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5. Results More than 80 per cent of the respondents indicated that they had recruitment programmes specifically designed for the employment of graduates. Those who did not have graduate recruitment programmes instead had a general recruitment programme and all of these employers were small in size, with fewer than 100 employees. Most of the respondents (63 per cent) recruited between five and 50 graduates each year. About 20 per cent recruited between 50 and 100, and about 13 per cent recruited between 100 and 200 graduates per annum. Only 7 per cent recruited more than 200 graduates each year. More than 76 per cent (248 employers) had filled in their advertised vacancies in the previous year, so that 24 per cent (78 employers) were unable to find suitable graduates or made offers that were not accepted. The lack of communication skills, Sector Number Percentage Retail 74 23 Finance 67 20 Transport 32 10 Automobile 12 4 Petrochemicals 3 1 Engineering 34 10 Information technology 21 6 Pharmaceuticals 17 5 Building and construction 16 5 Electronics 12 4 Local authority 28 9 Others 10 3 Total sample size 326 100 Table I. Distribution of the respondents by sector Size of organisation (employees) Number Percentage 0-50 12 3 51-100 43 13 101-500 58 18 501-1,000 103 32 1,001+ 110 34 Total sample size 326 100 Table II. Distribution of respondents by size Graduate recruitment and selection 503 poor business awareness amongst graduates, the disparity between the applicants academic performance and performance in the selection process, and shortages of transferable skills were mentioned by most of the respondents as the factors prohibiting them from finding the right graduates. Moreover, of the 78 employers who were unable to fill in their vacancies on time did not fill their vacancies, 43 reported problems in finding IT experts and 35 could not find graduates with special skills in particular areas of expertise. About 40 per cent of the respondents employed staff whose only function had been graduate recruitment, while in others (60 per cent) it was line managers who dealt with graduate recruitment. Employers with fewer than 100 employees did not have a specific graduate recruitment function and it was the managing director, senior manager or the personnel manager who assumed the role of graduate recruitment. In organisations employing more than 500 employees, line managers very often conducted interviews. Most organisations that employed more than 1,000 employees had graduate recruitment managers. Training on graduate recruitment was provided by more than 50 per cent of those employing 101-500 people and by 73 per cent of those employing over 1,000 employees. 5.1 Recruitment The distribution of the recruitment methods used by organisation size is given in Table III. The most popular method of graduate recruitment is the internet, which was used by 91 per cent of the respondents and by all employers with more than 500 employees. Where organisations did use the internet, the most popular method was their company home page or website, followed by graduate recruitment sites. Some organisations also used universities websites and careers services sites. The second most popular method was the use of careers literature such as Prospects, the GET Directory and Prospects Today. These were used by 89 per cent of the respondents and significantly by 78 per cent of those employers with less than 500 employees and by 95 percent of larger employers. However, the milk round, which was used by 45 percent of the respondents, appeared to be less popular than methods such as graduate recruitment fairs (55 per cent), which employers preferred because of the elements of direct contact and availability to answer prospective applicants questions. The least popular method of graduate recruitment was the use of recruitment agencies. They were used by only 15 percent of the respondents. About 45 percent of the respondents reported that they targeted students at particular universities by contacting these universities careers advisory services, directors of programmes and heads of department. About 14 percent of the 326 graduate employers studied indicated that they had targeted only universities that offered particular degree courses with good reputations. Only 9 percent of the respondents indicated that they preferred the old universities. More than a third (37 percent) preferred universities where graduates undertook work placements as part of their studies. The variation in the recruitment methods used depended on the number of graduate vacancies created each year and the resources available for graduate recruitment. However, when the recruitment and selection costs per graduate recruited are compared by organization size it becomes apparent that employers with fewer than 500 people spend more per graduate recruited than employers with between 501 and 1,000 staff (see Table IV). In total, 25 out of the 113 organizations (22 percent) which employed fewer than 500 people spent more than 5,000 per graduate recruited, whereas only 35 out of the 213 large employers (16 percent) spent more than 5,000 per graduate. 