Pilot Pete....excellent information.
It's clear to me that it's not as black and white as how old you are or what level of experience you have although they both play a part. It's more down to the bigger picture of you as a person, how you have progressed through life, how you have applied yourself, the steps and planning you have made to achieve your ultimate goal. How you handle situations and how you react when faced with problems and people. Attitude and outlook on life in general has to be in there somewhere too.
Then onto the applications, targeting specific airlines after researching each one, and learning as much as you can about the company, not just that they have 7x757 and a 767 on the books but when and how they started and how they developed, how they operate now and what they expect from their staff (all staff not just pilots). The structure and their policy's on customer care are other examples. These are just some and there will be many more areas to look into. To me these things show you are interested in THE COMPANY not just the shiny jet parked on the apron.
I may be way off the mark but this is how I see things.
regards.
NHF