Which is fine, you don't have to take in every candidate, nor do we need to apply to every company.

Sure. A bigger organisation with more layers in their technology department could treat candidates better that would struggle with a hiring process like mine. More detailed tickets, more mentors available, bigger cashflow, things like that.

In such settings it's also somewhat common to hire consultants in bulk, like 5-10 at a time, try them out for six months and keep the ones that enjoy the work and fit well in the organisation, and over time try to employ some of them directly.