Laid off last fall but luckily had severance take me to the beginning of 2024. Just started a job this week. My experience with the job hunt this time around

Laid off last fall but luckily had severance take me to the beginning of 2024. Just started a job this week. My experience with the job hunt this time around was horrible. I was overqualified for a large majority of positions I applied for and a perfect match for others yet I would be extremely lucky to even hear back a 'no thanks'. The last time I was applying for jobs was during covid and I was at multiple stages of the interview process for multiple companies all at once and was actually able to make a choice regarding my future employment instead of just taking the first bone thrown my way like this time.