"Fresh graduates nowadays have unrealistic salary demands" according to a recent survey conducted by JobStreet.com in October 2011. Of the 571 human resource practitioners who took part in the survey, 64% felt that the top reason why fresh graduates were rejected after the interview sessions was because the candidates were asking for unrealistic salary or benefits.

Second and third reasons in rejecting fresh graduates were “bad character, attitude and personality of the jobseekers” (60%) followed by “poor command of English language” (56%).

52% also felt that fresh graduates lacked good communication skills. Another 38% said that fresh graduates tend to be too choosy about the job or company they wish to work for.

A word of advice to fresh graduates by Chook Yuh Yng, Country Manager of JobStreet.com, “Don’t immediately reject an offer because the salary offered is below your expectation. Look at the long term career growth. It’s best that you gain the relevant experience first. Good remuneration package will follow when you have built a good profile for yourself and excelled in your field.

Chook added, “Be aware of the current market trends. Salary report information can be easily obtained from sites such as JobStreet.com. Do remember that you may even be competing against candidates with a few years of working experience that are more attuned and equipped to the market demands and trends”.

The survey results also indicated that 86% of the employers do not discriminate against graduates from a specific type of university; they do not mind hiring fresh graduates from the local public university, local private university or foreign university.

On the question about the level of quality among our fresh graduates today, 66% of the respondents rated them as ‘average’ and 23% rated them as ‘poor’.

A total of 571 human resource personnel took part in the survey conducted by JobStreet.com in October 2011.