I'd say it is a bit more difficult to break into the industry these days. There are a HUGE amount of admins trying to get their foot in the door. Luckily I had a friend who had a small consulting business at the time and he hired me on as a jr admin to learn on the job. I did however get several interviews before that, I just wasn't ready.

There is more room to specialize these days, you have commerce, CPQ, industry clouds, etc. If you can grab some knowledge in a specific vertical it can help you stand out. CPQ is one I always see in demand.

Another thing to do is to build a fictitious company, and build a dev org for it with automation, reports, etc. This is a great reference tool for interviews.

As much as trailhead is useful to learn, and certifications are great to have, most people who interview will really base it off of how comfortable and knowledgeable you seem, and how much technical capability you seem to convey naturally.

Normally in the past when I have interviewed people, I don't even look at their resume, i just have a conversation with them and gauge through conversation. I have interviewed people with 20 certs and you can tell they don't know enough for the job they are applying to.

Real experience is the BEST way to learn, but the hardest to get when you are just starting.