Is it just me or people at the top hire only their buddies / connections ? CIO gets hired from IBM and he brings his/her buddies from there while the rest of the Individual contributors keep struggling for a job via traditional job portals while people at the top easily slide in thru connections ?
Am I being naive or it it how it works in the US at all companies ?
You just described networking.
That seems to be the case everywhere. In Cisco, I know that one of the JP's predecessors, Sri S. came from Microsoft and brought a number of people from MS: managers and there was even an engineer who was soon given architect role. The worst was when at one of the meetings they were praising their culture in Microsoft - they still didn't feel like a part of Cisco.
That's what happens with people in every situation. As an example, immigrants from same country tend to meet and form a group in foreign country. When it happens, they don't integrate, and usually they highlight all the bad sides of host culture as compared to their own.
In the same way, these groups from other companies, when they are together, seem to belittle their employer and culture that was created before they joined company.
It happens everywhere. The high level executives like to bring their friends and proteges that will do what they want without questioning.
"It's not what you know, it's who you know."
it happens at all publicly traded companies.... You'll have a VP hire his incompetent nephew with a different last name, and no one will understand why that guy gets promoted every 2 years
There are entire areas where all of management used to work together at another company. Of course it happens elsewhere but it is pretty blatant here.