You mentioned 20 wasted interview, therefore my wording. Admittedly I read over the part that it isn’t your only responsibility. I can imagine how frustrating it is! Even if this is all you do all day.
But still, you get paid for this. (I once had a well paid bullshit job and understand how draining it is to focus on ridiculous tasks that seem to go nowhere, you got my full sympathy here.) You go home at 5 pm and your day is done. Your paycheck arrives.
We as candidates don’t get paid. We put hours and hours into interviews and applications. It seems in IT it is common to just click on direct apply on linkedin. How I envy this! My husband just clicks on 100 applications and gets like 4-5 invites at least.
I work in the biomedical field/research (in Europe) and let me tell you, no one will even remotely consider me for an interview if I have the audacity to not send an application letter that is specifically tailored to the position. So, for every single job I am applying to I am spending at least two hours (if I am in a run and do a lot of copy pasting, let’s be real here, I often needed almost a whole day) to finish up the application alone. If I get an interview I have to take a vacation day to go interview. Maybe have a trial day if it is a lab based job (which of course is not paid). I have to do the reading on the company, what they do etc. I wrote a fucking application letter detailing how I identify with the companies values and how I have experience in this and that technique.
Then I come in and they haven’t even read my CV so far. They ask me basically no questions. They tell me info about their company that is on their webpage that I can recite. I ask them some questions. They seem to like me a lot. Then I go home. Then they ghost me. I don’t know if it is because I lack a PhD or because I am overqualified because I have an MSc. Or because they see a girl with a wedding ring on her finger in her late 20s and assume I will get pregnant soon. The ones that turn me down at least write a copy pasted email saying they chose another candidate. Vague and no details on what set us apart.
For all of this, for all the typing and reading and travelling and interviewing and trial days I am spending money and time. Time I do not get a salary. Time that is wasted and that I do not get paid for.
It is better in science jobs (there they seem to do very anal reading of everything, which I appreciate and I always get an offer) but corporate businesses are hell.