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You are a newly qualified graduate and your job means a lot to you. You need to build up your curriculum vitae (CV) and work experience, but what happens when your employer fails to pay you?

Do you report him and risk being fired? Do you work for no pay? Do you suffer in silence? The stories of the graduates who are taken advantage of, in Malaysia, are rarely heard.

When we read reports about graduates and employment, the graduate is painted in a negative light. It is claimed that many young people are driven by materialism and expect high wages, many perks and a senior role, despite little or no work experience. Other employers speak of graduates who are inarticulate.

When architect Sophia checked her bank account, she was furious. It was not the first time that her boss had not paid her wages. The first time she was not paid, she was told that the firm's clients were slow payers, but when the boss came to work in a new 4WD, the alarm bells started to sound.

She said that her former boss was initially a good mentor, who gave her ample opportunity to explore the different aspects of being an architect. She described his positive attributes, such as his leadership qualities, public speaking and his eye for design, but admitted that she should have heeded the warning signs.

Bad at managing company’s finances

She said, "He treated people with varying levels of respect. He was very forgetful and was bad at managing the company’s finances. This resulted in arguments between him, the receptionist and accountants. We learned to accommodate his forgetfulness and his temper."

She said, "My official title was ‘graduate architect’ but over the three-and-a-half years that I worked for the firm, more and more employees left, so I was forced to take on additional responsibilities...

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