If you’re nearing the end of your college career and beginning to wonder where you’d like to put your education to use, you may want to consider ‘company hunting’ rather than a traditional ‘job hunt.’

So what is a company hunt, and how do you start one? First, identify your strong points, your skills, and your interests. Think about what kind of companies may be able to use your college degree skills to their advantage. Start making a list of types of companies or even specific organizations that mesh well with your own career and personal goals.

Using social networking resources like LinkedIn.com and others can help you steer your search to companies where you have potential connections. After all, it’s not always just about what you know, it’s sometimes also about who you know. Even if you only know someone through a mutual friend, it could still be an asset to you in the job application process. Even graduating from the same university or college as someone involved in the hiring process can prove to be to your advantage.

Once you have a list of potential employers who will value your skill sets and abilities, do your research. Find out everything you can about the companies and organizations that you could see yourself working well in. What have they accomplished, both in the past and recently? What kinds of projects are they currently working on? What kind of problems are they encountering in the marketplace?

Armed with the answers to these questions, review your educational and work experience to provide examples of how you would be an asset to help each potential employer meet their plans and goals. If you can, make a narrative out of this information, demonstrating how you would assist the company in solving its current problems and avoiding future issues.

This information can then be included in a personal website that highlights your strengths and areas of expertise. Recent trends have created a large demand for these personal, career-related websites, also referred to as ‘social resumes.’

This approach allows you to share your career goals with potential employers while increasing your online presence. If a hiring manager decides to enter your name into a search engine, he or she will be more likely to find the information that you want to emphasize, rather than your most recent Facebook status update. He or she will be able to see how you can be an asset to the organization, and you’ll be more likely to get that shot at the interview for your dream job.