[lojack]

Completely agree with your points.

> I'm not sure how many resumes never make it past recruiting

I've asked the recruiters at my company about this (we hired roughly similar numbers). Their response was that they filter a surprising number of applicants, but they are almost always from people who are completely unqualified for the job. The referral helps fast track them through this, but it doesn't provide much more than getting their foot in the door.