Originally Posted by FuelJetA

A 500 Hour FO can absolutely be as good of an FO as a 3000 hour FO if the person has the right attitude. In fact, speaking from experience, a low time FO is generally more observant has a 'can-do' attitude and isn't 'gunning' for the Captain seat. They are typically very willing to learn. The good thing about a low time FO is this...stability. If you pay them what they are worth, they stick around. A 3000 hour pilot will, in many peoples opinion, be there long enough to get a few hundred hours jet time and go fly somewhere else. A few years back I interviewed for a job flying a J41 for a charter company. I had the minimum hours to make captain and they said that I would most likely do that in 3-4 months. They passed me for someone with a lot less time and the interviews had gone really well. I was kinda stumped so I asked what went wrong. They told me that they liked me but b/c I had a bundle of previous 'fast' turboprop experience and some jet time they viewed me as a risk. They told me that they were concerned that with the experience I had I would take the type rating, fly for a short time (a year) and leave so they opted to hire someone that they could 'grow.'
Hours are great, but as we all know, it's easy to lie about your time, it's also easy to bull$hit your way through an interview. The proof is in the putting...how you fly and what you say and what your personality is like makes the decision in a lot of cases. If you can fly and are the right 'fit' many will make the hours work.
Just my .02
Take Care!