That also had its own problems. A CP's friend's son getting hired over someone who was more qualified, guard buddies blocking out civilian applicants, etc. When I first started, I lived in base but I was told I should still get a crashpad so I could network with mainline pilots. I thought it was ridiculous, but then a new captain I flew with met a person at FedEx at a crahspad who knew someone involved with the interview process and he got an interview way ahead of more qualified people.

The number of airlines has drastically deceased in the last 20 years. As a result, each airline has to handle way more applicants. Relying on personal connections and trying to prove to HR that your drinking buddy is more qualified than someone doesn't scale well when you have 5,000 applications to go through. The new ways aren't perfect either, but to say pilots don't have control over who they hire is just false. A computer system may be in charge of who GETS the interview, but in the end, a group of pilots are heavily involved in the hiring process.

Sure there are some HR people in the room, but contrary to what many pilots think, they are there for a good reason. While there are many great pilots who can fly a single engine approach perfectly, lots of them can't handle conflict well. They are type A personalities who only know who to work with other type A's. Airlines got sick of great pilots causing PR nightmares with passengers. Getting HR people involved with the hiring process helps weed those people out.