I agree with most posters--it is about integrity. I also agree with Whirls about the "OBN". We work in a small world--If I do not know an applicant personally, I can make less than 5 phone calls and find someone who I know, who does know him/her. It's kind of like the Kevin Bacon game.
Everyone who gets hired where I work, will have an evaluation flight. It is real easy to distinguish between a 300 hour pilot and a 1500 hour pilot, but not so easy to differentiate a 1500 hour and a 3000 hour pilot.
We tend to hire based upon attitude, rather than hours. I would rather hire someone with slightly lower hours and no long line time as long as they have the right attitude. I can teach you to fly a line, but at 3000 hours, I cannot teach you the right attitude towards safety and customer service---you either have it or you don't. Incidentally, the last pilot I hired had 3500 hours---NO long line/VR and NO fire/utility time, BUT he beat out 10,000 hour pilots because he showed the right attitude and ability to learn.