Websites push up the cost of recruiting the best graduates

The figures are revealed in the latest Park Human Resources survey, Graduates in the Eyes of Employers, published this week, which provides an insight into the practices and attitudes of 104 of the country's leading graduate recruiters. Most employers (82%) advertised vacancies on their own websites and 44% believed this was the best way of reaching graduates.

Financial services organisations have been among the first to create dedicated graduate websites. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Arthur Andersen and PricewaterhouseCoopers are just a handful of those with graduate-focused sites. Forty per cent of employers perceived general graduate websites to be almost as effective with Prospects, Activate and GTI proving to be the most popular.

All the employers surveyed now receive applications via e-mail, compared to just 44% two years ago, and they enthuse about the ease of use, access, speed and efficiency of the internet. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, says: 'The internet is changing the world of recruitment. It is essential that graduate recruiters gain an intimate knowledge of the market.'

More graduate employers are becoming aware of the internet's ability to target particular groups while also saying that its use enhances their corporate image. The biggest criticism of the internet is the high response from unsuitable candidates. Only 10% of successful candidates come via the internet, the survey found, a similar proportion to more traditional channels.

An investment bank director, who sits on graduate interview boards, says he was impressed by the way new recruitment methods, like the internet, were working. But he adds some caveats: 'At interview I still like to see some fire in the stomach and a hunger in the eyes to learn more about what we are all about. This is far less common than it used to be with some applicants adopting an arrogant 'take me or leave me' approach.

'We do also experience problems in retaining graduates. We're told this is due to increased competition from other employers but, sad to say, I don't think old-fashioned loyalty exists the way it used to.'

One of the successes highlighted in the Park survey is the way employers are building greater awareness among students on campus. The most popular link is work placement, with the milkround slipping into fourth place. Other methods mentioned include careers fairs and presentations, development of course content and sponsorship of a student/course/chair.

Placements and internships are seen to provide a valuable bridge between the liberal environment of further education and the discipline of work. They also make graduates immediately useful when they complete their degrees and satisfy employers' demands for skills they see missing in graduates, such as business awareness and communication. Summer placements are mentioned by employers in the report as the most effective way of attracting quality candidates.

The 7,000 question is whether work experience and personal contact with an employer while at university simply enhances a graduate's appeal to other employers or might just produce a sense of loyalty that lingers longer.