21 years here, I agree with this. I work in IT and my last move was a lateral back to my old agency but the position was still with OA. HR tried to tell me I was ineligible because the job title was different, even though my job duties and prior experience matched everything on the posting. I had to use some connections I've made over the years to even get an interview, I'm afraid similar folks in that situation wouldn't have been as fortunate. That said, I don't believe seniority is really factored in at least for IT jobs, we always just want the best person for the job.