Simon Si, JobStreet’s regional communications head, said his company was still receiving complaints about choosy graduates and those who would expose their ignorance during job interviews.

“Some do not conduct any research on the requirements of the job and the background of the company offering the job,” he said, adding that this was one of the more common complaints JobSteet had received from companies using its service.

“Interviews become a waste of time when the job seekers don’t know what they are looking for,” he added.

Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) 2016 annual report estimates that the unemployment rate among fresh graduates reached 10.7% in 2015.

It also said that fresh graduates were perhaps the last to be hired due to lack of experience and poor communication skills.

A fresh graduate who wants to be identified only as Kimberly told FMT she hadn’t been able to secure a job which pays a reasonable salary.

“Some employers can be quite unrealistic,” she said. “I’ve turned down some job offers because the salary they offered was too low.”

Kimberly graduated with a degree in events management about eight months ago.

She said she turned down a job that offered a salary of RM1,900 and was holding out for a job which would pay RM2,500. In the meantime, she takes freelance jobs.

“I stay in Subang Jaya and the job offer was for a company in Kuala Lumpur,” she said. “It would cost a lot just to travel and after EPF deductions, I won’t have much left to even pay my bills, let alone save money.”

Kimberly once worked full time with a company, but only briefly.

She complained that some employers tended to oversell themselves.

“Some companies promise that the environment or job will be a certain way, but once you start working, you find that the reality doesn’t match what they promised.”