Direct relationships between candidates and potential employers are threatening the supremacy of recruiters, according to a new survey.

The survey, from workplace consultants Career Innovation (CI) and student organisation AIESEC, shows that the most common work-related use of social networking was referral – just under two thirds (64%) of students had used one of these sites to put a friend in contact with someone who might help them, as had 71% of workers.

The next most common use for students was to look for internships or work experience placements on social networking sites but these sites were also used to look for voluntary and paid work as well.

Women are more likely to use social networking to find work or hire a colleague, while a third of women (32%) and 23% of men use these sites to find voluntary work opportunities.

Rejecting the survey’s findings, Reina George, director at hospitality recruiter Mint, which is based at Salford University, told Recruiter that students were using social networking sites but these sites were supplementing rather than replacing their services.

“When people come to university, they are looking for extra work to help them through. We do have a facebook page and a lot of our staff come through that. We advertise online and they send us an email and we get back to them. A lot of our recruitment is done through word of mouth.”