Just a guess, but if companies are paying for recruiters[0] and HR software anyway[1], companies may as well keep jobs open, do market research on past compensation, give their engineers practice, and calibrate interview questions among many laid off engineers from top companies. Also, companies are required to collect diversity metrics for state laws or visa purposes, which may be helpful when the company decides to make an offer.<p>Any entity may list and accept job applications, schedule meetings, and ask candidates to write code. It may be a great way for leadership (tech/people/product) to run their product ideas past candidates and identify how to improve their interview process or product.<p>[0] Some recruiters may work for free (100% commission) for many companies at once, until a company extends an offer that is accepted.<p>[1] Software may also be "free" when the company already prepaid for an annual plan; or a license includes X interviews per month; or, the recruiter brings their own tooling, question banks, and services for screening candidates.