Skill visibility for NPCs

Location and skill visibility for hirable, well-skilled NPCs

These options only point to NPCs with unknown skills, so there could be other NPCs available to hire within range that won't be highlighted if their skills are already known. It makes sense to use these options where there are a lot of NPCs of the type you are interested in (e.g. see sidebar for zone-wide, or station dock menu to check platforms or station population).

More expensive hires are usually better skilled, but be aware that their cost is based upon their /total/ skill list, not simply the primary skills for their job.. so you could end up with a Captain who is rotten in Navigation and Leadership but excellent in Science & Management.. 

A useful point WRT hiring: find a station & target a dock. Then open the (I)nfo bar; you will now see all NPCs at all docks on the station. Find a suitable dock with <many> of the NPC type you wish to hire & dock there, using mission guidance if necessary. You can then smalltalk (to lvl1) any appropriate NPCs for free to discover the skills of the desired NPC; after that's done hire as necessary once their skills are known

NPCs randomly disappear from stations (but not docks if you're landed) to simulate personnel 'churn'. If you dock at one point & find a good NPC, don't expect them to remain there once you've docked at another point; leaving the zone will almost guarantee the NPC changearound*

The Level 3 smalltalk "Best Job Applicant" does not alter or create crew. As the marked person will exist in a save made directly before carrying out the smalltalk, savescumming can be used to gain access to the results without wasting a gift.

*Specialists tend to hang on to their stations for quite a while; however there is still no guarantee they'll be there when you get back..