I've interviewed machinists for 35 years. No perfect indicator. People will lie about their ability straight to your face. Previous employers will seldom be frankly honest. Perhaps the most valuable advise I ever got was from a therapist when trying to figure out women. Was told, "what you see is what you get."
With that in mind I judge on interview punctuality. Ability to generate a proper resume , or at least a data sheet. Hand them a complex blue print with ample geometric tolerancing, gear data, and sequential heat treat and plating, then ask, "how to make this?" Some men can not bring themselves to admit they don't know, and will dig themselves a hole bull shitting me.
Will walk with them to the parking lot and look at their car. Regardless of age and value, is it well cared for not full of cigarette butts and McDonald's wrappers or beer cans? If they take no pride in an automobile, can be assured they will treat my machines the same way. Bumper stickers are a HUGE give away of character. Lastly, will spend time doing web searches for arrests and political postings.
If thinking this is too judgement you're right. By pressured request, I once interviewed for a senior, corporate position. The long ride and ample coffee had me using the executive restroom. To this day I have never seen a restroom as magnificent and spotless. Taking the hint I insured it was just clean, or cleaner when I left. Later, I was told the restroom was inspected after I left. That being a pig was an immediate disqualifier. Not a bad trick.
Likely 30 years or more back, already tired of the hiring game, I decided one day that while they filled out their job app I would go have a look at their car like you I didn't care much what it was or the age but how well kept and where they parked. Many rushed in late or nearly late and would just stop, get out and run in the building leaving our parking lot blocked to anyone else wanting to come and go. I also started giving them a card from my Rolodex to put their contact info on if I thought I might be interested, I would hand it to them directly from the Rolodex and upside down, If they wrote their info on it upside down I didn't want them.
Wonder Woman caught me at it one day and after the person left she chewed my ass and took over the interviewing which didn't break my heart. Within a year I found her checking cars, dress, neatness on the job app and some other simple common sense type things. I asked her about it one day and she starts telling me how she has found they will lie to you about anything you ask them but there are many truths in what they actually do when they don't realize they are being watched. When I mentioned the Rolodex card she chewed my ass again some but was smiling this time. Along about this time a guy showed up late for an interview about 10 mins late, he was wearing flip flops and actually putting on his shirt as he walked in the door, she met him just inside the door like a rabid Pitbull, she chewed his ass all the way back to his car using all of her Navy words, called him everything under the sun and made it real clear what a stupid SOB he was. I was still laughing when she came back in the building and as a result I got chewed on a bit too. We quit trying to hire that day, encouraged the rest to wonder off to do other things, we packed up our shit, moved to the middle of nowhere and hide out in the woods doing what we can. We have found that most of the stresses in our lives were employee related, teaching adults 3rd grade math, redoing what they didn't do correctly, showing them yet again how it needs to be done, reminding them to cleanup their work area and make it ready to use in the morning, sorting their good parts from the bad ones, telling them that blowing out the soft jaws does not mean they are clean and free of chips before they smash the chips into the parts and jaws damaging both, don't try to hide the bad parts, get help to make them right, telling them that adjusting the machine every cycle is not the way but to learn how to properly seat the parts in the machine instead, on and on and on...
Now we just make parts, assemble them, package them and ship them though yesterday she brought me a part from a run of 12,000, stuck it up in my face and said, what is this doing in my parts? I had a 23.68 blank just a bit short and one of 9 parts in the strip didn't clean up, my fault, my auto saw is on the blink, I am cutting blanks manually and that one wasn't right.
