“This is the hard truth living in Sabah. Even the so-called city Kota Kinabalu still offers low salary,” said the fresh graduate.
A fresh graduate’s excitement about landing her first job interview quickly turned into disappointment after a potential employer offered her a starting salary of just RM1,700 for an Admin Executive position — far below her expectations.
In a Threads post, she shared a screenshot of the exchange, where the hiring manager first asked for her expected salary.
“I’m open to the salary offered by the company. However, my expected range is RM1,800 to RM2,000.”
However, the manager rejected her range almost immediately, claiming her background did not justify it.
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He told her that after reviewing her resume, her work experience was “not compatible” with her requested range — and proceeded to offer RM1,700 instead.
The fresh graduate said this wasn’t the first time she had faced such treatment, especially in Sabah.
“This is the hard truth living in Sabah. Even the so-called city Kota Kinabalu still offers low salary.”
She also revealed in the comments that she had attended a few face-to-face interviews, but each time she stated her RM2,000 expectation, she was either rejected or ghosted.
“Then I lower my range, thought it’ll help. Turns out they give even lower. Crazy.”
Her story sparked strong reactions online, with many criticising both the lowball offer and the broader issue of low wages for fresh graduates.
One user, @softnsoftie, urged her to stop undervaluing herself:
“Please, know your worth. At the degree level now, you should be asking for RM3,000! If you don’t get luck there, keep searching until you find it. Don’t lowball your value, please.”
Another user, @amrlqmn, encouraged her to consider opportunities outside Sabah:
“Your English is good. If condition allows, migrate to KL and join MNC company. Can get 3–4k. I still think it’s better than 1.7k in Sabah. As fresh grad, first salary is really important.”
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