My smartest employers always said they preferred hiring the top decile from mid level colleges rather the average ivy leaguers, or the stars from unheralded com

My smartest employers always said they preferred hiring the top decile from mid level colleges rather the average ivy leaguers, or the stars from unheralded companies rather than the employee #987563 from big name logos. Unfortunately that's not the norm, but I find branding yourself in that way can at least help overcome this challenge in the hiring process (if you get past the screener that only looks at these filters that is)