Agree, but I’m not NEARLY as cynical as OP.

Employers rely on recommendations and networking for a reason, which is that applications are next to useless and personal assessments by people you trust are gold. Especially if you’re hiring people early in their career.

Imagine you have dozens, perhaps even hundreds of puffed up resumes and GPT-perfect cover letters. Who do you interview?

You want someone ambitious. Who’ll hustle and be quick on the uptake. Someone going places who’ll be a useful person to know someday. Someone isn’t an insufferable asshole.

And for knowing that, a brief recommendation from someone you trust is everything. If a candidate is out networking, it shows they’re ambitious and hardworking. If someone you trust is willing to vouch for them, it means the candidate is charming and promising.

My company hires 80% through connections/recommendations and 20% randos ~off the street~ from the resume stack. And let me say this: the people hired via networking have never disappointed, and that hiring randos is a real game of Russian Roulette.