What helped for me was to talk to people/companies with whom I wasn’t applying for a job. I’m looking for a junior swe role (in this market). I’ve learned a few things from replies I got from actual applications, but I learned most by networking. For example, I went to this agency that only works with seniors, but I had a really great conversation. The guy was interested in me as a developer, but he couldn sell my lack of experienve to his clients. We had a great conversation about software, careerpaths and also about my job hunt. He gave some tips te rewrite my cv and how to stick out during applications. Since that day, I’ve gotten twice as many callbacks. No job yet, but i’ve got good prospects.