job hunting is not fair game, you can't wait for the job to come on a newspaper or job website to apply for it. many times it happens that the job is posted for policy purposes but the hiring is already done in the background. this sounds unfair, but it is the truth. job is something that helps you get on with your life and places the food on your table. so its only common sense that people who are already in power of recruitment would give the job to someone they already know and call in the favor afterwards, instead of posting it publicly and hiring a complete stranger.