{"id":53052,"date":"2024-10-07T17:59:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T09:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=53052"},"modified":"2024-10-07T18:31:40","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T10:31:40","slug":"first-job-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips","title":{"rendered":"Fresh Graduate&#8217;s Guide To First Job Do&#8217;s And Don&#8217;ts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Starting your first job can be exciting but also overwhelming. While finding a job is the main goal of fresh graduates, making the right financial decisions at this stage of your life is just as important.<\/p>\n<p>Besides making the right financial choices with your first job and salary, you will need to start planning ahead for the next step in your career too.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting-your-first-job\"><\/span>Getting your first job<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Landing your first job is mostly about having your resume noticed by the hiring manager or your future employer and of course, acing that interview! You need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/good-job-application-resume\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Prepare your resume<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong> Use templates to help you get started, take the time to list down all relevant experience and don&#8217;t forget to write a cover letter as well.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/how-to-graduate-recession\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Practice for your interview:<\/strong><\/a> Do proper background research, prepare the right questions and answers plus rehearse beforehand.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/internship-guide-malaysia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Leverage on internships<\/strong><\/a>: Sometimes getting your foot into the door of your dream career is tough especially without experience. You can create that experience in your resume through internships.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/broaden-career-goals-networking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Grow your network<\/strong><\/a>: Networking helps to improve our careers and job prospects. You need to put yourself in the right place to make connections and create opportunities for yourself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-to-negotiate-your-salary-in-your-first-job\"><\/span>How to negotiate your salary in your first job<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An obvious reason to negotiate your salary in an interview is that you may secure a higher starting pay. But there\u2019s also a long term benefit &#8211; a higher starting pay in your career could lead to \u00a0 So how do you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/are-you-being-paid-a-fair-salary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">make sure you\u2019re fairly paid<\/a> in your first job?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Look at salary guides. <\/strong>Companies like JobStreet or PERSOLKELLY publish annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/highest-paying-jobs-malaysia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">salary guides<\/a>. Use these guides to find out how much a fresh graduate in your role and industry typically earns. You can use this information to negotiate a fair salary in your interview.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wait for the right time to ask. <\/strong>Don\u2019t bring up the topic of salary right away when interviewing with a potential employer &#8211; you may seem only interested in the salary, rather than the role itself. Instead, wait for the employer to bring it up and negotiate it from there.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Let them know about your other salary offers. <\/strong>If you\u2019ve been interviewing with other companies, you could let the hiring manager know (tactfully) about the other salary offers you\u2019ve received. The hiring manager may offer to match or beat these offers. Of course, it can also backfire against you if they decide that it\u2019s out of their pay range!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Budgeting-the-first-salary-you-earn\"><\/span>Budgeting the first salary you earn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s not easy to balance your living expenses, student loans and yes, even the temptation to immediately start splurging! Here\u2019s how you can stay on top of your finances:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Put aside some for emergencies.<\/strong> Build an emergency fund that covers around three to six months\u2019 of expenses. This helps you pay for unexpected costs like a broken mobile phone or an unforeseen medical bill &#8211; without you having to take out a loan or rely on your parents.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Track your expenses.<\/strong> Consider tracking your expenses with a mobile app or a spreadsheet. This helps you figure out where your money is going, and if you\u2019re spending too much on certain categories.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Create a budget.<\/strong> An easy way to start budgeting is through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/budget-50-30-20\">50\/30\/20 budget<\/a>. This means that 50% of your income should go to necessities (like rent, loans and groceries), 30% to wants (like entertainment or dining out) and 20% to savings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automate your finances.<\/strong> This makes it easier to stay on top of your bills and savings goals. For instance, you could set up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/ptptn-repayment-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">auto-debits for your PTPTN loan<\/a> instead of making manual payments. You could also set up automatic transfers to a savings account after you get your salary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Making-your-first-investment\"><\/span>Making your first investment<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve built a sufficient emergency fund, consider growing your wealth through investing. But why bother investing when you\u2019re young?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is simple: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/how-compound-interest-can-grow-your-funds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">compounding<\/a>. With compounding, your investment returns produce their own returns, leading to exponential growth over time. The earlier you start, the less you\u2019ll need to invest to reach your financial goals.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Your investment style.<\/strong> If you prefer a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d approach to investing, you might prefer passive investing. If you like spending lots of time researching and analysing each individual investment, you might prefer active investing. Of course, you can also use both approaches.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your risk tolerance.<\/strong> How much investing risk can you take on? Risk tolerance typically depends on how comfortable you are with risk, and how young you are (younger investors can usually take on more risk because they have more time to recover from losses). Generally, higher risk investments tend to produce better returns, but they can also produce greater losses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your portfolio allocation.