Such individuals are usually unable to detect real signal in the thing they're hiring for, so interviewing in and of itself doesn't provide them any qualitative

Such individuals are usually unable to detect real signal in the thing they're hiring for, so interviewing in and of itself doesn't provide them any qualitative information. They also know the people judging them are in the same boat. Thus they fall back to the only thing understandable to themselves and people who will judge them: big brand and prestige/shininess. If the project succeeds, you take credit. If it fails, you can't be blamed for "buying the biggest and the best" (even if the biggest and the best are just a bunch of stary-eyed ignorant grads with a salesman/project manager at the head). /that's the good version. The bad version points out how many of these firms gets business through networks, personal connections and "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" type dealings. //it's not a rant if it's true.