How do normal people find (and get) jobs? I truly don't know.
I live in Japan. I don't get attractive job offers thrown at me every single day.
But to answer the question - normal people, including a lot of software engineers in the US outside the bubble - send out resumes and take whatever they can get. They network, check job sites, facebook groups, want ads, whatever.
Most people I know (in Europe) with such degrees join the crowd of 25+ living with their parents, supporting the left, eat vegetarian food and promote eco/pacifist ideas ;)
But seriously - most people I know have had very difficult time finding their firs full-time jobs. There is such a surplus of graduees with only non-technical skills and the jobs out there are very unattractive with telemarketing being the worst (IMO). I've read somewhere that on average it takes at least 6 months to find any employment.
An Italian TV station broadcast a program on a fastfood chain organising recruitment at a marketplace in a small city (Viareggo?). There were 50 candidates per one job offer(!). And the recruitment process was rather hard and expectations from the candidates high. Italy is one of this countries where finding a job is a pain in the neck, especially for people with no experience or in their 40. and 50.
The common stratedy is to shoot your CV around anywhere and hope that someone will invite you for an interview, no matter which industry or salary. One cannot be very picky.
On the other hand, though, after I finally got my first job, I participated in the recruitment process from the other side and I was shocked to witness that so many pleople did not show up at the interviews, came late, did not know to whom they came, what the company is about, expected very high salaries or started off enumerating the tasks they are not willing to perform etc., etc. Most of these people were "unemployable" as our chief of analysis put it. I couldn't understand this and I still don't. The remaining 10% of the candidates were great and/or overqualified. And those who finally were employed were not necesarily the best ones, but those who were neat, calm and submissive.
Edit: in my opinion it is very important to narrow down your search to, say, 10 companies you would really want to work for, and try to get in for an interview no matter what - go the place the employees go for lunch break, practice your elevator pitch, if you don't know the name of the decision maker, try to get it from the news, blogs etc., and send them your CV by regular mail. Try to call them in their office - you have to be smart and lie a bit - if an office assistant picks up and asks why you want to speak to the director, tell her/him it's about the job add (although there was no job add).
Beyond that it is also networking, knowing people who know where there is an opening available, nepotism - hiring family members to meet needed demand, etc.
Endlessly perusing job sites.