I was a internal hire stay the course. I worked at FedEx for 10 yrs while I built my time and went to college. I changed jobs at FedEx to get into flight ops and just kept at it. I did the corporate gig on my days off, it starts off slow but will build in time. I would suggest going to one of the road shows that pilot hiring attends such as air inc, obap?, women in aviation. Go and introduce yourself to John, Kim & Amy who run the office and network as much as you can. You will get an interview before anyone on the outside if we are hiring. The mins can change in a moments notice so keep looking at the postings and start preping for the interview. As far as the "Token Thing" don't worry just show up prepaired, be professional and operate per the CFM & FOM. Most guys like me don't care about your background, race etc just are you a good pilot! For the rest who cares.