OT interested in hand therapy

Hi all - I am a new grad and looking for a job whilst studying for the boards. So far I've applied for an acute peds position entry-level and a hand therapy position and was passed over on both counts for someone with more experience. This makes sense to me but if I how then do I make myself more competitive in the specialized areas that I'm interested in such as hand therapy?

I'd love to be able to find a mentor in VA or NC but know that I may have to look outside of that area to begin. Does anyone have suggestions about where to look to break in to the hand therapy area of practice? I have had some exposure in both of my level II FW's working within the biomechanical framework and working with hands - it's been great and I find myself very compelled to learn more in this area to see if pursuing licensure as a CHT is in my future. Thanks much.

Sorry you didn't get any responses in the last 2 months. Most the people on this board seem to be miserable people just interested in complaining and spreading their negativity and pessimism. The fact that your highly relevant question got no responses has helped me make up my mind about this board: useless and skewed towards the opinions of miserable people who spend their time on the internet complaining. I suggest you ask your question on Yahoo! answers. That's what I did and I got some good input. Good luck to you.