How common are employee referrals for dev jobs in Germany, Ireland, or Lithuania?

Hey everyone,
I’ve been applying to backend dev roles (C++/Python) in Germany, Ireland, and Lithuania, but most applications just disappear.

I’m wondering — do companies there usually hire through referrals rather than cold applications?
And if so, how did you manage to get one?

Would love to hear from anyone who’s used referrals or internal programs to land a job abroad.