Have become a huge fan of @mattmochary 's idea of checking your energy level before and after chatting with someone, when deciding whether to work with them.
It seems a bit silly when you first hear about it, but over time it's become my #1 most important hiring heuristic.
Find out their wins above replacement. Through the stories they tell, look to see if the end result of the thing they did would have been significantly worse without their involvement. Try to separate their actions from those of their team or the circumstance. This quality should both highlight their talents and their sense of agency and