[ghaff]

I can't speak to developer roles specifically. But the last job I had (for a long time), I just dropped an email to someone who was a client. I think a fair number of the developers at the company came through internships or referrals and AFAIK takehomes weren't a thing.

[Henchman21]

What year?

[ghaff]

2010.

It didn't hurt that the person in question ran the products group. (And I went to the same school as the ultimate hiring manager.)

People obviously have different experiences at different companies but networks matter a lot in many cases whether a lot of folks like it or not.

Things still took a few months to coordinate meetings and interviews but it was still the only job I (sort of) applied for.