@tolulupe.tolu Thank you for writing such an encouraging comment!

Regarding the applications, I found that it gets easier or harder depending on how specific you are. For example, I wanted to have a PhD position that was 1) In the field of cancer research or molecular genetics 2) In Berlin 3) In a high impact research group, so it was really difficult to find the position that I wanted (it took me about eight months!). However if you are more general about what you would like the odds of finding something are higher.

Also, like in many other fields, I found that contacts matter A LOT. If someone has met you before (doesn't need to be something fancy, maybe you just talked to them for a bit at a conference or after a talk or something), that already makes your chances much better against other candidates. I've also witnessed that people tend to pick people within their circle, for example, if the person you are sending your application to knows your advisor, it is very likely they will pick you, at least for an interview.

Keep trying! It requires some resilience to frustration, but keep looking and eventually something will come up. Cheers!