Landing your first job in finance

Hey all. I’ve been applying day and night for the last month and a half to entry-level finance (FA or similar) positions, so far to no avail. My main problem is that my past work experience was fairly unrelated, and I don’t have too much to build a finance geared resume on besides my degree in economics and my CFA Level I candidacy. Regardless, I feel like I would legitimately do well in this field once I get my foot in the door, but that part is proving to be pretty difficult. I’m still fairly young (29 years old), but I really want to get started (not to mention that I’ll need 4 years of experience to be chartered).

How were you guys able to land your first finance job? Any tips for getting started? By the way, I live in Southern California (LA area), so if anyone can provide a referral that would be awesome too (just throwing that out there).

Thanks!