It was an internal role — same company, same building, a promotion in all but name. The employee went through the rounds, including one with an executive vice president, and was told to wait until the end of the following week.
The week passed with no word. A follow-up brought a promise that they were “working out some logistics” and would hear back either way. Two more weeks went by, and another follow-up, and still nothing — until a Slack message announced that someone else had been hired for the job.
The part that stung was not losing the role. It was that the company had been willing to announce its new hire to the whole staff before it was willing to tell the person who already worked there.