You may want to use a recruiter (or several); they will get a commission from the company where they place you and can work on finding you a job at the same time you are looking on your own. However, they will not always be looking out for your best interest overall though, so make sure to hold fast on anything that is non-negotiable for you.
Also, consider applying to positions that aren't looking for software developers specifically to get your foot in the door. There are many technical positions that can involve software engineering, like QA, application support, IT, devops, helpdesk etc. A lot of these positions that need "bodies", but are good stepping stones for entry level positions.
+1 to networking, though user groups for a given technology (e.g. .Net user groups) might be better than "networking" events which can be a lot of false leads.
And on your resume (saw it looking at your comment history):
* Include an introductory objective sentence or two at the beginning (I'm so-and-so interested in...seeking such kind of work).
* You may want to have a skills section with bullets of your skills, a lot easier for recruiters and hiring managers to quickly read
* Create multiple version of your resumes for different positions you apply for. E.g. Something that's more tailored for frontend and another tailored for backend. You may even just want a few versions that are organized differently to do some A/B testing.
* Are you writing cover letters? I'm not sure how much weight they carry these days (I can't say I've seen any from candidates in a long time) but really anything that sets you apart won't hurt.
* You may also want to create a public Github repo with representative samples of your work.
* The mygoldanimals.com URL in your resume doesn't work, you may want to indicate that it's no longer maintained.
Also, consider applying to positions that aren't looking for software developers specifically to get your foot in the door. There are many technical positions that can involve software engineering, like QA, application support, IT, devops, helpdesk etc. A lot of these positions that need "bodies", but are good stepping stones for entry level positions.
+1 to networking, though user groups for a given technology (e.g. .Net user groups) might be better than "networking" events which can be a lot of false leads.
And on your resume (saw it looking at your comment history): * Include an introductory objective sentence or two at the beginning (I'm so-and-so interested in...seeking such kind of work). * You may want to have a skills section with bullets of your skills, a lot easier for recruiters and hiring managers to quickly read * Create multiple version of your resumes for different positions you apply for. E.g. Something that's more tailored for frontend and another tailored for backend. You may even just want a few versions that are organized differently to do some A/B testing. * Are you writing cover letters? I'm not sure how much weight they carry these days (I can't say I've seen any from candidates in a long time) but really anything that sets you apart won't hurt. * You may also want to create a public Github repo with representative samples of your work. * The mygoldanimals.com URL in your resume doesn't work, you may want to indicate that it's no longer maintained.
Good luck!