5.2 Selection The results, in relation to selection methods, show that more than half (62 per cent) of the respondents had employment application forms designed specifically for the selection of graduate applicants. The use of CVs was relatively popular, with 27 per cent of the respondents requiring them. About 30 per cent of all the respondents and more than 53 per cent of the small and medium-sized enterprises indicated that they preferred a combination of CV and covering letter. The selection process involved a variety of methods, but although the number of respondents using each method varied, assessment centres and aptitude tests were not used solely by larger employers and the interview was still the most commonly used method (see Table V). All the respondents said they used the short-listing of applicants before asking them for interviews. Normally application forms were analysed and compared with the relevant person specifications. More than 50 per cent of the respondents said they used more than one interview and about 40 per cent said they used both single and panel interviews. Most of the respondents used two interviews and over 60 per cent of them involved two or more interviewers. More than 30 per cent stated that line managers carried out interviews, 25 per cent involved senior managers, 18 per cent reported interviews were carried out by personnel managers, 17 per cent reported that it was by graduate recruitment officers, and about 6 per cent referred to others such as administrative assistants being involved. Training was given to graduate interviewers in 53 per cent of the 326 organisations, but of the 47 per cent that did not provide training specific to graduate recruitment, most indicated that their interviewers were trained or had general experience in interviewing. A significant number of employers (72 per cent) used aptitude tests and 50 per cent used assessment centres. Among those who used assessment centres, 74 per cent were large employers. Although more than 90 per cent indicated that they requested references a significant number of them (34 per cent) did so only after offers had been made. This means that references were not used in selection but as confirmation of information submitted by candidates. The most common qualities asked for in references were honesty, reliability, time keeping, punctuality, and confirmation of details, character, attendance, suitability, teamwork and performance.5.3 Reasons for the methods used The respondents were asked to indicate their reasons for using such methods of recruitment and selection (see Table VI). The employer application form was seen as the most accurate and fair method by which relevant qualities for the job are requested. Application forms were used because they were expected to gather more information, to provide assessment against company competencies, and to show consistency and ease of use in the selection process. The CV and covering letter were seen as cost-saving methods and as useful means of attracting a wider pool of graduates because it was often stated that many graduates might have found it easy to send CVs and letters than to fill in an application form. It was felt that the use of CV and covering letter saved time, gave good first impressions and provided key background information. Interviews were used because they enabled judgements based on instinct to be made, to find more about the applicants personalities, to gather crucial information quickly and simply to see applicants. Interviews were rated as the most important method of selecting graduates because of their two-way interaction and the ability to fill gaps and validate information given in candidates application forms. More than 78 per cent of the respondents felt that interviews were used for their fairness and only 25 per cent thought they were used for their accuracy. About 67 percent of the respondents felt that assessment centres were used for their fairness, accuracy and cost. 5.4 Employers expectations Employers expectations varied depending on organisation size and nature of operations but it was interesting to note that the majority of the respondents expected newly graduated students to have good transferable skills rather than excellent academic grades. Only about 21 per cent of the respondents stated that the degree level (undergraduate, postgraduate) was more important than the degree subject. However, about 87 per cent of the respondents thought that the degree classification was important and had considered only those applicants with at least lower second class honours degrees. When asked about their perceptions of the current graduate labour market, more than 60 per cent of the respondents mentioned problems of poor quality graduates with no experience of the real life of work and limited transferable skills. Employers were also asked to rank the five most important qualities that they looked for in graduate applicants from a list of 14 criteria (see Table VII). The most required qualities were the desire to achieve and motivation, followed by teamwork, and the least selected quality was time management, which was only selected by 11 percent.

7. Conclusion The methods of graduate recruitment and selection used in the UK seem to vary according to organisational size and the number of graduates required, but the process has generally become more rigorous and sophisticated as competition to obtain graduates has increased. There has been a move from job-related to person-related methods of recruitment and selection. As the number of graduates increases there has been more interest in cost-effective methods of graduate recruitment and selection, such as the use of the internet and assessment centres. Graduate employers are more interested in the attitude and personality of applicants than in the type or level of qualifications acquired. The type of university one graduates from is less important than the type of degree and degree classification received. It seems, however, that some methods of graduate recruitment and selection such as interviews are culturally bound while the graduate labour market is no more the exclusive domain of large employers. The findings of this study are expected to be useful for employers considering initiating graduate recruitment programmes and for those wishing to improve their existing ones as well as to institutions of higher education to reconsider the type of knowledge and skills they provide to prepare their students for the real world of work.