Quick answer
Find the employer, the reference, the closing date, the place of work, the minimum qualification, the duties, and the submission method. Apply only if you meet every essential requirement and you can submit the documents on time.
The facts to mark
- Job title. Titles vary. Assistant, officer, intern and trainee are not interchangeable.
- Employer. You should be able to find that organisation without relying on the advert alone.
- Reference number. You will need it on the application, the email subject and often the Z83.
- Closing date and time. A date without a time still means you should submit early on that day, and some portals close at midnight or at the end of the business day.
- Location or centre. A post in another province may include a condition that you live there.
- Minimum qualification and subjects, if subjects are named.
- Experience. Note the length and the type. Six months of any work is not the same as one year in payroll.
- Skills and knowledge the person must already have.
- Duties. These tell you what to emphasise in the CV and what an interview may cover.
- Application method. Email, a named portal, hand delivery or a completed form.
- Documents. Identity document, CV, qualifications, and anything else listed.
Essential and preferred requirements
Advertisers use different words. Treat a requirement as essential when the advert says minimum, required, must, or applicants must be in possession of. Those are the conditions that usually decide whether you are screened in.
Treat a requirement as preferred when the advert says advantage, recommended, desirable, or will be an added advantage. You may apply without a preferred item. You should not claim you have it.
How to mark one advert
- Underline every sentence that contains must, minimum or required.
- Circle every sentence that contains advantage or desirable.
- If a sentence does neither, read the heading above it. A heading such as Minimum requirements makes the lines under it essential.
- If you are unsure, assume you must have it and look for another advert, rather than guessing.
Public-service adverts often separate requirements, knowledge, duties and enquiries. The enquiry person can explain the post. The enquiry person is not a way to have a missing qualification waived.
An example of the difference
An advert for an administration clerk might say: a National Senior Certificate is required; computer literacy is required; one year of office experience will be an advantage. A matriculant with a school project in spreadsheets can show computer use. That person does not have the year of office experience. They can apply, and they should not write that they have a year of experience.
If the same advert said one year of office experience is required, the matriculant should not apply for that post. They should look for a trainee advert that says no experience is needed.
Check the instructions before you trust the advert
- Does the email address use the organisation's domain?
- Does a public-service post appear in the Public Service Vacancy Circular or on the department's site?
- Is anyone asking for payment, a voucher or your bank card?
- Are you being told to send documents on WhatsApp to a private number that the official advert does not mention?
The Department of Employment and Labour has warned that scammers copy departmental names. Verify the vacancy on an official page before you send identity documents.
Salary, location and conditions
A salary line tells you the level of the post. It does not tell you that you may negotiate it in the application. In the public service the salary is usually the notch or the range in the advert. In a private advert, an unstated salary is not a reason to ignore the requirements.
Location can be a condition. A post based in a named town may expect you to live there. If you cannot relocate, do not apply and then ask to work from another province. Shift work, a driver's licence and weekend duty are conditions when they appear under requirements. Read them before you celebrate the job title.
What to do with the notes
Write one line: I qualify / I do not qualify. If you qualify, list the documents and the submission address. If you do not, keep the notes so you can see what to study or what experience a later advert may accept as an advantage rather than a requirement.
Make a one-page reading note
Before you decide to apply, write the advert down in the same order every time:
- Employer and where you confirmed it.
- Title and reference.
- Closing date and time.
- Place of work.
- Essential requirements you meet, and any you do not.
- Preferred requirements you meet.
- Documents and the submission address.
If the essential list has a gap, stop. If it does not, the note becomes the checklist for the CV and the email subject. Keep the note with the screenshot of the advert, because adverts are removed after the closing date and you may need the wording for an interview.
Common mistakes
- Reading only the salary and the job title.
- Missing a reference number and being screened out.
- Treating every line as optional because you want the job.
- Treating every advantage as a reason not to apply.
- Applying to a copied advert that the employer did not publish.
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, including the instruction to quote the reference number and to meet the closing date.
- Employment and Labour scam warningA government warning that jobseekers should not pay a fee to be recruited.
Open a listing, then confirm it on the employer's own page.
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