Graduates are making decent salaries, bonus potential and employee benefits in favour of more altruistic aims, according to research.
Graduates are placing less importance on earnings and benefits in comparance to 2011, with fewer than one in 10 (8%) saying that a basic salary is in their top three considerations when applying for a job. This contrasts with almost half (45%) in 2011, according to research from management consulting firm Hay Group, exclusive to the Guardian.
Instead, graduates are increasingly interested in their ability to make a difference, with 51% naming this as a key factor in their job choice compared to just 4% in 2011.
"There is a perception that all graduate jobs are difficult to get, so you may as well strive for one that will make you feel happy and satisfied, rather than one that makes you feel bad.
But the research, a snapshot of sentiment based on interviews with 600 graduates who have applied for a scheme, indicates that finding work is more difficult than it was last year.
Just 29% of respondents said they had won a place on a graduate scheme, meaning that for every three or four graduate scheme applications only one is successful.
Christopher Smith of Hay Group said: "There is clearly a gap between graduates' perceptions of the job market and the reality. Although the latest labour market statistics showed unemployment has started to drop and pay has increased slightly, there is still a very gloomy perception of the UK job market.
Graduate described the mood among recent peers as "pretty grim". She said: "I am concerned it is forcing them to make bad decisions – in particular, too many are signing up for expensive master's degrees simply to delay joining the workforce for another year, but without really knowing whether the qualification is a wise investment or truly valued by employers in their chosen field."
A July 2012 study by High Fliers Research showed that applications to graduate employers are 25% higher than three years ago, as advertised positions attract graduates from previous years as well as the latest cohort. The study showed there is an average of 73 students for each job, rising to 142 in the investment banking world and 154 in the retail sector.
Watts recently had four rejections in a single day. "It can be dispiriting and demoralising. You have to be the one person who shines out from 100 applications or more. I'm not sure what I would do if I didn't have a fantastic support network of family and friends. None of my closest friends who studied law have remained in the sector, they have switched careers already."
However de Grunwald said there is work for graduates beyond the traditional milkround employers. "Graduates who take the time to do a bit more sleuthing will find vacancies that their friends will never even know about. Think about it – would you rather go for a job that 1,000 people have applied for, or 10?"