Comment by alyeska2
6 days ago
Very, very few people are going to have a social network that does more than get a foot in the door.
Typically, referrals have positive impact like making sure your application gets looked at by a human and possibly tips a "maybe" into the candidate's favor for scheduling a phone screen or moving to the next round of interviews.
There are plenty of very talented people with large networks of former coworkers who will attest to their capabilities and give them referrals, who nonetheless are still struggling to find work.
The referral/interview is the point here, if you fumble the interviews its your own fault.
Exactly what I was thinking. Most competent people should just need a way past the ATS filtering bullshit. You have zero ideas what you're being excluded on when you apply through a public application portal. For all you know, the automated system didn't like the font you chose for your resume. There is zero visibility into it and why you're not moving to next rounds. With a foot in the door introduction, you're at least past the thing filtering out 95%+ applicants and can have a better opportunity to actually demonstrate strengths and skills. Most people don't get that much.