[ryandrake]

On the other side, in normal conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if >20% (probably far higher) of companies interviewing candidates aren't really interested in hiring anyone. They may be getting a pulse check on the hiring market. They may be interviewing simply to check off due diligence, but intend to only hire their already pre-determined candidate. They may need to have backup candidates if an offer they just extended falls through. They may be trying to pre-vet candidates so that they can quickly hire later if headcount suddenly opens up. They may be doing it because simply company policy is to always be interviewing.

A lot of the process seems to be performative and not really being done for the purpose of matching a real job seeker with a real job.

[siva7]

I doubt that is true. Interviewing candidates is a huge time sink for which every manager i know of would rather want to skip.

[anikom15]

I would be surprised by this, given every time someone left at a company I worked for scrambled to get someone new and seemed to have no real infrastructure for actually hiring someone beyond maybe automated résumé software. If a recruiter was involved at all it would be a contractor, bur otherwise everyone involved in the hiring process were just people with enough experience who ‘volunteered’ their time to do interviews and rate candidates.

[onlyrealcuzzo]

Possibly 20% of companies - but I really doubt 20% of positions.