But bad for postdocs on the job market when it comes to finding a permanent position, and bad for the hiring university, who just wants to fill the position and be done with it. 6/6

And once they get a job offer, they might negotiate to see if they can get a really great deal, but often end up getting a better position at their home university, and the hiring university needs to start the whole process from scratch. Good for Vertretungsprofessors, because they get extended. 5/6

That a lot of applicants are not serious about applying. These happen to be the strongest applicants, because they already have a professorship position and therefore the relevant job experience. They are more likely to be shortlisted than a lowly postdoc, who'd really need this position. 4/6

If you already have a professorship and don't really want to go anywhere else, but would like a promotion / better lab spaces / more funding etc. from your current university, they won't start negotiating with you until you have an offer from a different university. This means ... 3/6

A Vertretungsprofessur happens, e.g., when a professor retires, and they need to fill the position until they find a more permanent solution. Hiring a permanent professor has to follow a strict and complicated procedure, so it can drag for a while. The special thing about the system is that... 2/6

Well, that's nothing! My p-value is 0.000!