Have you tried to leverage your prior industry experience to help give you an advantage?

Possibly, applying for Salesforce related positions that are directly associated to your background (assuming you’re OK still working in that respective area).

Examples of: 

Medical, retail, logistics, hospitality, utilities, accounting/finance, food & beverage, mechanical, agriculture, etc.

Most are using some form of Sales & Service applications, maybe not all are using Salesforce, but some will be.

I think being able to talk the talk, and walk the walk, when it comes to industry knowledge may be able to help overcome the prior Salesforce experience being requested.

Do you have this called out specifically in your resume? Not just under the experience section, but maybe in the skills and summary, using key terms and lingo that pertain to those specific industries.

It could be a key differentiator when an employer is reviewing resumes.

Going in as a industry process expert who also has some Salesforce knowledge might be the key.

Maybe that’s the area you want to spend the majority of your time networking, researching, and applying your Salesforce skills towards.