Recently, I wrote about why it is wise to go beyond answering public job advertisements and try hard to connect with people when seeking a new position. I subsequently read two very interesting articles that go into more detail about how the online application machine functions at big companies. In Are You Good Enough For Google? Michael Peggs tells us that “applying for a job online is akin to playing the lottery” and uses his experience recruiting for Google to explain why. Liz Ryan takes an even harder line in The Horrible Truth About Online Job Applications as she relates the story of a man who discovers that the online system was set to reject all applications in the case of one job he applied for. Tellingly, he found that out by working his way around the machines and talking to one of the company’s human recruiters. There is simply no substitute for human connections when job hunting.