Capital_Injury633's journey

I recently applied for a management role at a company where I have 15 years of relevant experience. I was confident going into the interview, especially since I met all the qualifications they were looking for. Interestingly, two other candidates I know also applied: one has even more experience than I do, while the third has no management background at all. We all interviewed around the same time, and I felt my interview went really well. However, I ended up getting ghosted and later informed that I didn't get the job. The second candidate also didn't receive an offer, but surprisingly, the third candidate with no experience was offered the position. This has left me puzzled and a bit bitter. Why would they choose someone without the qualifications over experienced candidates? It just doesn't make sense to me. I wonder if they were looking for someone they could mold or perhaps someone they could pay less. It seems like companies might prefer newer managers who can grow into the role rather than experienced ones who might come with set expectations and attitudes from previous jobs.