RAT 5, I also had the same experience in the late 1990s. I couldn't believe the physco babble "selection" procedures.
With another airline in the 1980s I was Pilot Training Manager on the selection board (along with the Chief Pilot and his Deputy). We used to interview them and then put them through a sim profile to see how they fared.
On the interview I used to sit there and think "How would I feel flying a night Paphos with this pilot?". Whilst not claiming to be perfect we achieved an excellent success rate in our simple selection procedure.