Highbypassratio,
It's hard to say what they are looking for but having been hired in the last hiring boom most of my classmates were from extremely different backgrounds and levels of experience.
I had 4000 hours all turboprop.Some guys had L1011 captain time and 10000 hrs+, another had never flown bigger than a Metroliner and had about 4000 hrs, another 2 were ex Snowbirds ,one a 757 FO , and another was flying BE1900's.
I was told that there is not a specific amount of hours to have ( although there is a absolute minimum wich I don't know) or a specific plane to have flown but to fit a certain profile and personality .I know guys with thousands of hours of jet pic who don't get called,others who do and guys with less time and experience who do get called....So I would say there is hope for all.