If you’re job hunting, you know the obvious places to look for work, including job boards and career pages of prospective employers’ websites.

But why look where everyone else does? Sometimes the best road to a new job is the one less traveled.

Here are some lesser-known Orange County job-hunting resources you may want to consider.

1. Experience Unlimited: Join this free California Employment Development Department-hosted job-hunting group to attend a weeklong workshop on résumé writing, interviewing and networking. If you complete the workshop and volunteer at the office for at least four hours a week, you get access to a database of local jobs as well as other career resources and can attend monthly meetings. Orange County Experience Unlimited job clubs meet in Anaheim (EU-Connections.org) and Irvine (EUOrangeCounty.com).

2. LinkedIn alumni groups. Follow your alma mater’s alumni group on LinkedIn, or if you graduated from a school outside Southern California, the local chapter of the school’s alumni association, to make contacts and get insider leads on job openings. For example, the Chapman University Alumni Association LinkedIn group has about 5,000 members, including graduates, faculty and parents of current and former students, and frequently lists available jobs at the university and elsewhere. Eric Deovlet, Chapman’s alumni career services manager, moderates the group, which he says has become the online directory “that alumni look at after college if they’re looking to move or change career paths, who can then reach out to help get their résumé in front” of the right person.

3. Reddit Orange County subgroup: Locals on this social network popular with people in their 20s use the /r/orangecounty subgroup, or “subreddit,” to look for a roommate, arrange meetups and find and share job openings. Scanning recent message threads, I saw openings for everything from pizza delivery drivers to software engineers. Reddit is free and you don’t have to create an account to use it.

4. Craigslist: Not all Craigslist Orange County listings are for low-paid work, and some gigs advertised as short-term or one-shot deals can turn into something more permanent. That’s what happened a few months ago when my daughter, a recent college graduate, answered a Craigslist ad from an arts group that needed an assistant stage manager for a weekend performance. The three-day assignment went so well, the organization hired her for a full-time position.

5. FlexJobs: Researchers at this niche job-hunting site scour industry blogs, employer sites and major job boards to find part-time, telecommuting and home-based positions, then vet the companies before adding the listings to a flex-time jobs database. Search FlexJobs’ listings by geography to see current Orange County openings. Recent openings included full-time jobs for a nursing field case manager, a home-based attorney, an insurance claims adjuster, and an auto dealer software project manager, as well as part-time work for a blogger/social media manager. One caveat: FlexJobs charges job seekers $14.95 a month for access to the database.

6. Orange County jobs Twitter list. It’s time to get over your fear of Twitter, if only because it can be a fantastic –and personal –way to connect with companies in your field. Once you’ve signed up, use Twitter’s search function to find and follow the accounts of prospective employers. Follow managers, in-house recruiters or outside talent scouts working for companies you’re interested in, as well as current employees who could help you get an in. Stay on top of updates by creating a Twitter list of everyone you’re following for a job hunt; you can keep the list private in case you don’t want a current employer to know you’re looking. In the list, include some of the organizations that regularly share Orange County job openings, including @JobspringOC, @OC_Job, @jbvit_oc, @OC_Biz_Council, @CleanTechOC and @OCStem.

On the Job columnist Michelle V. Rafter specializes in covering employment and workplace issues. Send your questions to her at moneymatters@ocregister.com or find her on Twitter @MichelleRafter (where she has a growing list of groups that share Orange County job listing and career news).