LOL. (hopefully you're not talking about the month we were paired together)
When I was hired two years ago, I didn't know a soul at FedEx. I actually called up Albie Hagan and said "you don't know me, but I was just hired and used Emerald Coast and I have a few questions". (he went out of his way to get me the gouge, btw). I remember right after I was hired if the topic of who sponsored you came up, everyone was surprised that I didn't know anyone. Now, in the last couple years, I've probably ran into 30-35 people who have been hired without an internal rec. Probably even more that I didn't know about since the topic doesn't come up very often. Definitely, today it has little to no bearing if you know a current pilot/employee.
It's kind of a double edge sword of sorts. If someone is an LCA at your company, and they say they've flown with Snuffy before and he'd be a perfect fit, don't you think his word would mean something? Vice versa, I thought I had a good resume (with well over the mins in each of the three airplanes I've been an instructor in), but getting an interview would hinge on if I knew the right people?