Gen Z: Ghosted or Just Not Into You? The Real Hiring Challenges Employers Face in Malaysia

Let’s be honest. Navigating the world of early career talent acquisition, especially when it comes to Gen Z, can sometimes feel like you’re trying to decode a secret language. One minute you think you’ve got a promising candidate, the next… radio silence. Are they ghosting you, or are they just, well, not that into what you’re offering? It’s one of the biggest Gen Z hiring challenges Malaysian employers are talking about.

To get to the heart of this, Kabel recently hosted an honest roundtable discussion, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders: high-growth company founders and CXOs, HR practitioners, university career representatives from institutions like Taylor’s University, Sunway University, UniKL and UiTM, and our valued partners including the SME Association of Malaysia, PIKOM (The National Tech Association of Malaysia), Soonicorn Collective, and Nucleus Advisory.

The goal was to have an unfiltered conversation about hiring and managing this next generation, and the insights shared were incredibly valuable. If you’re looking to attract Gen Z employees and build a thriving team, here’s what came to light.

What Does Gen Z Actually Want? It’s a Package Deal

You might think a good salary is the main draw, and it’s definitely important. Our Kabel survey showed 71% of undergraduates list “Fair Pay” as a top priority. During the discussion, participants highlighted the rising expectations of starting pay for a tech fresh graduate:

“Two years ago, it was at RM3,000. So last year itself, it has actually gone up by RM500. So it’s RM3,500 for tech talents,” said Camelia from Kabel.

But Gen Z is looking for more than just money. Their ideal role is a package deal:

• Real Career Growth Opportunities: A whopping 70% of graduates prioritise this. They are incredibly eager to learn, develop new skills, and see a clear path forward.
• Work-Life Balance & Flexibility: This isn’t about avoiding work; it’s about finding a sustainable, healthy way to integrate work into their lives. They value autonomy and trust.
• Meaningful Work and Purpose: As Camelia put it, “If you can connect them through a purpose, they don’t care who you are… As long as you share the same purpose, you can group together.” They want to feel like their contribution matters.

Sharmaine, a 19-year-old Gen Z intern at the event, perfectly captured this. She spoke of wanting a “smoother transition into the real world because what we learn in academia is really different.” She emphasised the need for networking opportunities. As we can see, they are self-aware and crave hands-on learning and authentic engagement.

The Gen Z Job Hunt: More Obstacle Course Than Open Door?

While employers grapple with finding talent, it’s crucial to understand the hurdles Gen Z faces. It’s not always a walk in the park for them either. Javier Ruiz, a 3x Founder with international experience, was surprised to find that in Malaysia, “interns find it so hard to get jobs.” This is really different from what he’s seen in Europe, where tons of companies are actively hiring interns, offering structured programs, and even competing to attract young talent.

Sharmaine shared her own experience—after finishing SPM, she emailed around 20 NGOs looking for an internship, without any positive response. “Those that got back just told me they weren’t hiring anyone this year,” she said. Another friend of hers sent out close to 200 internship applications, just hoping for a chance.

Imagine the effort of customising applications, writng cover letters, only to hear crickets or rejections. The frustration is real. Add to this the mismatch in salary expectations—where employers might offer around RM2500, but many Gen Z tech talents expect RM3500 or more—and the disconnect in preferred work arrangements, and you can see why the job search feels like an uphill battle for many.

Beyond the Degree: What Smart Employers (Founders, CXOs, HRs) are Really Looking For

Here’s where things get interesting for you as a founder or hiring manager. While qualifications have their place, the employers in the room—from Founders to HR leaders—consistently emphasized something more profound. Our survey backed this up: the number one thing employers look for in fresh grads is the right attitude and mindset, followed closely by soft skills.

As Javier put it, what’s crucial really is attitude and soft skills. “Someone that’s able to listen to instructions, come to work on time, finish their job, be responsible.”

Jimmy from Nucleus Advisory, sharing insights from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, listed the top soft skills sought:

• Analytical thinking
• Resilience, flexibility, and agility
• Leadership and social influence

It’s less about what they know on day one, and more about their potential, their willingness to learn, and how they approach work and collaboration. This directly ties into why skills-based hiring is becoming so critical.

Bridging the Communication Gap with Gen Z

You’ve likely heard the common observation: Gen Z can seem to have short attention spans or get bored quickly. An employer at our roundtable noted, “they have very short attention, e.g., getting bored after six months.” But is it just a short attention span, or a different way of processing information and seeking engagement?

Jeffri from Weblite, who hires many tech-focused Gen Zs, observed that they “lack exposure in terms of leadership because they’re so used to running remote work (and study). If you’re able to fill in that gap and give them a little bit of guidance as to what their roles are… they end up contributing very heavily.” This highlights the need for clear, structured communication that provides direction and context.

