What this leaves out is that not all Ph.D. programs are equal. If you are good enough in your field to get accepted into one of the Top 10 graduate programs, yo

What this leaves out is that not all Ph.D. programs are equal. If you are good enough in your field to get accepted into one of the Top 10 graduate programs, you're going to have a great chance of getting a high-quality job when you graduate, assuming you do well. If not, then you're chopped liver. Those top 10 programs can probably fulfill most of the faculty openings in any given field, nationwide, with enough graduates left over to fill all of the needs of private industry and government labs as well. There is just no reason for recruiters to look further down-list. I have friends who have taken faculty positions at PhD granting programs ranked 20th or so in the country. They have reported back that their grad students are, um, underwhelming, and they end up doing a lot of their own research hands-on.