I got my first "real" job working for Stryker Instruments. Recently, I requested to be transfered to our sister division, Stryker Medical. Most notably, the company is committed to 20% growth each year, and we have for over 20 years. Add that up for a minute...
My University helps students find jobs quite a bit, but regards Stryker as one of their "top 5" hardest employers to get into. They have a series of 5 steps to the application process, including a Gallup interview, 20 staff interviews, as well as beating down the HR Recruiter's defenses by impressing them.
My dad has always said that "It doesn't mater what you know, it's about who you know" and this is certainly true for a lot of people, and a lot of employers. I read somewhere that a good 60% of the jobs out there are taken by people who "know someone" in the company, and that makes sense.
However, when you get right down to it, you can't fake a Gallup interview, and you either know how to do your job well, or you don't. I think a great resume has a lot to do with it, and a lot of people can't seem to get this right at my school. I have had over 30 job offers at various employers, but I have, and continue to turn them down because I want to work for Stryker.
My school is an exception form the norm though, because everyone has a job somewhere (co-op school, visit
http://www.kettering.edu), but I made my resume a long time ago and the school didn't help me much, though they offered to a lot. The problem people have is that they don't update their resume a lot, and you have a list of things that you did over a span of 10 years or so. I like to keep the most recent information on there, at the top.
More to the point, I pursued the job I have now because I love the company and their products. I have posted online at monster.com and all of those, and the school sends me jobs that I might like occasionally, and a lot more when i was a freshman. Again, unique situation, but still.
When you come down to it, a healthy balance of what you know, and how you present yourself is most important. However, who you know never hurts either.