I’ve done a lot of recruitment, both interviews and simulator assessments. If the basic requirements were met we would invite the candidate for interview. If the simulator assessment was good enough and the candidate showed capacity to be trained, it was all up to the interview. The principle was that an experienced pilot can be trained to a very good standard, whereas an unpleasant personality will remain unpleasant for decades. Personality was everything. If any interviewer had a less than positive gut feeling the candidate was out.
Re QR, we now have 118 nationalities among the pilots. Racist it is absolutely not. But the race card is a very convenient excuse for someone who failed and whose personality might need a bit of introspection.