There seems something not quite right here. I'm trying hard to phrase this in a constructive way, so if I say something that seems unkind, please forgive me. 60 applications in a year seems like a strange rate. That's 12 a month. If you are currently employed and looking casually, then I suppose it's reasonable, but it's really, really low if you are unemployed.

Also, the time frame seems really strange. After 12 applications in a month, I would expect at least 1 interview. If you are doing this consistently then a reasonable target would be to expect to be hired in about 3 months. So with a year of this, if you haven't been hired, then I think something has gone wrong.

I wonder if you are experiencing problems with having a high rate of rejection, which might actually be made worse with automation.

I've given this advice before, but I'll try to keep it short this time. Job searching is a full time job. Even if you are currently employed, it really makes sense to prioritise some of your personal time to work on it as if it were a part time job.

Your CV is really important. If you are not getting interviews with 10-20% of your applications, then I would focus on it first. Go to the library and read a few books on writing a resume. It helped me dramatically when I was first starting out. Take your CV to friends in the industry and ask for feedback.

Also, if you are lucky enough to be in a big vibrant city, you should prioritise going to meet ups as often as you can. Print personal business cards with a link to your online CV. Get stuck in and talk to people. It doesn't come easily to some, but you get better with practice. Get in the habit of giving your card to people. If they mention that they are hiring, make sure to get their contact details and follow up with an email later.

These days I think it is almost imperative if you are a programmer to have a portfolio. Many people put a link to their github account. Often when I look I find a collection of half-hearted Rails projects 90% of which is generated code. A portfolio should be organized. It should highlight your skills.

Even a single project can be your portfolio. The automation project here would make a fantastic portfolio project for a junior-intermediate programmer. Personally, I would interview them on the strength of the initiative alone. Build at least one interesting and useful project. Or build many katas and explain why you think they are good katas. Or write lots of blog posts. Organize them into a website and make it easy to find the bits that show your good points. In the past, my portfolio has outright given me jobs.

Getting your CV in order and getting a good portfolio together is a huge job. It can take a month of full time work to get something worth presenting. But it's worth it. After you get it started, you should try to spend some time on your portfolio every week to keep it fresh and interesting. That way it gets stronger over time.

Finally interviews. These are skills. I will give you a good tip. Nobody interviews someone that they think they aren't going to hire. It makes no sense. So in a way, the job is already yours by the time you get to the interview. Your job is to confirm their suspicion that you have the skills for the job and that you will fit well into their team.

Honestly, a good rate is about 1-2 offers per 3 interviews. That seems very high, but like I said, the job is already yours if you get to the interview. If you are having trouble getting the offers, again visit your library and read books on job interviews (there are lots of them). Go and practice with friends in the industry and get feedback.

One small tip I'll leave you with is that it is just as important that you interview the company than the company interviews you. Usually I find that with 3 interviews, in 1 we both realize that it is not a good fit. In another only one of us realizes it is not a good fit. In the last, there is an offer that is accepted.

Anyway, I failed to keep this short (again). I really should write a blog post (or several) about it. I hope it helps you (or someone else who stumbles across it). After saying all that, a cover letter is quite important. But I hope you can see that it is the icing on the cake. Compared to everything else you need to do, it takes almost no time.