Unbelievable it may appear, but a technology firm in Britain is offering a free iPad to anyone who secures a job interview.

Autonomy, one of the largest software firms in Britain, is giving the free iPad to anyone who secures an interview -- regardless of whether they flunk it or opt to join a rival company, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

It is offering the 700 pounds sweetener to ensure it attracts the best applicants as competition heats up with neighbouring firms on the outskirts of Cambridge -- an area known as Silicon Fen. One is giving out iPhones.

Only a fifth of young adults asked to a first-round interview at Autonomy ends up taking a job there.

But multi-millionaire founder Mike Lynch explained: "You want to make sure that you get the very best through the door. What you do is dangle an iPad... and they come and see you. Someone else is offering an iPhone.

"By the time you've done a decent interview round in Cambridge you're kitted out."

Technology firms are hiring heavily in anticipation of a bounce in the global economy later in the year; in fact, the hiring spree comes as the unemployment rate for university leavers stands at an alarming 20 per cent.