I don't know what it's like in the 121 world, nor do I know what it's like in the corporate FLYING world, but in the corporate world, this is the norm.
For everything from CEO to janitor.
There are many laws which govern the hiring of people and then there are numerous policies within most corporations, these combine to cause the requirement of interviewing outside candidates under just about all circumstances.
And from my experience (30 years in the corporate world), there's no way to identify when there is already someone "in mind" for the position before you've expended considerable time and effort in the process yourself.
So, just as I'm sure there are positives and negatives to having a job in the 121 world, there are positives and negatives to the corporate world.