Recently, I interviewed for a System Designer role at OTTO, as indicated by the meeting heading and the job description. Before the interview, I made sure with their HR that I was only interested in the System Designer role, which was confirmed. However, during the interview, I was told that the company only hires internal team members for System Designer positions and that they were actually looking for candidates for an Integrator role.
I had spent a significant amount of time preparing for the interview, including writing a detailed 10-page questionnaire on industry-related questions at their request.
Being told midway through the process that the advertised role was not available to external candidates felt like a significant waste of my time and effort. While the company may have its reasons for promoting from within, it would be more respectful to prospective candidates if such policies were made clear upfront. This transparency would save candidates from investing time in a process that ultimately cannot meet their career aspirations.