Saitek,
Just because you've swallowed the tripe that the Oxford marketing department gushes don't expect everyone to believe it! If you feel you need a nice, structured environment to get you through that's fine but it doesn't apply to everyone.
I would concur with your last remarks regarding "inside knowledge." Unless you're very lucky ie right time, right place, a contact who can drop your cv on the right desk will be more useful than almost anything else.