New 3 A/E been looking for my first job for months, need help/advice/tips/leads

Hi, first off I want to say thanks to everyone taking a moment of your time to lend me a hand here at gCaptain, and especially to all the Vets out there today. Second I’d like to explain my problem a little bit, my situation, what I’ve tried to do to remedy it, and what my goals are.

So I graduated from Maine Maritime this summer with an MET degree and a 3rd A/E License, since then I’ve been trying to find a 3 A/E job out there in the real world. I’ve sent out numerous inquiries to companies, dozens of applications, made a few calls to recruiters, joined AMO, followed up on leads from people I know and from several acquaintances, and still I am struggling to hear back from companies. When I do hear back, its usually either of two situations. Either they aren’t hiring or I don’t meet their minimum requirements, or if there are jobs that might turn up they won’t do so until at least the new year.

Now, I really just want to get out there and work, I’m not too fussy as to where or what I’m doing, but I’d much prefer to be doing a 3 A/E job and getting sea time on my license. I’ve kind of run out of options as to companies that I can send out my application and resume to, even though I know there are more out there, I just can’t really find them. For the past week or two I’ve been mainly replying to listings posted on any one of half a dozen or so job boards, but usually I don’t even hear back from these companies. What else can I do? What should I do? Is there any good leads as far as where I should apply to? I know I don’t have much experience having just graduated from school, but it does seem like a bit much when nearly every 3 A/E position I see out there requires 2-5 years experience. The point being, I need some help, and it seems like you guys might be my lifeline now.