Finding your first job in a field is always rough- I well remember it! It’s tough wading through all the non-UX “UX” jobs, too.
If you’re new, you might consider looking at start ups. They’re great places to experiment. Also starting freelance can work wonders, too. That’s what I did. Granted, that doesn’t exactly come with the benefits of a full time job, but you do get paid well and you build up a number of contacts for references and work samples.