More than 90% of management consultancy recruiters have set recruitment targets higher than their targets for last year, according to Top-Consultant.com’s Recruitment Channel Report.

It found that 43.5% of management consultancy recruiters said they must make considerably more hires than in 2006.

The survey found that recruiters still fight over candidates who bring prior consultancy experience, in contrast to university and business school graduates seem less of a priority.

Recruiters said that they would rather relax hiring criteria than increase fees to reach their recruitment targets, according to the report.

The survey found that 68% of recruiters could not generate enough suitable applicants, while 39% said they faced problems with candidates turning down offers. Sustaining candidate interest was a problem cited by 18% of recruiters.