Bridging largely disconnected literatures on the role of social networks in job search and on institutional links in school-to-work transition, this article presents a theoretical framework for examining the role of schools, markets and networks in university graduate’s job search. Differentiating four types of job search (school markets, non-school markets, school networks, and social networks), the paper examines use of and rate of return to different search methods. The hypotheses are tested using complete job search histories of 460 Chinese university graduates. Consistent with theoretical predictions, student’s characteristics influence job search method choice and the rate of return the student receives for search through a particular method.