Anonymous career talk from Malaysian job seekers — salary, interviews, company culture, WFH and more.
I'm writing this because most burnout content describes a dramatic collapse. Mine was quieter and I almost didn't recognise it. What it felt like: Not exhaustion exactly, more like everything requiring twice the energy…
Most Malaysian employees with companies that pay HRD Corp levy are entitled to funded training. Most people never use it. Here's the practical guide. How it works: Your company pays a monthly HRD Corp levy (0.5—1% of pa…
Performance review week used to knock out my productivity for the entire 5 days before. Here's what I've figured out. Why the anxiety happens: Uncertainty about outcome + high stakes + limited control. The brain treats…
Most large Malaysian companies and MNCs now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Your resume is being read by software before a human sees it. What ATS systems screen for: - Keywords from the job description, they lite…
Everyone says "build a portfolio first." But you need clients to build a portfolio. Here's how to break the cycle. Strategy 1: Offer free or heavily discounted work to 2—3 people you know. Not strangers, people in your…
Worked with 4 recruitment agencies this year during my job search. Honest assessment. When agencies are genuinely useful: - They have exclusive mandates for roles not posted publicly - They know the hiring manager's per…
I've received approximately 40 rejections this year. Most were bad. Two were genuinely good. Here's what made the difference. A bad rejection email: "We regret to inform you that we have decided to proceed with other ca…
Quit my RM4,500/month studio job. Here's the actual numbers. Month 1: RM1,200 (2 small logo projects from old contacts) Month 2: RM2,800 (referral from month 1 client) Month 3: RM800 (dry month, panic) Month 4: RM3,500…
A referral dramatically increases your chances of getting an interview. But asking for one feels uncomfortable for most people. Here's how to do it. First: make sure the person can actually refer you positively. A refer…
Used all three seriously over the past 2 years. Here's where each works. Coursera: - Best for: structured certificate programmes that have employer recognition (Google Career Certificates, IBM, Meta professional certs)…
Just passed my PMP in February. Here's an honest answer to whether the investment was worthwhile. The exam: Significantly harder than the old version. PMI moved to a hybrid Predictive/Agile/Hybrid format in 2021 and the…
Most Malaysian freelancers I know undercharge. I did for 2 years. Here's the framework that helped me fix it. The comparison trap: Don't price based on what other Malaysian freelancers charge. That's a race to the botto…
Started this during the pandemic and it's continued. Here's how it works. What I teach: A-Level Economics and STPM Economics. I'm not a trained teacher, I have a degree in economics and worked in policy before my curren…
I like eating alone. Not because I dislike my colleagues, I genuinely like most of them. But lunch is one of the few times I get mental space in a loud open-plan office. I've noticed that eating alone is sometimes read…
As someone who works with clients in multiple countries and occasionally needs to access geo-restricted tools, I've tried a few. Here's the practical breakdown. What a VPN actually helps with for remote workers: - Acces…
Cleaned up my extension list and kept only what I actually use daily. Sharing the list. For all developers: - uBlock Origin: ad and tracker blocking, also speeds up browsing significantly - Wappalyzer: identifies tech s…
Informal survey from my floor of about 40 people. Results were more interesting than expected. Breakdown: - Cook and bring from home: 8 people (mostly those with longer commutes who meal prep on Sundays) - Tapau from th…
Building a list because everyone in my team keeps asking each other this. Sharing mine, please add yours. For deep focus work: - Brain.fm (paid but worth it, the AI music is genuinely different from regular lo-fi) - Lof…
Every year I come back from Hari Raya break to an inbox disaster of my own making. This year I finally got it right. The week before: - Send a "I'll be away" email to anyone expecting something from you, with a status u…
Used all three seriously for coding tasks. Here's where each actually wins. GitHub Copilot: Best for inline completion and boilerplate generation in the editor. The contextual awareness of your actual codebase is better…
Share your experience working at Malaysian companies
Salary transparency, negotiation tips, and benefits talk
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Burnout, boundaries, and looking after yourself at work
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Freelancing, side income, and going independent