Skywest pilots seem to do well at SWA. So fly fly fly. Update your application twice a month. Fly more. Upgrade. Fly even more.
Finish up your degree while you're building time. Night school, correspondence, Engineering, basket weaving, German Polka, who cares. Just get a degree. Fly some more. Update the app twice a month. Keep trying to get to the SWA career expo. Fly some more. After you upgrade, invest in resume review and interview prep.
While you're doing this, learn about SWA values, embrace them, live them. So if (when) SWA calls your references, the words they use to describe you are congruent with SWA values.
It's not rocket surgery but it can take some time. The good news is that we're hiring now. So build those hours, aim at 1000/yr and see how close you can get.
Type rating... Meh. If you've already got a 4 year degree and everything else is sorted already, then maybe it could help. I know some people who have *everything* except hours, so they got the type rating to help communicate their intent to stay with SWA long-term. If that's you, then consider it.