Quick answers.
Everything about voting, winning, the audit and the Seal, from voters, employers, universities and press. If you cannot find what you need, ask Amira.
No answers matched your search. Ask Amira and she will help.
How the award works.
The short version, from the first vote to the gala.
How the award works in four steps
1. Students vote. Voting runs from 1 July to 30 June, free for every student.
2. Votes are checked. Each vote is verified by email, and duplicates and automated votes are filtered out.
3. Universities audit. After voting closes, career services practitioners from Malaysian universities review the full dataset.
4. Winners are presented. Winners are announced at the November gala, and the full register is then published online.
What is the Seal?
The Seal is the mark given to winners of the Graduates' Choice Award. It is valid for the cycle in which the organisation won. See the Trophy & Seal page.
How do I get an answer quickly?
Search this page or ask Amira, our assistant. Talentbank is the Secretariat of the Graduates' Choice Award.
What the award is.
A quick primer on what the Graduates' Choice Award is, how it differs from similarly-named awards, and who lends it patronage.
What is the Graduates' Choice Award?
APAC's Most Authoritative Graduate Employer Award, running since 2018 and 100% voted by university students in Malaysia.
Is it different from the Employers' Choice Award or the Graduate Employability Index?
Yes, and the two are easy to confuse. The Graduates' Choice Award has students voting on employers. The Employers' Choice Award and Graduate Employability Index work the other way round: employers vote on which universities they hire from and would hire from again, announced separately around Raya. Universities cannot self-nominate for that one.
Is the Ministry of Higher Education involved?
Yes. The Ministry has supported every edition of the Award since it began. See the Patrons page for the full record.
Questions from students.
If you are a current Malaysian university student, this section covers the cycle, the prize draw terms, and how your vote counts.
How do I vote?
Right here, on the Cast Your Vote page.
Can I suggest an employer for the list?
There is no nomination. Every employer with a presence in Malaysia is open to be voted on automatically. If one you want is missing, tell Amira and the team will pick it up.
Does it cost anything to vote?
No, voting is free.
When does voting take place?
Voting runs on a 12-month cycle, from 1 July to 30 June each year.
Who can vote?
Currently enrolled university students at any Malaysian institution, public or private, including international students. Fresh graduates within 12 months of graduation are also eligible. A personal email address is fine, no student email or institutional ID required.
How are votes verified?
Eligibility is self-declared when you vote. After the voting window closes, the full dataset is validated and audited: duplicate and repeated votes are filtered out, and the entire vote pattern is reviewed by the Board of Audit Members, career services practitioners from public and private universities. Anomalies and coordinated or automated voting are flagged and excluded before any result is published.
How long does voting take?
3 to 10 minutes. Pick your preferred employers across every industry category.
Can I vote for the same employer in different categories?
Yes, if the employer is plausibly active in those categories. Voting for Maybank under Banking and again under Investment Banking is fine.
If I mention an employer I like, does that count as a vote?
No. Only a vote cast through the voting form counts.
What is the prize draw?
Eligible students who vote enter a prize draw. Full terms are shown when you vote.
When are the results announced?
Voting closes 30 June at 11:59 PM MYT. The audit runs through July. Winners are announced live at the November gala in Kuala Lumpur, and the full register is then published online.
Is my data shared with employers?
No. Individual votes are never shared or sold, and are never matched to identities in anything we give to employers. Aggregated, anonymised totals by category and university are reported to the Board of Audit Members and partner universities. See the Privacy policy for the detail.
Questions from HR & employer brand teams.
The register, the Seal, the trophy, tier definitions, and what winning includes. The short answer to most questions is complimentary: you cannot pay your way onto the list.
Can our organisation apply or be nominated?
No application, no nomination. Every employer with a presence in Malaysia is open to be voted on automatically. Students choose. We audit. The list is published.
Is there a fee to be on the list?
No. The title and the Seal are complimentary to every winner. It exists to help students find employers worth applying to.
Is there a minimum company size to be eligible?
Yes, a minimum of 10 employees. A company that does not hire graduates is not eligible.
Do foreign-owned or international companies qualify?
Yes, if they operate in Malaysia.
How are categories decided?
Categories follow the industries students expect to work in. A company can appear in more than one if it genuinely spans multiple sectors.
Who decides the winner?
Students vote. Talentbank does not select winners.
Are vote tallies visible before the results are announced?
