The report said that as the "war for talent" rages among major employers, the brightest graduates know what they want from their first job, and think they can find it in the technology, media and telecommunications sector.
The FreshMinds Research Employer Brand Survey 2013 asked 512 students and recent graduates from the top 13 universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, Imperial, and Durham, what they were looking for from their first job, and how they thought their chosen companies measured up.
The survey showed that graduates are looking beyond the usual accountancy and consultancy sectors, which are known for their large graduate recruitment programmes and extensive campus presence, to technology and media companies.
While the largest proportion of recent top graduates ended up in banking and finance (13%), technology and media companies were not far behind at 12% of this cohort, while consultancy and accountancy took just 8% and 4% respectively.
The survey also found that not only do graduate employers have to compete with a wider set of companies, but many graduates are prepared to try to make it on their own, with 45% stating they would like to set up their own business and 2.5% of them already having done so. But there was a gender divide as male students and graduates made up 61% of those identified as 'entrepreneurial', while only 39% were female.
Caroline Plumb, CEO of FreshMinds, said: "There is still a huge shortage of bright, employable graduates. There really is a war for talent. The brightest graduates are receiving numerous job offers, but are increasingly considering the likes of Google and Apple over the traditional consultancies and banks."
