Gentlemen (and Ladies)
I am actually approaching the other end of a flying career, but let me say this;
having been in the position of selecting and hiring Pilots from a mountain of resume's there emerges one constant practice and that is the comparing of applicants on what is essentially a point system.
Every employer will look for the Pilot that will give him the best service for the least amount of money and heartache. Most of the chief pilots and training managers will look for people with the right attitude, then comes general intelligence, relevant experience, health and on and on.
There is no one magic formula!
I've hired Pilots that were super sharp and some that needed to go to evening school during probation to catch up. I've hired some that were extremely opinionated and some that wanted to agree with everything that came out of my mouth.
The overriding requirement was that an individual would be able to convince me that s/he would give it his best to be successful, so that I did not waste my precious training resources on someone that was not willing to meet me halfway.
When I landed my first airline job (right seat on a BAC1-11 back in 79), I had been trying for 4 years, so you know I have experienced that side of the game as well.
Don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what "they" want from you, you know the basic requirements, most employers will publish them, but look beyond the hours and look at yourself as a person standing in front of the guy you hope will hire you and hope that you are in the right place at the right time!
Good luck to all of you!