I did this in Boston for about 3 months (cold contacts), it was tough at first, but I found myself becoming very confident and outgoing near the end because you have to be in order for them to look twice. Work off any possible personal contacts you or your friends may have first, then branch out, send follow-up emails, call. I ended up with several interviews from the process (though no job offers) and it was great interviewing practice.

The fact is that no one is going to call unless you put yourself out there.

My sweetie just finished GD school in June and his portfolio is strong, but not big. He created a great web site that reflected his style, a stylish (if not sparse) resume, and he just did cold calls. He found a web site that listed just about every GD firm in Seattle and turned in his cover letter and resume at the places he felt that he related to best. The firm that ended up hiring him hadn't posted the job yet when he sent in his info - the designer had just put in their leave notice. :D He also had a couple of interviews as well and 1 other job offer (also not posted online or in the paper). You just gotta take a chance and if you feel strongly about your work you should be able to find something out there.