Millennial Branding, a Gen-Y research and consulting firm, and InternMatch, an online platform for companies to find and hire top students, surveyed 4,150 college students and recent graduates from a diverse range of U.S. colleges and universities for their “College Career Center Study.” They found that 64 percent of students rely more on free or paid online career resources instead of their career centers to help them identify internships and jobs.

How can applicants boost their odds of landing internships? Nathan Parcells, founder and chief marketing officer of InternMatch, suggested these steps:

1. Network, network, network. Before you hit the “submit” button, build or extend a relationship with an insider at every company where you apply, especially large Fortune 500s. Experience indicates that candidates who are referred for opportunities are more likely to win the opportunity to interview for jobs.

Connect with friends, professors or family networks to see who knows someone at your company of choice. “Youâ€ll be surprised at how connected you are,” Parcells says. Another good idea is to use LinkedInâ€s “Education” tool, which allows you to view contacts who attended or graduated from your college or university.

Itâ€s a mistake to assume that someone who has something in common with you or who referred you will automatically want to make time to see you. Hopefully, sharing an alumni affiliation or mutual friend will inspire people to want to go out of their way to help you, but never assume that is the case.

A better approach? Use social media to learn more about new potential contacts. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ all provide terrific ways to connect with and get to know people you donâ€t already know. The trick is to avoid cold contacting anyone. How can you use social media to job search? Warm up your leads by getting to know people online. For example, join groups where your potential contacts participate and add to the conversation. Ask and answer questions so people will notice you and remember your name. Then, reach out with a specific inquiry.

A good reason to use social media is the pool of contacts who actively use these tools tend to be more open to networking. When people tweet up a storm or engage regularly in groups, you can assume they appreciate opportunities to network and may be more likely to agree to speak with you than someone else who does not use social media.

2. Build an easy-to-find online presence. “The materials you submit to an employer online are just a portion of what most employers use to evaluate you,” Parcells says. The vast majority of employers will use Google to evaluate applicants before requesting interview. Taking the time to build a strong online presence that illustrates your expertise will help increase your chances of landing interviews and opportunities. “A strong online profile should show some personality,” Parcells says. “It should have links to projects and work you have done to give employers more substance about you to explore.” He also suggests you use the same avatar on all of your online profiles to help maintain a consistent brand.

3. Follow up. If you really want the job, donâ€t forget to follow up after you apply. “With many employers getting thousands of applications for positions that have just a few openings, the competition is stiff,” Parcells says. “Many candidates donâ€t get selected simply because they get lost in the noise.” He suggests you follow up with a short, targeted note about 10 days after applying, unless a role has a specific application deadline, in which case you might want to wait until after that date before checking-in with employers. Express your strong interest in the position and reiterate why you are a good match based on the job description.

Originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report.

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Identify and go after internships in boutique companies. Most larger, Fortune 500 companies have already selected and started their summer programs, but smaller companies may just be realizing they need an intern for the summer. “The best thing a student can do is be as familiar with the company as possible,” Berger says. Spend a lot of time, effort and energy to learn about your target companies via their websites, check Google to get the latest news about the organization and follow their social media streams. You never know what you can learn by connecting with a company via its LinkedIn company page or through Facebook career sites. Once you learn as much as you can, you’ll be in a great position to apply and interview impressively.

Conduct informational meetings. Useful in every stage of a job search, informational meetings can give internship seekers an edge and an opportunity to impress a new contact. Berger suggests asking questions about the person’s background, as well as for advice about how to improve their chances to land opportunities in the field. “It’s a good idea to ask if there are any specific books, websites, magazines or trade publications that the expert recommends,” Berger says. “Internship seekers may also want to ask, ‘What is the best thing you’ve seen an intern do?'”

Volunteer. If you’re really passionate about an organization, decide if you have time to volunteer. Make a dream list of the top 10 organizations where you’d like to work, organize contact information, get your applications out and be sure to follow up. Any time you’re working without being compensated, be sure to do everything you can to steer the opportunity so it is as helpful as possible for your career. Identify the skills you’d like to add to your résumé, and spend some strategic time figuring out how to enhance those skills while you volunteer. Remember, it is up to you to make the most of it.

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Shadow someone. Tap into your professional contacts and even your parents’ friends to ask if they may be willing to let you shadow them for a day. Make sure you don’t just show up and expect to be impressed. Research the organization as you would if you were interviewing there. Learn as much as you can ahead of time about the person you will shadow. Plan out questions to ask, and be ready to share some of the information that you learned. “If you do get the opportunity to job shadow – take notes, ask questions and make the most of your experience,” Berger suggests.

Don’t discount looking for a part-time job. Berger notes: “If you absolutely cannot get an internship, I suggest looking into a part-time job that’s relevant to the field you’re targeting.” For example, you may want to get a job as an assistant or a receptionist in a company where you’d love to work. If you make a point to be helpful and a great team player, it’s possible that you’ll win over enough contacts and friends to refer you to an opportunity that’s well suited to you once you have your degree.

Originally published on U.S. News & World Report.

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