I'd still put the building/painting stuff on your resume. It shows you're reliable and can work in a potentially dangerous or high stress environment. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do in this situation aside from applying more. I've been where you are. People won't hire you without work experience, which you can't get since people won't hire you since you don't have work experience. (Someone needs to Xibit meme that). Just keep applying. But to improve your chances, try to network. If you have a friend, relative, etc, who knows someone who has a business or is a manager, try to get something passed along that way. I got my first job because the manager's wife was my grandmother's physical therapist. Also consider tailoring your resume to each job. You worked at McDonalds. Stress that you have "customer service experience" and are familiar with operating cash registers if applying to retail.