I applied online for an entry-level Quality Assurance Analyst role that required around 1+ year of experience. A recruiter reached out to me almost immediately for a screening call, which went well. A few days later, I had an interview with the hiring manager. I felt the interview went great and was expecting to move forward. After hearing nothing for two weeks, I followed up with the recruiter, who eventually replied that they were proceeding with an internal candidate who had been with the company for several years. I was told: "At this time, we are moving forward with an internal candidate that has worked at the company for quite a few years. However, you are a great candidate and I highly encourage you to keep an eye out for similar opportunities at the company!" It was disappointing to hear that they chose someone with significantly more experience for an entry-level role. It raises the question: why advertise externally if the intention was to hire internally from the start? The process felt like a waste of time and effort. Transparency about hiring intentions would have been appreciated.