HR question

[Anonymous]

I see lots of positions listed on online sites... Are these positions really open... Or have they expired and no one has bothered to remove it?

[Anonymous]

I'm not HR but at two companies where I have worked, yes, they may be 'expired' and not removed yet.

OR the positions aren't really open/available anyway as the company is going to promote someone internally, regardless they follow the procedure of posting something for a week, tracking applicant info for their records (50 applicants, interviewed 3, who were xyz...etc)
even though they know they are not giving the job to anyone who applies except John Doe who is already with the company and being promoted from within.