Secret not mentioned: Aggressively filter applicants, so only the “best matches” even get an interview. I’ve sent 150 applications to Google in the last 4 months, and not a single response.
And I’d be really disappointed if all the submissions just went into the same person’s inbox. Somebody at Google should speak up if that’s the case. The way I expect Google to run, each submission just goes to that division’s hiring staff, and Google has a lot of divisions.
If you notice Thomas’ posts about Matasano, they don’t filter based on resume at all. I wish everybody did that.