Hiring at these companies is very different from the bad examples described here, except for the indexing on degrees (if you don't have extensive experience you're not getting hired without a degree). They don't test trivia and don't typically look for "X years experience with Y framework". I remember seeing that in lots of smaller, lower paying companies' job postings on websites like Indeed but I've never seen that at a big bay area tech company unless it's something sufficiently broad like "infrastructure" or "frontend"

The difference is that big tech companies aren't meant to be applied to over the internet. Seriously, it's like throwing your resume into a black hole. Referrals are the same way, honestly. The only good way to get hired is to get a recruiter to message you on Linkedin. I have never got an interview at these companies from applying on their websites and have made it to the first round of interviews every time if I was contacted by a recruiter.

And because of that, it should be no surprise that nobody is scouring the internet to find your company and send in an application on your company's website. Everybody has been conditioned for that to essentially not work. Even though it's expensive you really should be paying third or even first party recruiters.