You must be quite fortunate to have such excellent connections amongst the privileged elite, most people will never get past "the algorithm" if they don't stuff their resumes full of buzzwords to even get past some python script.

Many companies these days install tracking software on workstations, as well as for programming challenges during the interview process.

IBM and defense contractors are known for the good old boy game, so your mindset is not surprising. I used to work at Ball and was pushed out for complaining about every single face in every single meeting being white, so I'm something of an authority on this subject.