This has happened at least three times now - am I missing something?
My youngest child is getting older and I've been trying to get a part-time job locally whilst I build up my freelance work. I know a lot of people in the shops personally, often by name, and everyone is always very friendly. On three occasions now I've noticed vacancies go up in shops and have mentioned in person that I'd like to go for them, and the shop workers have always been really enthusiastic, on one occasion even to the point of saying, "At last, someone's applying!".
I then don't hear anything, and when I go in again I get fobbed off with something like, "The job might come up again in six months" or "We actually might have a vacancy now in another town so keep an eye out". A week later, I notice they have new staff in the shop. I don't understand why they don't just say to my face that they've hired someone else or that I'm not what they're looking for (and, worse, keep me hoping that something will 'come up').
As I said, I'm on friendly terms with all these people so I haven't come across badly in an interview or made a horrendous first impression. I don't have any kind of bad reputation locally, as far as I know (!). I'm technically overqualified for the jobs, but this never stopped me being hired in similar roles a few years ago (when I already had my qualifications). I've checked my CV over and I don't think there are any red flags.
Any insights would be welcome!