I hold a Finance MBA, am 22, and cannot get a phone call from my entry-level applications. What jobs / specifications should I look for when I apply?

Thank you in advance for feedback. Tl;dr below.

About me: I graduated from a respectable state school at age 21 with a 'soft science' Bachelor's degree and an MBA concentrating in Finance. I earned A's and B's between both degrees, with student leadership posts for good measure.

While earning my degrees, I worked a student job doing sales for a couple years and completed three corporate internships locally.

My dream was — and, admittedly, in large part still is — to be so qualified for employment, I don't have to worry about experiencing the job insecurity I felt my parents suffer when I was a kid. Now, in the immediate term, I just want a decent entry-level job where my education can be put to good use.

The three corporate internships I've completed came about from on-campus job fairs. Two of these three internships were actually at the same company: a well-regarded financial services firm. I worked in a wing of the Operations department; there really wasn't a pure "finance" internship to be had anywhere in the city.

By the end of my first summer at this financial services firm I was given a full-time job offer, but had yet to complete even my BA. I was 18 or 19 at the time. I came back the following summer, but the company was restructuring / going through personnel changes that included my boss' departure, so no further employment could come of it.

The third internship was at another major company, this time working sales administrative support. Despite the high responsibilities and overall positivity I felt at this company, I was let go in a company workforce reduction. They said my performance was not the cause of termination.

On or about the same month I graduated with my MBA, I also earned a well-regarded Project Management certification. At worst, it was more letters to put after my name on the resume, right? Certainly, more credentialing letters after one's name could help with job security. So I thought.

Once I graduated, I went to a well-regarded graduate school elsewhere (think law / med school) for a semester on a great scholarship. I thought, after the advice of friends and family since childhood, I wanted to be a professional in this graduate school's field with a background in finance. In retrospect, it was at this point I almost felt a pathological need for job security. I learned quickly that this particular profession was not what I thought it to be, though, so I left after the semester was done and hit the job market.

In my time at this graduate school, I'd amassed a sizable portfolio of freelance news articles for side money. On my resume, I list this role for a constant employment history and omit the additional graduate school semester.

My problem: Since my January 1 start of this job search process, I have sent out 50 custom-tailored job applications (most of which in the month of January) to entry-level finance roles across the country. Most are in basic corporate finance. Many of them are fashioned as "rotational" roles, promising enticing growth and learning opportunities in corporations.

Midway through the process, I hired a resume writer to evaluate my resume. She said it was "stellar," but the minimalism could hurt me when it came to computerized keyword search programs. She wrote up a lengthier form and I've since used that. From my 50 applications total, I have received one callback thus far, and this was from the old resume format.

This callback developed into an in-person interview out of state, which interview I just heard back from yesterday with a rejection phone call. It hurt to receive this rejection because I thought the role and company together were "the one" for me.

In the rejection call, I asked what I could have done differently to improve my chances. The HR person's response: 'Nothing, really. Everyone enjoyed meeting you and how you presented yourself. You seemed a strong cultural fit to the company, too. It was just a diversity of background and experiences that the decision ultimately came down to.' It was an entry-level, developmental finance role with important responsibilities. I thanked the HR person and asked to be considered for similar future opportunities.

Inexplicably, in at least two other rejection e-mails, I have heard similar praises to this HR person's. One feedback I've received is that my deep resume "surprises" people vis a vis my age; others tell me I'm "impressive," "great," and more, but for unsaid reasons I am not the person for them.

At a job fair, as a sort of microcosm of my job search, an HR professional said after seeing my resume, "Oh, we'll definitely find you a job. Here is my contact info. (Writes it on my stationery excitedly.) E-mail me when you've applied." This was followed by radio silence.

Mind, I'm exclusively applying to entry-level roles because I don't have the requisite skills to start in finance management right out of these proverbial gates, so I don't think my issue is overqualification.

In light of all this, what jobs or titles would you recommend I search for? Should I continue searching for corporate, competitive, developmental, entry-level roles, or should I search in new places altogether?

With the heartache this process has incurred, I can sympathize more now with struggling job seekers after my short time searching. And I know it has been just that: a short time of just two months searching. One could say I get too caught up in possibilities before seeing the reality before me. All the same, though, I know for a fact that these results are statistically unusual and would appreciate some guidance.

tl;dr: Young person with a lot of background who can't get an entry-level finance role. Where/how to apply?

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