Go to meetups (i.e. javascript, python, ruby, .NET, whatever). There are hiring managers there. Just talk to everyone. Learn what everyone is into, and you'll find out who's hiring and the hiring manager types will probably ask you for your contact info. Give it to them, and ask them for theirs. When it's time to go around the room, just say you are a recent graduate and looking for work where you can hack on whatever you love to hack on. Make sure you call the hiring manger types within 48 hours of your meeting. You'll bypass the HR department and bypass the applicant tracking system.
Suggestion: if you get an interview, bring code to the inerview. Show people what you have done. If the person is non technical then just demo an app you've written. If the interviewer is technical then show the code. If your code is criticized, be positive about it and even discuss how to make it better with the interviewer. The interviewer is trying to see what it will be like working with you in the future, not trip you up.
Finally, if you are offered a lower position than you expect, it's pretty normal for companies to hire junior developers as interns, part time or on a trial basis at lower wages. If you are a good fit, you will be promoted within 90 days. For senior people, you often have to take a haircut on salary to get in the door, but if you are good, you'll be quickly promoted. The reason it is this way is that most companies just don't know what they are hiring until they've been working for a few weeks.