Most of the recruiter emails I am getting and most of the job postings are added by again, recruiters. Dealing with them takes too many phone calls and ultimately not enough value.
Networking and cold calling is one way to do so. Find the companies that you would like to work in. Then find someone who's doing a job similar to what you would like to do (on linkedin). Call the main phone number for that company, ask to be transferred to that person and then proceed to do an informational interview. Ask them questions about the industry, how to get in, what their job is like and if they can recommend other people that could help you. Once you've gotten a good feel for company/industry, look for the hiring managers on linkedin - not talking about human resources. If you want to work as a sales man talk to Sales Manager. This is where you do your sales pitch and tell them about your skills and ask them "when would be a good time to talk about opportunities in your company". Don't ask "yes or no" questions.
Does this really work? I'd freak out if my phone would ring and some random person is asking me questions about my job and the company I work for.
You can apply directly through company websites, or online job postings. I would argue that recruiters short cut the process, by finding candidates that match with required qualifications or skills. I think you have a higher likelihood of getting a call back from a recruiter communicating your skills and resume to a hiring manager, than you do by being thrown into a massive online pool of candidates.
Its a good skill to learn to deal with agents - you can get a good idea of your local market, who is hiring, what skills are paying what.
what do you mean? from my experience, agents/recruitment agencies trade meat for money - they don't really care for anything than placing a candidate into a position and cash in.