Reading comments on the thread about 'arrogance of recruitment' and 'all being one company', well therein lies the problem.
No one is entitled to anything and every employer will have a corporate line that should not be taken too literally. As we mature into adults and grow up we become street smart. We stop making assumptions, see through the propaganda and start taking ownership for our own actions rather than blaming company policy.
Anyone joining a Link carrier, knows there is no yellow brick road to mainline so therefore no entitlement. There is no excuse for disappointment or bitterness. The recruitment processes are different, you may pass one and not the other. It's always been like that. Being aware of those two simple facts is called taking ownership for your own decisions.
It's not a case of whether they should or shouldn't be different or more integrated, it's their train set and they make the rules.
If ANZ want to hire someone with no record from outside NZ that meets the criteria and place trust in their recruitment process, that's their choice. Bitching about it won't change a thing apart from demonstrating that perhaps their recruitment process has worked again.
This thread started on the back of progression prospects. I did join ANZ from an overseas airline, I saw what the prospects were going to be, I took accountability for my own decisions and made another one without bitterness or regret.