Anonymous career talk from Malaysian job seekers — salary, interviews, company culture, WFH and more.
Left a RM7,000/month salaried role to freelance as a UX consultant. Here are the actual numbers. Income: - Month 1—3: RM2,500—4,000 (terrifying) - Month 4—6: RM5,500—7,000 (stabilising) - Month 7—12: RM8,000—14,000 (bet…
Short answer: only in very specific circumstances, and even then, think carefully. When it might be acceptable: - The company is significant enough that the CV value is demonstrably high - You need the specific portfoli…
Spent 4 years at two different local banks. HerE's what I wish someone told me going in. Politics is a feature, not a bug. Hierarchy is real and skipping it — even once — can define how people see you for years. Always…
My apartment is 650 square feet. No study room. I share it with my partner who also works from home. Here's what made the biggest difference after two years of figuring it out. Space: A dedicated physical spot, even if…
When WFH became common, a lot of companies quietly benefited from employees subsidising their own office setup. Desks, chairs, monitors, internet — all employee cost. Companies that do it well: typically MNCs that have…
The government introduced WFH-related tax relief categories that a lot of people aren't fully utilising. Here's a summary for YA 2024 (verify with LHDN or a tax consultant for latest figures). Equipment relief: Purchase…
Most people ask surface-level questions in interviews. Here are the ones that reveal whether you actually want this job. On the role: - "What does success look like for someone in this role after 6 months?" - "What are…
I'm the remote person in a mostly in-office team. After months of feeling like I was watching a conversation through a window, I pushed for some changes. What made the biggest difference: - Meeting facilitator explicitl…
Genuinely curious. My parents talk about the 4pm tea break as a non-negotiable part of office life in the 80s and 90s. Whole floors would take a break together. At my current company (mid-size private firm in PJ), it's…
Learned this the hard way after banking on a bonus that never came. Contractual bonus: Written into your contract as a guaranteed amount or formula (e.g., "2 months salary paid in March annually"). Company must pay this…
After two years of hybrid, here are the call behaviours that consistently frustrate colleagues (sourced from an anonymous team survey I ran). Most cited pet peeves: 1. Not muting when not speaking (fan noise, keyboard,…
Context: I've been here 2 years, consistently exceeding targets, took on a team lead role informally for 6 months, and the market rate for my role has moved up. The 5% is their standard across-the-board increment. I've…
Final round interview, senior manager across the table. Everything going well. Then: "If I called your current manager right now, what would they say about you?" I froze. My relationship with my current manager was comp…
After saying "I'm a perfectionist" as a weakness approximately seven times across my career, I finally stopped. Here's why it's a bad answer: interviewers have heard it thousands of times and it reads as either dishones…
Current job: RM7,200/month, 14 days annual leave. New offer: RM7,800/month, 12 days annual leave. On paper the new offer looks better by RM600/month = RM7,200/year. But 2 days of annual leave at RM7,200/month = approxi…
'Flexible' does not mean remote. I've done the research so you don't have to. Companies where multiple employees confirmed genuinely remote-first culture (not hybrid-by-default): Involve.asia, Synature, certain teams at…
I was terrified to do this. Here's how it went. Context: I'd been visibly less productive for 3 weeks. My manager had noticed and started asking more frequent check-ins which were adding pressure, not reducing it. I as…
Grew up speaking primarily Bahasa Malaysia and Hokkien. My written English was functional but not confident. Here's what moved the needle. What didn't help: Generic English grammar books. They address language mechanics…
Did this last year when my freelance income became consistent enough to formalise. Here's the actual process. Sole proprietor (enterprise) registration via SSM: 1. Go to ezBiz.ssm.com.my (can do it fully online) 2. Choo…
Currently in month 5 of job searching. Writing this because I don't see enough honest content about what a long job search actually does to you. The rejection accumulation: The first 5 rejections are fine. By rejection…