[tetraodonpuffer]

if you have competencies in areas A, B, C and apply for several positions and due to the vagaries of HR you get interviewed by team A which is not a good fit for some reason, why should you have to wait for a year to apply for teams B and C?

This is like meeting a group of friends going on a first date with one of them, getting shot down and not being able to date any of the others for a whole year even if you could be a good fit for them instead.

We've seen here plenty of times however how we all consider the interview process pretty much random and broken, so it shouldn't be too surprising when companies are not operating efficiently and shrugging off false-negatives as if they don't matter, it's just basic human behavior, just like if you are extremely attractive you're going to be extremely picky and not care if you don't give somebody a shot because no matter what there will always be a line of potential suitors waiting at the door.

[joedavison]

afaik, you can interview for a different team/function right away, no need to wait one year. The one year waiting period is for re-applying to the same position.