KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank, Petronas, Shopee, Google and Microsoft are some big brands headlining Talentbank's Top 25 list of the 2023 Graduates' Choice of Employers held recently.

Also made on the list were Maxis, Shell, EY, CIMB and Intel.

The brands that have made it into the list for five consecutive years are AIA Bhd in the insurance category, Maybank in the banking category, Nestlé in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category and in the engineering category, Petronas.

Talentbank also revealed that Sunway Group bagged five Champion positions across nine industry categories while Maybank took three Champion and made the Overall Champion across the categories.

Petronas won three Champion titles in four listed categories, and EY clinched two Champion awards in the accounting and consulting field.

Talentbank chief executive officer Ben Ho said that since its establishment in 2018, the Graduates' Choice Award (GCA) had received more than 200,000 accumulative votes from university graduates, giving the award meaning when it comes to what graduates want in an employer.

"University and tertiary education students voted for a solid 12 months for GCA 2023, and as we continue to receive an increasing number of votes each year, undergraduates are signalling to the industry the growing importance of employer branding," he said in a statement today.

The GCA 2023 considers the wants and needs of more than 23,000 public and private education students – in various aspects – as well as their most preferred employers.

A group of audit members vetted the results to ensure that the findings were independent and valid.

Ho added that employers risk hiring the right talent with the right employer branding.

The GCA, he said, is a big part of an effort to improve Malaysia's employability landscape. It serves to pave the way for graduates to find their preferred careers.

GCA's 2023 survey revealed flexible working opportunities as a popular attribute for employment besides the value of work-life balance.

Salary and bonuses, career development and company culture, remain the top three important attributes, and there was a stark increase in graduates expecting salaries ranging between RM3,000 and RM3,500.