I know the disappointment about employment happened about a month ago, but I just want to address a few things in regards to job hunting and securing employment in the current world environment.
I don't what kind of physical measures you took alongside the working, so take this as general advice.
A working alone in most cases is not going to secure employment. It will bring opportunities to you, manipulate the circumstances to a certain extent and so on. However, physical action on that is very important.
The most difficult part is to get an interview, as the job market is extremely competitive and thousands of people will be applying to the same job. On top of that, most recruitment systems search for specific key words. With each recruitment system being different, there's hardly any way to ensure you are selected without having tremendous psychic abilities to predict these key words for each employer and put them in your CV/resume.
Because of this, the most important part of job hunting at this point is finding the hiring manager for the job position you desire, and marketing yourself to them. This can be done in a variety of ways, which I'd be happy to go into detail about if required. The key point here is that you need them to notice you, so you can position yourself ahead of most other candidates who will receive an automated rejection at best, radio silence at worst.
Once you made a good impression and secured your interview, you will have done most of the work already.
The interview is not just an opportunity to market yourself again to the business, but also an opportunity to find more information about them and if they are a good fit to you or a minefield you'd better stay away from or tread carefully. Most people who gain an interview fail to be successful because they don't do any substantial preparation for the interview. If one can't even prepare for an interview, they are very unlikely to be hired as they show themselves unable to take initiative and even prepare for 1 task, let alone multiple duties and responsibilities that are part of the job position they applied for.
The first part of an interview often involves checks that verify what you know about the company and the role you are applying for, which is why it is important to research the company, their values, and their initiatives, and make sure to show that you know about all of them and are a match, by outlining your skills in relation to those factors.
The second part of an interview is usually competency-based, meaning that most interviewers ask for example of when you displayed specific behaviours, qualities and skills. The most effective way to answer these questions is to be proficient with the STAR technique. S (Situation), T (Task), A (Action), R (Result). Hiring managers are often frustrated because candidates don't provide enough detail in their example for them to make a positive decision, and this is where the STAR technique and similar techniques come into place.
Other parts of the interview may vary depending on the role you are applying for. At the end of the interview, you will be usually asked if you have any questions. Here it is important to demonstrate your interest in the company through your questions, and it's also important not to ask questions that are already easily answered by reading the career portal of the company, or browsing through their social media accounts. You can ask for more detailed information about your work, the goals of the company, progression opportunities, and so on.
One successful line of interviewing I heard from many recruiters is asking about things that tie in with the behaviours and values of the company. For example, if the company values growth and learning, asking about personal and professional development opportunities in-depth is going to make an excellent impression. Another example, if they mention they are passionate about driving change, asking details about initiatives and try to make small talk related to your experience and vision is a good strategy (obviously strategic small talk that you can lie about if you think differently).
At the end of the questioning, it is also important to get commitment from them by asking yes/no questions about whether you addressed things like all their concerns, clarifying anything that needs to be clarified, etc. If everything is fine and circumstances allow, it is important to try and get the next stage booked immediately. Don't give them time to think about other candidates or the opportunity to have you disqualified in any way.
Concluding by thanking about their time, etc, also leaves a good impression.
I used to do one-shot aura programming to make me give an outstanding/excellent impression on the hiring manager and have me hired immediately. The stronger your aura, the more this will influence them and empower all other behaviours.
I hope this is helpful.