It would be strange if those were the only metrics they use. Perhaps there are others that we don't know about...
Or, like many people I've talked to, perhaps they didn't divulge their "ace in the hole." I knew a person who got hired at a major as a regional FO. They told me they were an intern and had already had the TBNT, so the second interview was a formality. Turns out, their uncle was a respected chief pilot.
There is usually more to the story than we know. Life lesson