KUALA LUMPUR: The demand for unrealistic salary and benefits are the top cited reasons given by employers on why it is hard for fresh graduates to gain employment these days.
This was followed by a poor command of the English language, being choosy about the job or company, poor communication skills and an overall poor attitude.
This finding was revealed at the launch of the JobStreet.Com Salary Guide launched at the Multimedia University (MMU) in Cyberjaya, Selangor today.
JobStreet.com Regional Communications head Simon Si said in a survey conducted by JobStreet.com last month, 68 per cent of the respondents said fresh graduates are asking too high a salary for first jobs.
“The survey disclosed that 60 per cent of fresh graduates expect a salary of RM 3,500 for their first job while 30 per cent want to be paid as high as RM6,500 in order to live comfortably. This means that there is a gap between what companies are willing to pay and what the candidates want to be paid," he said.
Si said the JobStreet.Com Salary Guide, which was extracted from jobs advertisements published on JobStreet.com Malaysia in 2015 until 2016, would be able to give an indication of what is the average salaries offered by companies to help fresh graduate understand the job market better.
"The actual salaries for various positions, of course, varies based on many factors such as market demand and supply, the academic grades and acquired skills of the candidates and the compensation and benefit policies of the hiring company,” he added.
"Having said that, we also have to look at living expenses today. I think what needs to happen is for the industry to come together with the understanding of the reality of the salary situation which is perceived as inadequate by many fresh graduates," said Si.
In addition to launching the salary guide, MMU and JobStreet.com also launched a Career Corner, an upskilling initiative to develop a better talent pool for the job market and industries based on current economic trends in Malaysia.
The Career Corner serves as a one-stop centre for students to prepare themselves for their first job. During the event, student ambassadors and career services counsellors were available to support and guide students to better prepare themselves.
MMU Human Capital Management senior director Mohd Amin Abdullah Sani said the guide is an important tool for graduates to venture in the 21st century market force.
“For this era, MMU has prepared its graduates to be, not merely as a job seeker but also a job creator. Thus the Salary Guide is absolutely important to ease the matching and communication of job opportunities between jobseekers and employers,” he said.
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