Employer recruitment methods and how their use varies by race and sex groups, by public and private sector, by education level, and other variables were studied to develop and examine more realistic theories of education's role in career development processes and to develop practical ways to help students make a successful transition from school to work. The job recruitment activities of employers and the job search activities used by employees (aged 22-25) to fill openings in a nationally representative sample of jobs were examined from a survey of 4,078 employers. Major findings include the following: (1) particular methods are associated with high education level jobs (school placement, professional organizations, private employment agencies, and media ads), while other methods are associated with low education level jobs (use of friends and relatives, public employment services, and unions); (2) high school placement services are infrequently used by employers or graduates to fill or get low education level jobs, but are used occasionally in recruitment for female office jobs; (3) social networks to which whites are attached are more useful for access to higher level jobs than are the social networks to which blacks are attached. Also for blacks, social networks are less useful for finding private sector jobs and some higher paying jobs in desegregated environments; and (4) jobs filled by women make less use of union referrals and more use of direct applications and media ads. (KH)