Quick Q : Are the jobs advertised on websites ( company direct or recruiting ) real or mostly for regulatory reasons ( i.e. govt wants you to advertise for 8 weeks), does this mean most hiring decisions have taken place all that we see is a mirage ?

Company-direct adverts are usually real. It's only certain government jobs that have to be advertised regardless of whether there's a strong internal candidate. Private sector companies don't have to bother.Agency jobs are sometimes fake - a way to gather CVs, kept online to make the agency look popular and busy, or a generic way to represent a number of similar vacancies the agency may be handling.