RECRUITMENT & HIRING
How to write a job description a recruitment agency can actually work from
A job ad sells the role to applicants. A brief tells the agency who to find, who to turn away and what you can really pay. In Peninsular Malaysia, what you write also decides which Employment Act rules apply.
Give the agency more than the ad: the title the market uses, why the role is open, the three or four results that define success, a short must-have list, the deal-breakers, a real salary band with its ceiling, and your interview dates. Then check what the wording triggers: the duties and pay you write decide whether the Employment Act's overtime rules apply.
- RM4,000 is the line that matters. Above it the Act's overtime-pay rule stops applying, unless the job is manual, driving, or supervising manual workers.
- Pay floors are moving: RM2,000 from June 2027 under Budget 2027, and RM2,500 announced for semi-skilled workers and graduates.
- If you intend to hire an expatriate on an Employment Pass, the vacancy must first be advertised on MYFutureJobs for at least 30 days, unless the post is exempt.
This is the job-description step inside our guide to Hiring Through a Recruitment Agency in Malaysia. Not yet sure what the role should pay? Set the band first with the Malaysian salary guide for employers.
The ad and the brief
What is the difference between a job ad and an agency brief?
A job ad is written for applicants and should be short; Polymorph Recruitment's advice is to keep one under 400 words. A brief is for the consultant screening them, and carries what the ad leaves out: why the last person left, who you have rejected, and the most you will pay.
Most job-description advice online is ad copywriting. An agency is doing something else: deciding who to call, who to screen out and how to pitch the role to someone not looking. Skills now lead that screening: about 36% of job advertisements list specific skills as the main screening criteria, according to a RinggitPlus round-up of Malaysian hiring data (February 2026).
| Job ad | Agency brief | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | The advertised band | The band, plus the ceiling for the right person |
| Requirements | Must-haves, nice-to-haves | The same, plus the deal-breakers |
| History | Left out | Why the role is open; who you have turned down |
| Process | “Apply now” | Panel, interview dates, decision-maker, start date |
Monroe Consulting Group on the gap between hard-to-fill roles and job-seekers in 2026:
This tension is not driven by a lack of talent. Instead, it reflects a growing shortage of “precise fit.”
— Monroe Consulting Group
Eight things to put in writing
What must an agency-ready job description contain?
Eight things, each in writing: the title, the reason the role exists, the results that define success, a handful of must-haves, the deal-breakers, a salary band with its ceiling, the working terms, and the hiring process with real dates. Leave any of them vague and the agency has to guess, and you end up interviewing its guesses.
- The title the market uses, not your internal grade.
- Why the role is open. Replacement, growth or a new function each change who fits.
- Three or four results, not twenty duties. What the person must have delivered by month six.
- Must-haves you would reject without. Skills first; a degree only if the work needs it.
- Deal-breakers. The things that ended your last three interviews.
- A salary band, its ceiling, and the benefits.
- Hours, location and work arrangement, including expected overtime and whether hybrid is real.
- The process: who interviews, on which dates, who decides, and the latest start date.
Early survey findings in Randstad Malaysia's 2026 Market Outlook show 52% would consider changing jobs over a disappointing increment or bonus, so set the ceiling above the candidate's current pay.
What your wording triggers
How does what you write change the Employment Act rules that apply?
The Employment Act 1955 covers every employee, but its First Schedule switches off the overtime-pay rule and several related provisions for anyone whose wages exceed RM4,000 a month. That carve-out does not reach manual workers, vehicle drivers or supervisors of manual workers, whatever they earn. So the duties and pay you write decide which rules apply.
| If the description says | What applies |
|---|---|
| Wages of RM4,000 a month or less | The full Act, including overtime at not less than one and a half times the hourly rate |
| Wages above RM4,000, office or professional work | The Act, minus the overtime-pay rule in section 60A(3) and the provisions listed beside it |
| Manual work for more than half the working time | The full Act, whatever the pay |
| Driving or maintaining vehicles carrying passengers or goods | The full Act, whatever the pay |
| Supervising manual workers throughout their work | The full Act, whatever the pay |
Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), First Schedule and section 60A, AGC updated text as at 1 January 2023, hosted by JTKSM.
Two details catch employers out. The wage test excludes commission, subsistence allowance and overtime payment, so a basic salary under RM4,000 with generous commission is still under the line. And whatever the pay, the contract cannot set normal hours above 45 a week, or above eight a day (nine where other days are shorter), without the Director General's permission. Our guide to how overtime pay is calculated in Malaysia works through the arithmetic.
Pay floors are moving
What salary band should the description carry in 2026 and 2027?
Price the band at market and name its ceiling; never build it up from the legal minimum. That minimum is RM1,700 a month today and rises to RM2,000 from June 2027 under Budget 2027, with SMEs below RM50 million in annual sales exempted from that new rate. The Budget also announced a RM2,500 floor for semi-skilled workers and graduates.
Malay Mail reported the phase-in dates: RM1,700 has applied to employers of every size since 1 August 2025. The Budget 2027 changes, tabled on 9 October 2026, are still announcements (The Star; Bernama); check the final wage order before relying on the SME exemption. Our minimum wage guide covers what applies today.
The Ministry of Human Resources has said the minimum wage should not be treated as a benchmark for entry-level pay, particularly for graduates and skilled workers (Malay Mail). Cost the whole hire with the recruitment cost calculator.
The MYFutureJobs rule
What changes if the role could go to a foreign candidate?
The description becomes a regulated document. As set out in PERKESO's 2021 FAQ, an employer hiring an expatriate on an Employment Pass must first advertise the vacancy on MYFutureJobs for at least 30 days, stating the title, qualification, salary, job scope, skills and competency, and interview local candidates within those 30 days.
MIDA's expatriate workflow repeats it; check the current requirements before you advertise. So get the scope right first time: a change of position title with a different job scope has to go through the 30-day advertisement again. Some senior and specialist posts are exempt, and salary floors apply on top; see Employment Pass salary requirements for 2026.
Where each line goes
What does a recruitment agency do with your job description?
It turns each line into a decision. The title and must-haves set the search, the deal-breakers set the screen, the results and salary set the pitch to people who are not looking, and the dates set the shortlist. Every gap in the brief comes back as a question, or as a candidate who should never have reached you.
At Carriera, the first of our six steps is understanding the business before any search starts; the brief is that conversation in writing. A deal-breaker such as having only ever sold to consumers becomes a first-call screening question. We screen manually, and you deal directly with the consultant doing the work. Next: why candidates reject offers, hiring timelines, and live roles by sector.
Still have questions?
Writing a job description — employer FAQ
Do I have to put the salary in a job description in Malaysia?
Is an employee earning more than RM4,000 entitled to overtime pay?
How long should a job description be?
Statute: Employment Act 1955 (Act 265) First Schedule and s.60A, AGC text as at 1 January 2023 via JTKSM. Expatriate hiring: PERKESO MYFutureJobs FAQ (April 2021) and MIDA workflow (October 2021). Wages: Malay Mail, The Star, Bernama. Market: Randstad Malaysia, RinggitPlus, Monroe Consulting Group, Polymorph Recruitment. Reviewed 26 October 2026. General information for employers, not legal advice.
Briefing an agency this week?
Send Steph the role and what went wrong last time. Carriera is MoHR-licensed (JTKSM 615) and places permanent white-collar staff across Selangor and Peninsular Malaysia.
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