I worked for government for a few years.

Often they advertised positions for jobs within the government but already knew who they were going to hire. They had to interview a quota of people to give the illusion that they had an open job advertisement and screened applicants according to law. But Human Resources and Management already knew who they wanted to hire. I remember greeting a few of the applicants in the lobby (not my job to greet them), who looked so hopeful and prepared, and i had knowledge that the interview wasn't real and their prospect of getting hired was not real. I felt very bad for them. I did not tell them because i did not want to be that bearer of bad news and wasn't sure they'd even believe me if i told them.

Imagine going to a job interview. You dress your best. You shave. You sleep well. You rehearse and practice job interview questions. You print your resume on expensive good quality paper. You wake up early . Look your best. You get to the job interview and completely knock it out of the park. You answer every question perfectly. You make some people laugh. You look your best. You cite your experience and prove to the people in the room you have the skills and experience and confidence and ability. You leave the job interview feeling proud of yourself.

But it wasn't real. They were never going to hire you. Because of diversity quotas or nepotism or because the city councilman wants to give his nephew or niece a job it was never really an open position to the public for anyone to get.

I worked for government for a few years.

Often they advertised positions for jobs within the government but already knew who they were going to hire. They had to interview a quota of people to give the illusion that they had an open job advertisement and screened applicants according to law. But Human Resources and Management already knew who they wanted to hire. I remember greeting a few of the applicants in the lobby (not my job to greet them), who looked so hopeful and prepared, and i had knowledge that the interview wasn't real and their prospect of getting hired was not real. I felt very bad for them. I did not tell them because i did not want to be that bearer of bad news and wasn't sure they'd even believe me if i told them.