[scarface_74]

Strong referrals may lead to interviews at larger companies. But rarely jobs. You still have to go through the interview process and most of the time how you came in isn’t even known to the interviewer.

Now if your network includes directors and CxOs who can just push a job through specifically for you, that’s different. Especially if it is a strategic hire for them. Those types of jobs usually don’t involve formal interviews and they are more of discussions about mutual fit.

[kmonsen]

At least for me that was not true, I came back to Google after more than two years and did not have to interview.

[hn_acc1]

That's returning to a former employer. That's very different if you left on good terms - they already "interviewed" you for some number of years.