Recruiters 'miss out on top talent'

With large numbers of graduate applications for employers to sift through at this time of year, there is a chance that top talent could slip through the net, it has been suggested.

Refusing candidates with lower degree results out of hand, screening applicants using internet search engines and conducting psychometric tests all have a key drawback for employers, according to graduate sector analyst Simon Reichwald.

He suggested that such techniques remove the chance of a candidate surprising an employer by proving better than these cold facts and figures suggest when launched into the world of work.

'I believe that the personality should be put back into recruitment,' he said.

'In this tech-dominated age, it's easy to see why recruiters are taking shortcuts. They are simply trying to make their lives easier, but there is a real danger that they are bypassing the real talent.'

This suggests that graduates looking for that break-through job position may find that forging a link with an employer and sparking up a dialogue may give a better chance of landing that dream role.

Luckily, there is no lack of opportunities for university-leavers as the number of vacancies for graduate level positions is predicted by the Association of Graduate Recruiters to increase by 12 per cent over the next year.