The findings from the Guardian UK300 compiled by research company Trendence reveals the most desirable employers as voted for by over 25,000 UK students, with the intelligence services, TV companies, charities and big name brands leading the way.
Financial and professional services institutions have been pushed out of the top ten completely this year whereas in 2011, Deloitte, Ernst and Young and PwC all featured.
Significant climbers include Innocent Drinks which was has jumped 94 places to this year's number 10 with Oxfam also moving up 16 places to now stand at number eight. Last year's number one, NHS Graduate Schemes, has dropped to number four whilst 2011's number five, IBM is now at 39.
Further in the list, Rolls-Royce has moved up 39 places from 53 to 14 whilst the John Lewis Partnership has also risen 50 places to number 20 this year.
Kathryn Callow, UK account director at Trendence, said: "This year's findings show that the usually desirable financial services companies have fallen out of favour with current students who are becoming more interested in organisations like Amnesty International and Oxfam. This could well be down to the image crisis that the sector has faced since the downturn and as a result, many students are now looking at the third sector as a valid career path.
"It's also very interesting to see the intelligence services break into the top ten for the first time - again this seems to be an example of a wider trend for today's students to work for an employer who aims to do good and have a positive impact on society."
Despite the public sector undergoing widespread restructuring, the Civil Service Fast Stream is still a popular choice amongst students rising 16 places to number 15 this year.
The annual Trendence Graduate Barometer surveys UK students at 100 universities. The findings aim to provide graduate recruiters with a deep insight into student opinions on factors such as employer brand, career aspirations and preferred communication methods. The results also form the Guardian 300 listings.
