I'm in the same boat as you. I went to university, did all the right internships, some in governance, and have a great amount of experience outside university as I worked the entire time I was studying and immediately after. I ended up in a different field than I studied for, but was living in New York when I lost my job in April 2020 because of the pandemic. I left everything there in storage and went to stay near family so I didn't have to pay rent. All my belongings are still there, and I haven't been back since.

I've sent out, about 1,000 applications at this point (no lie), both in New York and in the small city I'm in right now. Either I am ignored, met with rejection, put time into a first interview and then am told I'm not the right fit.. I'm 32, I've started applying for ENTRY LEVEL jobs at this point, and am still getting rejected by jobs I would consider myself overqualified for. It's SO discouraging.

I'm terrified that New York unemployment is ending soon - honestly I'm surprised it's gone on this long, but holy shit I've been trying so hard to find a job and I'm getting nothing back.

All this to say -- you're not alone. Hopefully you find some comfort in knowing that.