This question sits at the intersection of perception and reality, and the answer requires honesty on both sides.
No ethical employer admits to preferential hiring based on fraternal membership. That would violate anti-discrimination principles and undermine merit-based selection. Freemasonry itself condemns the practice of using membership to secure unearned advantage.
That said, the attributes Masonry cultivates — reliability, discretion, teamwork, ethical judgment, and leadership experience — are universally preferred by hiring managers. When a candidate lists Masonic involvement on a resume, it signals more than a hobby. It signals a man who has committed to a lifelong course of self-improvement, who has been examined and voted upon by his peers, and who carries obligations that extend beyond the workplace.
During the 19th century, when railroads and industries were built across America, Masonic connections were common among the men who financed and managed them. A Brother seeking employment might find a door opened not because of conspiracy, but because the hiring manager recognized in him a shared standard of conduct. The same dynamic operates today, though more subtly.
The key distinction is this: Freemasonry does not create preferential treatment. It creates preferential candidates — men whose character, developed through lodge work, makes them naturally attractive to employers who value integrity above all else.