I don't like selling myself through insipid, meaningless prose just because it's what others want to hear.
I have much less work and job search experience than you but I can tell you what I learned from a year of searching for junior level work where I wanted:
There are two levels of recruitment, the first one are recruiters and HR people. Having experience and industry connections can allow you to bypass or shorten the amount of time you need to deal with these people (sometimes companies force every applicant to go through this because of policy), but most of them aren't interested in what you do or what you think of this job. They want to hear how you check the boxes that are placed in front of them. This is where you have to just make it as easy as possible to get through it, have prepared stories w/ embellishments, a fake nice attitude and reasons why you will lick company boot until it's polished (in a nice and not-sarcastic way). You highlight what you found interesting about the job/company and what they can get out of it. If you're starting without connections then it's the numbers game where you throw forward applications everywhere and hope something bites to even get to here. The whole thing feels so fake and full of deception and useless work to promote yourself and I hate it.
The second level is the people you're actually going to work with, around or under. There you still have to be positive, but you can be more genuine, they'd actually know what the job actually is, how they honestly feel about things, you can talk about things that actually matter to people working there rather than corporate overlords/shareholders (but don't explictly give reasons against that).
You'll be judged on both your character and whether you are as much as you said you were on your application.
Here is where you show off, or just give straight what you've done, what you can give and what you expect in return. This is where you ultimately decide whether you want this job assuming they didn't wear you out with the first level.
Yeah I expect I will have enough good reputation to move up as I get experience, but the whole process is full of bullshit and I can count on it not going away entirely. It's like you're on a treadmill where the goal is to sell yourself but crap is being thrown at your face every hour. As unwinnable as it might feel, you've only lost if you give up.
To add, as for why people willingly go through this in America (and Canada and elsewhere) is because there isn't really an alternative unless you are freelancing/self-employed, you work somewhere they take anyone with at least half a brain and two good legs, or you have a rich uncle who has a "job" for you whether you are smart and experienced or not.