Spongebob, despite our difference on other posts, let me offer you my sympathies. For what it's worth, I was going through much of this about 18 months ago. Despite what anyone may tell you, it's not about spending 24 hours a day jobhunting - there just aren't the jobs to go round. And trawling jobs on sites is largely a waste of time; a high proportion of these are, I'm afraid, spec jobs.
I'd suggest not sending off your CV and hoping that it'll hit the mark - my experience tells me that it will not. You need to phone the consultant, establish a rapport, be ready to email them your CV whilst you're on the phone with them, and sell yourself as hard as you can. Always follow up the first call with another to ensure you get feedback. No guarantees that you'll get considered, of course, but it's certain that you'll elevate yourself up the pile a little.
What you quickly realise is that people like to employ those who are in work right now. It may seem counter-intuitive, but even though there may well be someone willing and able to do the job, the sneaking suspicion is that the person not working is the one who is
(a) unable to hack it
(b) is a bit lazy, and that's why they got made redundant ahead of others
(c) is technically a bit out of date
So you have to have razor-sharp reasons for why (1) & (2) don't apply to you, and be able to demonstrate that (3) isn't relevant either.
Above all, you need to be working, so even though you may hate it, and may think that the commute is madness, take pretty much anything you're offered. So long as you cover your costs, it's still better than sitting at home moping, and it shows a potential employer that you're flexible and able.
If you'd like, I'd be happy to have a look at your CV as a potential employer would; you'd be truly astonished at the number of CVs I get punted at me for six-figure jobs which still have obvious flaws. And if a CV has spelling mistakes or basic grammatical errors, it goes in the bin. That said, people obsess over the 'perfect' CV, when in reality there isn't one.
Chin up. It's not your fault that you're not working, and you will find a job. It's not a question of whether, just a case of when.
