​Jobs should have to pay an hourly rate (equal to the potential job salary) to applicants for the process of applying/interviewing, even if they don’t get the job

With asterisks and exceptions, sure, but if an applicant goes through 5 job interviews over 3 weeks and gets dropped for an internal hire, they should get paid for their troubles.

Long interview processes should strain company resources, not unemployed peoples’ time and effort.