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A third of this year's graduate vacancies are expected to be filled by applicants who have already worked for the organisation during their degree course, according to the research by High Fliers, published today.
The study suggests employers can afford to be picky about who they employ after being swamped with applications. A number of well-known companies have already closed their graduate schemes for 2011 after being bombarded with candidates.
In 2010, recruiters received an average of 45 applications per graduate vacancy, the study said.
Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers Research, said: "Today's report includes the stark warning that in this highly competitive graduate job market, new graduates who've not had any work experience during their time at university have little or no chance of landing a well-paid job with a leading employer, irrespective of the university they've attended or the academic results they achieve."
At least half the graduate vacancies advertised this year by City investment banks and the leading law firms are likely to be filled by graduates who have already completed work experience with the employer, the research found.