No, tallies are not shown before results, to keep the process fair.
Can an employer ask not to be listed?
Yes. Tell Amira, and the team will remove the listing.
Is there a runner-up or finalist recognition, or only outright winners?
Only outright winners are recognised. There is no runner-up or finalist tier.
Can a win be taken back after the fact?
Yes. If something goes wrong after the fact, for example a public scandal, the award can be stripped from a winner.
What does winning include?
Five things, all complimentary:
- Inclusion in the published register, syndicated through Bernama
- Stage spotlight at the November gala
- Licensed digital Seal for LinkedIn, careers pages and recruitment ads
- The physical scroll trophy in pewter and 24K gold
- Press coverage across the directory of online, trade, and wire outlets
Can winners bring guests to the award gala?
Yes, winners can bring their own guests to the gala.
Are there other benefits to winning?
Winners get ongoing visibility, including being featured on Talentbank's own site. Media coverage varies year to year, and Talentbank does invest in advertorials.
Can we use the GCA Seal in our marketing?
Yes, freely, for the cycle in which you won. Brand guidelines and the licensed asset pack are on the Toolkit page. The Seal is yours to use on careers pages, LinkedIn, recruitment collateral, booth backdrops, and email signatures.
What is the difference between Winner, Champion, and Students' Favourites?
Three tiers, in ascending order:
- Winner: selected within an industry category for the cycle
- Champion: top performer within that category
- Students' Favourites: the 25 most-voted employers across all categories nationally (roughly one percent of the 2,500+ employers in the running)
Employers voted Champion in the same category for consecutive years are additionally inducted into the register's Hall of Fame. It counts only consecutive years as Champion, the single top employer in a category, so a single year without the top spot resets the streak to zero. Induction happens at 3, 5 and 10 consecutive years.
How can we improve our chances next cycle?
The honest answer is, do the work. Graduate preference follows reputation, internship experiences, and campus presence. We publish post-cycle insights to help organisations understand which sub-categories shifted and why. Ask Amira for the breakdown specific to your sector.
Is there help available to promote our result?
Yes, a campaign toolkit is downloadable from the Press Kit & Digital Assets page.
Where do we get the trophy?
Presented on stage at the November gala. If your delegation cannot attend, the Secretariat couriers the trophy to your registered address within fourteen working days of the ceremony.
Where can we check whether our organisation is in the running?
The self-check page. This FAQ covers anything more specific than what's listed there.
Questions from universities.
Audit board participation, campus voting, and what the register means for your institution.
How can our university get involved?
Two ways. Your career services practitioners can join the Board of Audit Members, who review the vote before publication. And your team can run campus voting drives to make sure your students' voices are counted. The secretariat provides everything needed for both.
What is the Board of Audit Members?
A panel of career services practitioners drawn from public and private universities across Malaysia. They review the voting data before any result is published, the independent check that gives the register its authority. Participation is open to career services professionals at recognised institutions.
Is there a cost for universities to participate?
No. Audit board participation and campus voting support are complimentary. The award is built on the involvement of the institutions that educate Malaysia's graduates.
How do we encourage our students to vote?
The secretariat provides a campus toolkit: voting links, posters, and social assets your team can share. Many universities run the drive through career services and student bodies during the voting window.
Can we see how our students voted?
Individual votes are confidential and never shared. Universities that participate can access aggregate graduate sentiment insights relevant to employability, useful for careers advising and industry engagement, without any individual student data.
Does the award rank universities?
No. The Graduates' Choice Award ranks employers, decided by students. It does not rank or score universities. It is a measure of graduate employer preference, not an institutional league table.
Questions from journalists and editors.
Accreditation, embargoed releases, and access to winners and audit board members.
Can I interview winning organisations or audit board members?
Yes. The secretariat coordinates interview slots on the night of the gala and during the week following. Audit board members are also available for academic and methodology questions.
Where is the full media coverage archive?
On the Press & Media Coverage page. The full archive of 115 articles across 72 publishers, filterable by online, trade, and wire, plus a searchable index sorted by outlet.
Can we get the official results or a media kit?
Yes. The secretariat provides an official media kit each cycle with the published results, approved logos, and key figures. Ask Amira to request access.
Who is the media contact?
Tell Amira, our assistant, and the team will pick it up.
Could not find the answer?
Ask Amira, our assistant. She can answer most questions straight away, and the team picks up the rest.
Ask Amira