Navigating the transition from academia to employment is critical for graduates, demanding a comprehensive understanding of graduate employability dynamics. However, a thorough integration of employer expectations and graduates’ authentic experiences using diverse data sources is lacking. This work integrates data from JobStreet, a leading Malaysian job portal, to explore the employer’s perspective and TikTok videos to capture graduates’ insights. The research aims to unveil supply and demand challenges in the Malaysian job market, offering a holistic view. By analysing both employer-side insights from the JobStreet dataset and graduate perspectives through TikTok videos, the study addresses supply and demand discrepancies in the Malaysian job market for recent graduates. Employer preferences and graduate experiences are examined through the JobStreet dataset, with skills gap assessment providing a thorough employer perspective. Qualitative insights from TikTok videos offer nuanced understandings of graduates’ challenges and expectations. Furthermore, prevalent financial concerns among graduates are highlighted, as indicated by the sentiment analysis of 7,661 TikTok videos. By integrating and comparing these findings, the study seeks to bridge the gap between employer demands and graduate realities, providing valuable insights for education and industry stakeholders.