Hello,
I would also like share my experience:
1. I do not know anybody at QP
2. I have applied in second week of October-2008
3. I got a reply on 30th October for a phone interview
4. I had my phone interview on 10th November-2008
5. I've received a site interview invitation on 23rd November

So from my experience, I did not need to know anybody to apply for a job at QP. Good luck.