Creampuff, nice post, but it doesn't strike me as a particularly competitive market sector at all. At least it is not competitive on ability.
From the above stories (and others I know from my own experience) I would say many pilots miss out through the sheer volume of applicants combined with lazy/incompetent or just busy CPs. It is much easier to give someone a job when they follow up their résumé by walking through the front door and having a chat, than it is to Wade through hundreds of CVs while you should be working.
I know some great pilots who missed out on positions and some worthless, lazy and stupid (in the truest sense of the word) people who have secured employment. Many of the latter become CPs because all the good pilots move onto greener pastures. I'm not saying this with any bitterness, as I have never been knocked back for a flying job to date, just an observation of an industry whose culture seems to run counter to the rest of the business world.