<\/strong> This refers to how your portfolio (i.e. the total sum of your investments) is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/what-is-asset-allocation-why-is-it-important\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allocated<\/a> among different asset classes (like stocks, properties and bonds). Having a mix of low-risk and high-risk investments is important because it helps you spread out your investment risk. Investors typically use their risk tolerance to figure out what kind of portfolio allocation they need.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What should you invest in?<\/strong> This depends on your investment style, risk tolerance and portfolio allocation. For instance, if you want a passive, beginner-friendly investment, consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/unit-trust-investments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unit trusts<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/invest-exchange-traded-funds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exchange traded funds<\/a> (ETFs), which let you invest in many assets at once. You can also try a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/online-investment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robo advisor<\/a>, which helps you create a portfolio allocation based on your risk tolerance and financial goals. On the other hand, if you prefer an active approach, consider investing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/open-stock-brokerage-account\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">individual stocks<\/a> (after doing your homework!).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finally-first-job-dos-and-donts\"><\/span>Finally, first job do\u2019s and don\u2019ts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here are common first job challenges you should know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Making mistakes. <\/strong>Learn from them and avoid similar situations in the future.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dealing with people. <\/strong>Learning to work with others is a skill that takes time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Feeling overwhelmed. <\/strong>Creating a schedule and to-do lists by priority and tools like Google Calendar or Trello could help you plan out your work more efficiently.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Balancing work and personal life. <\/strong>Try setting work boundaries and review how you\u2019re spending your time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is important to focus on your career goals even after you have landed your first job. Always ask yourself if you are still learning or how meaningful do you find your job and be on the lookout for opportunities to advance in your job.<\/p>\n<h6><em>This article has been updated on October 7, 2024.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and all the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here to make the right choices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,1,256,218,308],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budgeting","category-investment","category-lifestyle","category-money-management","category-saving-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>First Job Survival Guide For Fresh Graduates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here&#039;s Everything You Need To Know On Starting Your First Job\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iMoney Malaysia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-07T09:59:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-07T10:31:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"iMoney Editorial\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"iMoney Editorial\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips\",\"name\":\"First Job Survival Guide For Fresh Graduates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-07T09:59:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-07T10:31:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/2dc429bac9840e75ad08ab242c57dcbb\"},\"description\":\"From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Image source: Shutterstock\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Money Management\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/category\/money-management\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Fresh Graduate&#8217;s Guide To First Job Do&#8217;s And Don&#8217;ts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/\",\"name\":\"iMoney Malaysia\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about improving your personal finances.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/2dc429bac9840e75ad08ab242c57dcbb\",\"name\":\"iMoney Editorial\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4268d61be86ba47b656e314b503a5c2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4268d61be86ba47b656e314b503a5c2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"iMoney Editorial\"},\"description\":\"iMoney Editorial Team is composed of 4 writers with wide-ranging interests and areas of expertise. Their primary responsibility is to write financial-related articles to share and educate Malaysians on how to save, make and grow their money.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.imoney.my\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/author\/chinglee\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Job Survival Guide For Fresh Graduates","description":"From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Here's Everything You Need To Know On Starting Your First Job","og_description":"From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips","og_site_name":"iMoney Malaysia","article_published_time":"2024-10-07T09:59:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-07T10:31:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"iMoney Editorial","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"iMoney Editorial","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips","name":"First Job Survival Guide For Fresh Graduates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-07T09:59:38+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-07T10:31:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/2dc429bac9840e75ad08ab242c57dcbb"},"description":"From preparing your resume to negotiating your starting pay and the other financial decisions that come with it, take the first step here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/16170328\/fresh-graduate-first-job.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Image source: Shutterstock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/first-job-tips#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Money Management","item":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/category\/money-management"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Fresh Graduate&#8217;s Guide To First Job Do&#8217;s And Don&#8217;ts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/","name":"iMoney Malaysia","description":"Everything you need to know about improving your personal finances.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/2dc429bac9840e75ad08ab242c57dcbb","name":"iMoney Editorial","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4268d61be86ba47b656e314b503a5c2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4268d61be86ba47b656e314b503a5c2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"iMoney Editorial"},"description":"iMoney Editorial Team is composed of 4 writers with wide-ranging interests and areas of expertise. Their primary responsibility is to write financial-related articles to share and educate Malaysians on how to save, make and grow their money.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.imoney.my"],"url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/author\/chinglee"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53052"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53052"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65411,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53052\/revisions\/65411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}