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The school to work transition continues to be difficult for some Australian school leavers and youth unemployment remains high. This report examines the methods used by Australian school-leavers to find employment, with a particular focus on the social processes involved. The aim is to assess: (1) the relationship between schooling, social background and job finding strategies; (2) the relationship between the method used to find work and the quality of work obtained; (3) the relative importance of informal methods of job seeking behaviour in helping different groups of young people fo find employment; and (4) the role of social network capital in determining job search strategies and outcomes. The analysis is based on data collected from a sample of young people first surveyed as Year 9 students in 1995 as part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). At the time of the 2000 collection, most of these students had left school and were either in further study or in the labour market. The focus is on early labour market entrants, i.e. those school leavers who went straight from secondary school into the labour force, either into a job or in search of one, rather than on to further study. The most common job-search methods used were: checking for employment advertisements in newspapers; contacting the employer directly; asking friends or relatives; and registering with the Commonwealth Employment Agency (CES/Centrelink). Most employment was obtained through informal methods. There were few differences in job seeking behaviour but patterns emerged in relation to obtaining employment. Males were significantly more likely to obtain employment through friends and relatives while females were far more likely to obtain work through responding to advertisements or through the CES/Centrelink. Overall, informal methods appear to provide young school leavers, particularly males, with employment opportunities more readily and with good wages. However, young people surveyed did not perceive these jobs to provide the career path, training and promotional opportunities required for ongoing career development and accumulation of human capital.