One of the (internal) roles I applied for got "hundreds" of applications according to the HR rep. But I was given a first round interview despite never having pressed the "apply" button. My manager had reached out to the HR rep directly with my previous resume and that allowed me to bypass the pre-screen. I never even provided my latest resume until just before the first round (the one holding all my current position's new experience at the time).
That was more enlightening than I asked for. Those hundreds of other candidates A) never stood a chance against HR picking a candidate recommended by someone with more political power, B) will never realize that that was the reason they were passed upon, until maybe they reach their moment of realization first-hand like me, and C) were passed upon in favor of a candidate with a resume almost a year out of date. It illustrated to me the sheer futility of cold applying to random open positions and hoping for the best.