Hand flying ability = experience
Sorry, but not so. There are many with few hours that hand fly great, and many with thousands upon thousands of hours in type that engage the autopilot at 400', and disengage it as low as possible. Sim checks encourage pilots to use all resources available to them, which includes the autopilot. Sims are usually so packed with emergencies anyway that there is no time to practice hand flying. RVSM requires autopilot engagement except under some contingencies. So, hand flying suffers if you're 'monitoring' or sitting in the jump-seat. It doesn't mean anything.
The truth is that unless someone is padding the logbook with LOTS of time, no one will know. Unfortunately, many do it. As cheating becomes the norm to get what you want, the 'bar' is raised. After awhile many feel compelled by that survival instinct to do the same. Using the logbook as a means of proving experience, and thus obtaining employment is a flawed as it gets.
Any better ideas on how to measure one's worth as an employable pilot?