not necessarily
Though the above statement appears to be true in a majority of cases, I am learning the hard way that the contrary may also be true in some cases.
Much of what i'm about to say is conjecture but I have good reason to beleive it, possibly beacuse im feeling particularly bitter at the mo. but maybe because there's a chance that it's true.
Applied for the Britannia cadet sponsorship recently. My father is a senior captain for the company so I called a number of his colleagues to get some feedback on my application answers. Each of them told me that I was wasting my time and that a number of pilots' sons have applied in the past with very strong applications and had been immediately rejected. Taking little notice of this mere conspiracy theory I completed my application, had it checked and corrected by a number of pilot friends, psychology and language students and low and behold I was rejected.
I don't want to blow my own trumpet but I have an excellent academic record including a physics degree, appropriate flying experience and bags of relevant work experience much of which within the aviation industry. Maybe my application just wasn't good enough or maybe the mere conspiracy theory is more than just a theory.
So there you have it, an example where who you know can actually work against you.....allegedly!!!
Back to the drawing board for me!!