I have a friend who is like a sister to me. She was laid off in 2021 and hasn’t been able to find full-time employment since. She’s been surviving on her investments and some freelance work here and there. At the end of February, she started interviewing with a famous company; they put her through a grueling six-interview gauntlet.

She called me last week, on cloud nine, because the interviews had supposedly gone “incredibly well.” The interviewers told her they “truly wanted to work with her,” praised her ideas, and explicitly told her they were going to send an offer. I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to be the bird of ill omen, and I truly hoped I was wrong, but I knew for a fact she was going to get rejected. I would have bet money on it.

She just called me and, guess what? They sent her a rejection filled with the same useless, boilerplate language, saying they went ahead with another candidate whose profile was a “better fit.”

This has happened to me, too. Personally, I don’t go past four interviews; even three is pushing it, but I once went through four rounds where they made me believe I was a top contender and the job was mine, only to be rejected. Why do they do this? Before anyone tries to claim they simply found someone better: that isn’t the case. I know this because they almost always repost the job immediately after. It’s a sick game.