applications, do interviews, to look “fair” but sure enough the person we predicted always gets it.