<p>Well, I think it is time to remind people that (unfortunately) I am well past my teens, 20-something years past undergrad, have been at more than one interview on both sides of the table, and have hired my fair share of people. I can unequivocally say that at the places I have worked, a personal connection has not gotten anyone hired at or around my level further than a phone screen. I also work with pretty much every company that is “somebody” in my industry, and in my experience they adhere to the same principles. This is in the technology field (semiconductors), perhaps finance/talent/etc industries are vastly different, though I doubt it, unless your daddy’s name has many zero’s attached to it.</p>
<p>P.S. The above post is nothing more than an example of a lead, not a job. As cc411 stated, leads are important and are often half the battle, but if you don’t have the goods a lead is worthless.</p>