[tolbish]

Because far up the comment tree, referrals were confused with "some recruiter said I should interview for a job".

[scarface74]

There was no “confusion”. The only purpose of a referral is to get the interview. If an internal recruiter reached out to you, a referral isn’t necessary.

Either way you still have to go through the same loop.

Yes, I “work for a FAANG” like many others do here.