According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, there are 48 applicants for every graduate vacancy in the UK this year. It shouldn’t be surprising, therefore, that employers are picking out the graduates from elite universities like Oxford, Cambridge and LSE to narrow down their searches.

However, there was a good reason why those same employers were visiting the campuses of less prestigious universities 12 months ago. Recruitment budgets may have been cut and the supply of graduates may have increased, but employers cannot afford to recruit exclusively from top universities. To do so risks creating a one-dimensional workforce, and it’s up to recruitment agencies to push diversity and put an end to this trend.

Fundamentally, the issue is resource. It is no longer cost- or time-efficient for companies to visit all the universities that were on their ‘milk round’ roster a year ago. So, as professional recruiters, what are the things that you can do to ensure that your clients have access to the widest possible range of candidates?

Firstly, agencies using an automated software platform to pre-screen candidates should check and double check the criteria they are using to do that screening. Automation has made the entire recruitment process more resource and time effective for clients and agencies than ever before. However, it comes at an opportunity cost. Candidates from unconventional backgrounds risk losing out, and it is up to you to ensure that they don’t.

One of the easiest ways to identify excellent candidates with less exceptional academics is to build a ‘mitigating circumstances’ field into any online application form. It will create additional work, but it will also help you spot the superb people who, for one reason or another, have fallen through the cracks in the higher education system.

The next step is to question exactly what qualities your clients are looking for, and where they might find them. Is an Oxford degree in Biomechanics actually the best qualification to measure their capabilities on or are their inter-personal skills equally important? And if so, is involvement in running a university society or club actually a better gauge of their aptitude? After all, skills can be taught.

One way we have looked to promote skills rather than simply academics to our clients is to provide them with biographies of our candidates written by members of the team who have interviewed them. That way, softer skills and achievements that haven’t made it on a single side of A4 don’t get missed. On the whole, in the UK we tend to hire for skills and fire people for their attitude. Wouldn’t it be better to hire for attitude?

The final solution comes down to creativity. What fresh approach can you bring to the diversity table? We have just finished running a diversity scheme called Leading London, in partnership with lobbying group London First. The initiative picked out 42 top performing students at universities in the capital that have traditionally been under represented among employers.

It has helped us start a frank and open debate with our clients on the topic of diversity, and even attract new clients. At the same time, it has helped to promote a group of previously disenfranchised students. In that sense, driving diversity can be win-win.

James Callander is managing director of recruitment consultancy FreshMinds Talent

TOP TIPS

• Check the criteria you use to screen candidates
• Always allow for mitigating circumstances
• Push back on your clients and the kinds of candidates they are looking for
• Encourage them to think about skills and not just qualifications
• Accompany CVs with bios, including information about candidates’ softer skills
• Hire for attitude
• Bring something new to the table — initiatives and awareness raising events are a great way to engage and attract new clients