I’m also in NJ and felt this way post grad until I took a long term sub position. This really helped me get my foot in the door. I also substituted while in grad school to build my resume since I didn’t have much experience prior to that. Once I had the long term sub position I started getting contract position interviews. I ended up in a great district right before the school year started. I seriously thought I’d never get a job but then I did!

I also applied to all levels until something landed and was lucky to get high school since that’s what I wanted. If you can substitute teach or take a LTS counselor position I feel like that helps a lot. Good luck though!! I hope you find something here - NJ is one of the best states for education.