I know many people are not like me, they want to see qualifications and hear testimonials and see that that person already has exactly the life that they want. If you listen to your gut though, you can know if someone has something to offer you just by what they put out into the world. It doesn’t have to be shiny or perfect. It just has to have that something you feel you are missing.
I think I'm the same as you are in this case. I'm not all that bothered about the idea of titles and credentials. I think people without them are more often better choices because there's a clear passion when something is done without getting all the qualifications and accolades. I definitely don't like the idea of judging a person's abilities purely based on where they studied, or which companies they've worked with.
You can also get a good look at how a person can be based on their personality alone. The colours shine through if they're a good fit just naturally.
I remember being taken to a psychologist as a high schooler and being able to diagnose the doctor. I thought it was so absurd that someone so unfixed was trying to fix other people.
Ironically I tried to fix people for a long time while I was unfixed.
But yeah, when someone has done the work and gets to a certain level, you can kinda just tell that they know what they are taking about, and it’s surprisingly rare, although I see it with some really amazing artists