Just because these people have previous 121/135 time doesn’t mean they are guaranteed a job. Did they have any deviations or checkrides ride failures? Are they even current / did they do well on the technical interview? 4 year degree? Was their personality good? Did they have an employee referral? A lot of other factors than just have flight hours.

of course they can be picky. Just having the minimums never guarantees you a job, welcome to the real world - regionals aren’t hiring you just because you have a pulse anymore.