It’s not just about what you say, but how you say it and how consistently you engage. Camelia also shared an important insight into their openness to feedback: “They know where they suck, literally. And you can tell them where they suck. But the point here is you need to guide them on how to get better.” This points to a desire for direct, honest communication, provided it’s coupled with constructive guidance and a pathway for improvement.

Internships: The Smart Way to Build Your Talent Pipeline

If you’re overlooking interns, you might be missing a huge opportunity to cultivate your early career talent acquisition pipeline. Javier, who built a successful 250-employee company largely with talent that started as interns, stated emphatically: “Interns and engineer interns are very valuable. So you should be taking as many as possible.” His company saw high conversion rates because “We hired them because of the attitude.” He stressed, “It’s our job to train them to be professionals and to learn the culture of the company.”

Loke from eZee Technologies also shared about hiring employees starting from interns, noting a 60% conversion rate to full-time employees.

Investing in interns is investing in your business’s future. It’s the best way to identify, nurture, and integrate promising young talent into your organization.

Using Gen Z’s Superpowers: Tech, Innovation, and “Play and Play”

And when it comes to innovation, Gen Z brings unique superpowers to the table: a natural fluency with technology, a fresh approach to problem-solving, and a playful curiosity that fuels creativity. As Camelia Loh, Founder & CEO of Kabel, puts it, “For us, learning the technology perhaps will take 30 days. Gen Z’s will learn it in three seconds.” If your company wants to digitize faster, innovate smarter, and stay ahead of the curve, there’s no better asset than these digital natives ready to help lead the way.

Companies can actively leverage this inherent tech savviness and remarkable speed in mastering new tools to drive digital transformation initiatives.

Paresh from EngageLife introduced a fascinating concept from a gamification workshop talk about generation gaps and how they think: “When it comes to the younger generation, it’s play and play. So how can you make your environment play and play?” This “play and play” mindset goes beyond just having fun — it’s about creating an engaging, purposeful, and even enjoyable work environment. This is where Gen Z truly shines, bringing fresh perspectives and an innate understanding of the digital world, making them the perfect digital agents to accelerate growth in high-growth companies.

Bridging the Gap: Actionable Steps for Employers

The roundtable discussion made one thing clear: the biggest hurdle in hiring Gen Z isn’t the candidates themselves — it’s the misalignment between what employers expect and what early talent needs. To crack the Gen Z code, hiring managers should focus on a few practical tips:

• Listen, Understand, and Adapt: As Jimmy wisely put it, “It’s not about the Gen Z’s, Gen Y, or the Gen X at the work. The question is, how do we engage your employees? It’s conversations. And as leaders and managers, have we evolved and are we prepared to have that conversation?”
• Clear Communication & Expectations: From job descriptions to work arrangements and career paths, clarity is king.
• Focus on Growth and Purpose: Show them how they can learn, develop, and contribute to something meaningful.
• Embrace Flexibility (with Accountability): The “flexi” model, built on trust and clear deliverables, resonated strongly.
• Invest in Early Talent: View internships as a strategic investment in your future workforce, particularly for tech and business roles.
• Prioritise Soft Skills & Attitude: Look beyond paper qualifications to identify individuals with the drive, resilience, and collaborative spirit to succeed.
• Streamline Your Hiring Process: Gen Zs are “high tech users,” Camelia reminded everyone. “They don’t wait for anything… But when it comes to looking for jobs, it takes them a long time to hear back from us.” Lengthy, clunky application processes are a major turn-off.

Ultimately, successfully hiring Gen Z in Malaysia comes down to understanding, empathy, and meeting this generation where they are. They’re not looking for you to be their parent, but they do appreciate guidance, clear opportunities to learn, and a workplace that values their unique strengths and perspectives.

At Kabel, we’re passionate about understanding these dynamics and seeing the immense potential of Gen Z. That’s why our platform is designed to make the connection between high-growth employers and ambitious interns or fresh graduates faster, easier, and more aligned with what both sides are truly looking for. By focusing on skills, cultural fit, and clear communication, we help you cut through the noise and find early career talent that won’t just fill a role, but will help propel your company forward.

Understanding these challenges, Kabel is conducting a study to make finding the right Gen Z talent easier and more effective for employers. We’re focused on finding smarter ways to match skills and potential with the evolving needs of fast-growing companies, especially for tech and business roles. Contact us to join our growing network of employers who want to scale hiring and build stronger, future-ready teams.

It’s not always simple, but investing in understanding and effectively recruiting Gen Z means investing in a vibrant, innovative, and future-ready workforce. And those rewards are well worth it!