I think it's going to matter on a few things: previous experience, company rules, internal recs, and hiring needs.

I'm in the same boat. Was current 2yrs ago, with an offer from one company, then that offer died when they cancelled training classes and stopped hiring. I took a non-flying assignment but kept flying relatively regularly (goal ~100h/yr). However, all that time was SEL bugsmashers.

When the JB hiring started earlier this year, I had a very wonderful friend go to bat for me through the CPOs. I am very sure I wouldn't have gotten an interview without such action. The whole "networking is essential" thing rings true.

For all the pilot shortage talk, they're still getting lots of apps for every training slot.

BL: Network, network, network. Time to start going through the address book and finding friends that work at your target airlines.