It’s summer again and the nation’s brightest graduates are competing for jobs in large corporations.

But many feel disillusioned by the lack of accountability in the graduate recruitment process and have warned that companies could be missing out on landing the top candidates through poor hiring strategies.

Prashand Sidhbura, who is about to graduate from Southampton University with an MBA, claimed some of the most famous agencies had an “arrogant” attitude to potential graduate recruits.

He said there was a lack of transparency in the recruitment process and that he had not received proper feedback from unsuccessful applications.

He said: “When you ask them for some feedback they say someone from the HR department will be in touch – but they don’t come back."

Sidhbura feels some agencies are unwilling to find him a job because he is an international student and needs a permit to work in the UK.

He added: “I find their attitude quite arrogant in terms of recruiting people. They are not willing to help the unsuccessful candidates.”

Another graduate, who did not wish to be named, criticised employers that hire graduates using the internet. Too many employers simply used software to search CVs for “buzzwords”, she claimed.

“Many employers could be missing out on talented staff,” she said.

A survey by specialist publishers GTI showed over 65% of graduates had been upset by the way they were treated by potential employers or graduate recruitment agencies.