Approximately 41 percent of college grads from the class of 2012 use social media as a job-search tool, up significantly from just four years ago, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Just 7 percent of the class of 2008 reported using social media to interact with employers with more than half of 2008 grads saying they didn’t even notice employer ads on social networking cites.

Students use social media to network with employers as well as research employers, according to NACE.

“Nearly one-quarter of 2012 graduates using social media identified it as a research tool, up from 17 percent just a year ago, and up from 15 percent among 2010 graduates,” said NACE Executive Director Marilyn Mackes. “Students are using it to seek out salary and compensation information, job descriptions and information about the employer’s training and development programs.

NACE’s 2012 survey included almost 48,000 college students across the U.S., including 15,715 seniors at the bachelor’s degree level.