Have you considered freelancing on top of applying for jobs. There is plenty of communities for freelancers with valuable lessons and tips for people who want to start out on that. Here is some tips that I compiled: 1. Understand the demand. Offer something people will want to buy. Look for profiles of sellers that look the most as yours, look at the most successfull ones and find out what they are doing right. 2. Niche down. In order to stand out you need to have specific skills that are demanded and offer a plus that not a lot of people offer. In my case, my niche is building communities, but I managed to stand out among hundreds of profiles that do exactly that and get a client, by saying I would help them make the right choice of tool according to their budget. 3. Create a portifolio and a vídeo presentation. People will buy from you if they can trust you. A big plus is if they can see your previous work. A huge plus is if they can see your face and know who they are dealing with in advance. Most people don't show themselves, so you stand out when you do. 4. Don't wait for the algorithm to work by itself. Show yourself up in every corner of the internet that you can to be usefull. Join communities, asnwer questions on forums, create social media content, write blog articles, record vídeos showing what you do. Help people, build relationships, offer help to local businesses and friends. The more active you are, the more work opportunities, experience and confidence you get.