Tips and help on applying for KP (socal) please

I've been applying for Consultant IV and v roles with little to no response. Status of Talent Acquisition Is Reviewing is there for a while now on 3 positions - managerial consultant IVs and V. I did receive an email to do a questionnaire a day after I applied. Does that mean I'm in the running? I saw 2 consultant IV positions posted a day apart from one another and I applied to both right away and was rejected 2 days later. My resume is geared towards consulting. I'm not really understanding the HRIS or the HR person's logic when I'm being looked at for other IV and V roles. Any help is appreciated.

Also:

-Does knowing someone at the director level and putting their name as the referral help at all?

-Does it matter that I select the option that I have a masters and x number of years of experience or would they prefer a specific candidate such as the last option of "I have 8 years experience" and it doesn't list whether they have a bachelor's or masters degree at all?

-Is it ok to reach out to the Talent Acquisition person if I can find them on LinkedIn?