A while ago I posted on here, feeling very despondent as I'd been applying for jobs for several months, getting interviews about 50% of the time, getting down to the last two .. And then losing out to someone younger with more recent experience (I'd been pretty successful in my field pre-dc but had had a long career break, although I'd been working part-time in unrelated fields for most of that time).
Anyway, I just wanted to update as I hope it gives anyone in a similar position cause for optimism- I've been offered a really good job, one that's actually much better than the ones I'd been missing out on. It took 9 months of trying but perseverance paid off!
Incidentally I realised that when I didn't get interviews for jobs I was eminently qualified to do it was the ones at the bottom of the pay scale I'd set myself, so don't undersell yourselves...