Obtaining contracts

[James Barrow]

As a contractor, I have obtained several jobs with well known companies.
All of these jobs were obtained through sites like Dice and, subsequently,
through a recruiter. 

As an aside, most of the ads on Dice do not state who the client company is.

The only downside to this being that when I negotiate my contract, I know
that the recruiter is getting a cut of the money that the client company is
offering.

Before I landed a job with a large company, I contacted them directly.
They're IT Hiring Manager acted as if I had peeked behind the curtain to
look at the great Oz.  She insisted that I go through a recruiter.

How do tech writers find and submit themselves to companies/contracts
directly?

- Jim