"Stark warning" for the Class of 2012.

Increasing amounts of graduates are finding it difficult to land a graduate job at companies that they do not already have experience working at.

In research published by the graduate recruitment research group High Fliers' Institute, more than a third of all graduate positions are taken by candidates with prior experience at the targeted company.

This news comes on the back of slow growth in the graduate jobs market, with some recovery, but no signs of a return to pre-financial collapse levels, with starting salaries remaining at the same level of £29000.

Speaking to the BBC, Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers, called the institute's findings a "stark warning to the Class of 2012 that in a highly competitive graduate job market, new graduates who've not had any work experience at all during their time at university have little hope of landing a well-paid job with a leading employer".

To read the report in full, click here (PDF).