So a bit of background: I have a bachelors and a masters (in fields like international affairs and government and cybersecurity/AI stuff), and trying to find a full time career as an Analyst, regardless of which field I segue into from my interests above.

I have NOT been able to land practically any FT role in the last 5 years of searching because I can’t seem to make it past the final interview stages or they reject me after seeing my written diagnostic assessments. It’s always one or the other and sometimes it’s even just a simple rejection right at the beginning after my application is submitted, no matter how often I edit or spruce up my resume keywords.

Throughout my resume, the most recent roles I’ve held were all contract/part-time roles or something like an internship that wasn’t even paid. My most recent position was a layoff as well, so I was depressed for a year. Lately the only roles I’ve been offered are freelancing or part-time academic tutoring (which is fine because I love teaching and education too).

In every case where I had to interview for a full-time role in my past, I kept getting eventually rejected somehow. It’s as if I’m competing with the best of the best for even the most hidden jobs out there.

Since I’m assuming academic qualifications mean very little these days, is there anything better to improve at landing a FT role? I can’t even seem to land an “Associate” role in my industries of choice because it seems like a massively competitive job market.