Although I find it disappointing, this is the truth. It is a function of supply and demand. There is always a gating function when you have an abundance of supp

Although I find it disappointing, this is the truth. It is a function of supply and demand. There is always a gating function when you have an abundance of supply; sometimes it is leetcode, sometimes it is school, take home work, resume formatting, a mixture, all of the above, etc. Everything is a proxy because, in most scenarios, there is no way to understand effectiveness of an employee until they have worked for you for a while. Of course there are other ways, but they all carry their own risks. That’s why referrals, imperfect as they are, carry so much sway. In theory they reduce uncertainty and require some expenditure of political capital.