You kind of making my point for me about economics playing a part. No, a mom and pop shop, or even some boring established company that has no 'status' would n

You kind of making my point for me about economics playing a part. No, a mom and pop shop, or even some boring established company that has no 'status' would not be likely to get many applicants w that much friction. The popularity of the company and the perceived 'prize' that the engineer gets by becoming part of that company determines how much friction they can (and rightly should) add to the employment process to weed out the majority of applicants and focus on the ones that really want it (and really deserve it).