A company made a worker reapply for their own job — right in front of their own manager

A person (u/detox_calyx_4d) was working for a company on a contractual basis. They were quite happy with the management and wanted to join them full-time. When the person informed the company, they asked them to interview for the role with the same manager they had worked under for four months. They posted the story on Reddit on January 2 and were shocked to learn that they weren't alone in this.

The company was apparently waiting for internal authorization before hiring the consultant permanently. "I was fine with it, I had some spare cash after winning $6000 on a scratch card, so I could afford to be patient," the person said. The management finally replied to the consultant's request and insisted they interview for the full-time position. They were fine with the recruitment process, but the only problem was that the interview was scheduled for 3 PM on a Wednesday, when the person would already be at work. They went to the manager and informed her about the same. "She looked at me, barely blinking, and said, 'Oh, right! Yes, just come into my office when it's time,'" the person recalled. Finally, on the interview day, the consultant got up from their desk, walked some 3 meters to get inside the manager's cabin, and interviewed for the job with someone they'd been working for four months. "She asked me questions about a project I had updated her on just an hour before," the person explained. The whole interview felt like a prank, and at the end, the manager turned to the consultant and said, "We still have a few more candidates to see, but we'll let you know."

Research from Gartner and LinkedIn Talent Solutions found that large American companies are now hiring from within rather than from outside. In fact, Fortune 500 companies in 2025 hired people who were already working there. Surprisingly, this has seen as much as a 118% increase in just 5 years. However, there is another side to it. When employees already working with the company are told to interview as external candidates, they might feel like their credibility is being questioned. Another study found that only 26% of companies personalize communication to internal candidates, while 55% of them go through the same interview process as external candidates. 

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit post, u/internal_cake_7423 commented, "The first thing to do is ask them what the pay is and tell them you already have a job that pays that much; if you're getting interviewed, it's a 2-way street." u/oshabeestie shared, "Yep, this has happened to me. The company went through a reorganization and changed the job title. I had to interview for the job I was already doing, but had a different job title. I refused to go at first, but was told by my boss to just go through the motions for an auditable trail. I ended up going and attending an interview with HR and a technical guy who is actually a friend of mine. Unsurprisingly, I got the job!" Similarly, u/bluepapillonblue wrote, "Yes, it's an HR formality. When I was a contractor moving to FTE, both times, I had to apply for the job on their website, interview, and then formally accept the position. I had to go through 'New Hires' training again, too! I imagine it's so they can say they are an equal opportunity employer."

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