Seems like a poor prescription to ONLY go off of referrals. The bigger the company gets, the more likely people will not want to bring in talent that they might view as competition. I know that's cynical, and perhaps placated by referral bonuses, but it could happen. Also, what about people straight out of college that find you on LinkedIn and apply to a job posting (which I did in NYC since I knew no one), and end up getting trained to be a senior employee? There are just too many scenarios where you're limiting your pool of prospective employees, why not try everything and double down on what works without discounting new opportunities to bring talent in.
