> 4) The process is indeed very arbitrary. My favorite story is about a time I submitted my resume and got a call from a recruiter two weeks later who loved my background. I interviewed and got an offer that I eventually declined. I learned during the process that my application was rejected by the company's resume scanning software. It was purely a coincidence that a recruiter happened upon my LinkedIn profile (which mirrored my resume) at nearly the same time.

I had something similar happen to me. I submitted my resume on the company's career page after seeing a role that matched me perfectly. I got an automated email telling me I wasn't the right fit. Dejected, I posted my resume on a job portal only to have a recruiter reach out to me for the exact same position. I interviewed and got an offer.