With the end of the school year approaching in the next two months for many students, the search for their first job out of school has probably already begun. For recent graduates, getting your job search moving in a positive direction can be a difficult task.

If you’re thinking about using a recruiter to help you find a job, you might be out of luck. Most recruiters tend to only fill jobs that require candidates that have at least several years of work experience so you might not get much help from them.

For entry level positions, you might be competing with not only other recent graduates but with people with a few years of experience as well who might also be suitable for the job.

One of the best ways to get your job search moving positively is through networking.

Sure, you could email your resume off to dozens or hundreds of companies like everyone else does but remember that it takes one tenth the time to delete your email as it did for you to write it.

When hiring managers get bombarded with resumes they tend to delete them and treat them like spam.

There are better ways to utilize your time to get in touch with people who can positively influence your job search:

1. Speak with friends, family members and others who you know and let them know you are looking for a job. One of them might know someone who can help you.

2. Make a list of companies you’d be interested to work for and call (on the phone, not through email) the manager of the particular area of interest and ask to meet with them for 20 minutes to learn more about their company and job. It could lead to something more.

3. Attend networking events, trade shows or conferences that relate to your industry or field or expertise where you are likely to meet people who can positively influence your job search.

4. Scour industry-specific Internet job websites for jobs. Also search specific company websites to see what jobs they have available. Remember that when it comes to entry level positions, companies tend to like to fill these positions on their own.

5. Use technology wisely. Set up a professional profile with LinkedIn and similar networking websites (including industry-specific ones) to help advertise and promote yourself in a professional way. There are recruiters that use LinkedIn exclusively (!) to fill their jobs so you know that people do find jobs this way.