the truth about job interview and hiring

This will make you feel good or bad depending on  which side of the divide  you are in . Did you know  your chance of making it through a job interview  comes down to less than double digits if you did  not know any " employee" in that concern.Based on studies conducted by MIT and Federal Reserve bank  show referrals account for between 30 and 50% of hires in the US.

 The data  propounds that during a job interview what counts is not how much you know about the subject , but how much you know about the top management. Research suggests ( read below ) why companies dont need the 'perfect  candidate, and the reason is well documented " people  would want to have someone like themselves.with a similar social and cultural background. And that us just a few of  the reason why they prefer to take in people from employee referrals.
Research has shown referrals stick around longer and are more productive as compared to non referred friend ( Harvard research paper )

 The New York Times recently ran a story on increasing use of internal referrals  by the technology companies which showed that  around 47%  of hiring ( for non entry level positions ) in Ernst & Young and Deloitte  came from employee referrals 

Although internal employee referrals only made up about 6% of total applications, they resulted in more than a quarter of hires..Not only that, but even a candidate coming through referrals has even 40% higher chances of being offered the letter ..

 So what are the advantages of employee referrals that makes it such an obvious choice for headhunters and HR ? 

1) saves the costs associated in publishing job ads across print and online
 2)For niche jobs.. the captive base of skilled workers is low and the referral medium offers the right mix of talent 
3) employees who come in via the referral channel tend to stay longer in the organization