[jgafni]

Could you be overlooking great candidates who didn't go to top school or have a personal referral, yet have the skills and would be great to work with? I've worked with many engineers who fit that category.

Both of those signals reflect prior selection by someone else. Admissions committees, your network's hiring choices. Those signals also correlate with class, geography, and network access.

I'm not saying that referrals and schools don't predict. They do. But no referrals and no top school doesn't necessarily mean a candidate isn't a fit. The more AI advances, the greater the need for a new signal.