Where do I go from here? (had interviews at PE RE and boutique IB)

Recently graduated from the better LA school with a degree in real estate development. Worked at a very small and very new private equity real estate shop, primarily getting experience in the entire acquisitions deal flow - research, underwriting, cold calling, broker relationship etc. Wanted to focus more on the financial side so I started looking for something else. Had no prior interest in IB or going to a legit PE RE shop but sent in my resume for two off-cycle openings, got two "superdays" (4-7 30min in-persons) after a couple rounds of phone calls. One was a boutique IB and the other a decent sized PE RE shop. Didn't get either and I felt that lack of experience was the main reason. Regardless, I ended up in a RE advisory role and now I am wondering what I should do/focus on to get those positions that I missed.

Current plan is to stay here for at least a year, get some modeling experience, then see whats out there. Is there anything else that might be helpful? Looking into the SIE exam and the Financial Modeling certification from CFI. How do I make myself a better candidate ?

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