How to Apply for a Government Job in South Africa

Quick answer

Find the post in the Public Service Vacancy Circular or on the department's own vacancy page. Read the reference number, requirements and closing date. Submit the new Z83, a CV and any documents that advert requests, to the address it gives, before it closes.

Where vacancies are published

The Public Service Vacancy Circular is published weekly, except during December, and contains advertisements from national and provincial departments. The DPSA page says the Department is not responsible for the content of those advertisements. Questions go to the advertising department, not to the DPSA.

Departments and provinces also use their own sites. A post can be corrected after publication. The circular itself prints amendments, so check the latest issue if you are using an older PDF. A vacancy that exists only in a forwarded message should be found on the circular or the department's site before you send documents.

Read the advert before you prepare forms

• Post title and centre.
• Reference number. The circular tells candidates to put it on the application.
• Salary and the level, if shown. Do not negotiate these in the application.
• Requirements, including the qualification and experience.
• Duties, which tell you what the CV should emphasise.
• Enquiries contact. Use this for questions about the post, not as the application address unless the advert says so.
• The address, email or link for applications, and the closing date.

The exact method is whatever that advert prints. One department may use email. Another may use a provincial portal. Do not assume the method you used last year.

Z83, CV and supporting documents

The circular's directions say applications must be made on form Z83, with full particulars of training, qualifications, competencies, knowledge and experience, which may be on a CV. It tells candidates to use the new Z83 effective from 1 January 2021. A CV does not replace the form.

Attach certified copies only if that advert asks for them at application stage. Some adverts ask shortlisted candidates to bring documents to the interview. Follow the sentence in the advert. Career Youth Insights opens the official editable Z83 PDF. You complete it in your PDF viewer, then save or download it. This site does not receive, store or submit what you enter.

Reference numbers, submission and closing dates

Put the reference number on the Z83 and in the email subject if you are emailing. If you apply for two posts, the circular's logic is that each post has its own reference. Do not send one email for several posts unless the advert allows it.

The circular says applications must reach the advertising department on or before the closing date. Late applications are not something the DPSA will rescue. Submit early enough that a full inbox or a failed upload can be fixed.

Shortlisted candidates

Departments communicate with applicants using the contact details on the application. Some departments publish the names of shortlisted candidates. There is no single national waiting period you can count on. If the advert says only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, plan for silence to mean you were not shortlisted, and keep applying elsewhere.

Do not pay a person who offers to put your name on a shortlist. Legitimate public-service applications are not sold. The Department of Employment and Labour warns that work seekers should not be charged for employment services.

One post, one pack

Build a separate pack for each reference number. The pack is the Z83 for that post, the CV you tailored to those duties, and the attachments that advert names. Label the email subject with the reference and your surname if the advert does not give a different format.

If you hand-deliver, ask the receiving point how they record the date, and keep any stamped copy they give you. If you use a portal, save the confirmation screen. A sent folder without the attachment is not a complete record. Open the email you sent and check that the Z83 and the CV are both there.

Large departments receive more applications than they can discuss by phone. The enquiry line is for a question about the post, such as the centre of work. It is not a channel for asking someone to check whether your email arrived, unless the advert says that is how queries work.

Common mistakes

• Using an old Z83 because a stationery shop still prints it.
• Leaving the reference number off.
• Emailing the DPSA about a post advertised by another department.
• Sending documents to a private address that the circular does not list.
• Missing an amendment that changed the closing date or the link.

Checklist

• Advert saved from the circular or the department.
• Reference number copied.
• New Z83 completed and signed.
• CV attached.
• Only the documents the advert requests.
• Submitted to the published address before the closing date.
• A copy of what you sent kept.

Information can change

Rules, forms, closing dates and programme requirements change. Treat this guide as a way to prepare and to know what to check. The official page for the institution, employer or funder is the version that applies to your application.

Official sources

• Public Service Vacancy CircularDPSA's page for the circular, candidate directions and the new Z83.
• New Z83 formThe editable Z83 the DPSA published as effective from 1 January 2021.
• Z83 amendment noticeThe government notice for the amended application form.