Experience is still the key

RRC's research suggests that students who stay on to take a postgraduate qualification before attempting to move into that first job are making a huge mistake.

The study, conducted among 187 personnel managers and directors of some leading UK companies, suggested that employers in the banking and finance sector still favoured postgraduate qualifications more than those in other sectors.

While almost two-thirds (64%) of them said that the choice of university would have no effect on a candidate's success, almost three-quarters (73%) said they were influenced by the degree studied.

Asked to nominate the three degrees which impressed them most, 75% of employers named economics, with business studies a close second with 63%. Mathematics and IT scored 50%.