Being just below 1000 hours may be the best thing you could have at this point. You will not be eligible for a Captain slot in your New Hire class, but you will be eligible to bid on one on any vacancy after you get to your 1000 hours. So, if you are just under 1000 you will get an FO slot for sure as a new hire and then as soon as you get a month or two on the line you will get to 1000 hours. Then you can choose what if any Captain slot you are interested in. While there is normally a chance that there won't be any advertised Captain slots that is not really true right now. The company is required to continue to advertise Captain slots in any place that a new hire was "forced" into the Captain slot as a New hire until every New hire that was forced has either gone to training or had somebody take their Capt slot. So, not only do you have all the need for Captains for the new airplanes that continue to arrive, but also the requirement to continue for any forced position. Since that forcing of Captain assignments didn't happen until December (I think) and continue now in January, even if the slow way down, you will see those assignments offered until this time next year.

You can't start Captain training until you been here 12 months (reducable to 9 months in if the company wants to give you 100 hours of OE) so getting a Captain slot as a new hire or getting one on a a vacancy bid 6 months in make no difference in when you end up going to Captain training