Tips on how to get a job in South Africa as a natural born citizen and immigrant

Source: SAMI, 13/11/2019

Here are some of the tips on how to get a job in South Africa that will
make your job search South Africa an easy one.

Can a foreigner get a job in South Africa? What jobs are needed in
South Africa? Where can I post that I am looking for a job? What is the
most common job in South Africa? All these questions will be answered
in the subsequent paragraphs.

How to get a job in South Africa as an immigrant

As an immigrant job hunter, you are expected to have a job offer before
you are allowed in the country. However, for professionals who work in
specific shortage jobs and can produce proof of formal qualification
with at least 5 years of experience in that specific field, you stand a
chance to get approval to visit South Africa for one year to search for
a job

Residence permit and work visa

For you to relocate to South Africa with the intent to work there, you
first have to send in your application for a work visa, which will be
used like a temporary resident visa. If you arrive in SA with a tourist
visa, it will be illegal for you to work in the country. This visa can
be obtained after sending your application at least 6 weeks prior your
visit to SA at the South African consulate or embassy within your
country of residence. There are three types of visas that are issued to
foreign workers looking for jobs in South Africa:

• General work visa - this visa is for people who have general
qualifications. It is legal until your work contract expires. For you
to get this visa, you should prove that you indeed have a work contract
from an employer. The employer should also prove that a natural-born
citizen is unable to fill the position.
• Recruitment agencies can find you a job. Find the recruitment
agencies and the personnel consultant and contact them via the South
African eld that there is less supply of labour that can not meet the
demand of the same. All you need is to find work within one year after
being given this visa. You can get a 5-year work visa afterwards and a
can potential permanent residency in the country.
• Intra-transfer work visa - this visa is for those people who
are transferring to the offices of a multi-national organization
located in SA.

How to find a job in South Africa

With that out of the way, how can you land a job in South Africa? Here
are quick fixes that will help you find a job both as a natural-born
citizen and as an immigrant.

Newspapers

Papers such as The Times South Africa (https://www.timeslive.co.za )
and Mail & Guardian ( https://mg.co.za ) ( tend to have job
advertisements. Check on both local and national newspapers.

Recruitment agencies

Recruitment agencies can find you a job. Find some recruitment agencies
and personnel consultants and contact them via the South African Ananzi
or Yellow Pages.


Expatica jobs

Expatica job page offers you a variety of job options. For starters,
you can search for English jobs as well as multi language vacancies
available in the country.

South African websites

You can visit job websites to find a job. These are some of the
websites that you may find useful in your job hunting.
General
• Career Junction
• Indeed
• Zigo
• EmploySA
• Best Jobs
• JobMail
• Find a job in Africa
• Lol Jobs
• Careers24
• Jobs South Africa

Specialist
• NGO Pulse �` jobs through the Southern African NGO Network
• eFinancialCareers �` banking insurance, finance, and accounting
• CareerWeb �` jobs in Information Technology
• Action Appointments �` Include NGOs and development
organizations jobs
• Micheal Page �` executive positions


Networking

Networking is significant in landing a job in SA because often jobs are
filled via word-of-mouth. Some of the South African networking sites
are:
• WomEng (Women in Engineering).
• Businesswomen’s Association (BWA)
• South Africa Business Network
• South African Business Network on LinkedIn

Company websites

Most companies in the country do not need you to be the first to
approach them. This is because they post job vacancies in the
respective company websites. Yours is just to visit the website and
find a job fit for your qualifications and apply for it. This has made
it easier for South Africa job seekers to apply for jobs.

Public companies have to be registered. This registration should be
done with the Companies & Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). With
CIPC, you can also get basic information about South African companies
here.

Trade unions and associations

Trade Unions in your field of work may help you get a job in South
Africa. You may, therefore, need to contact them for the same. Such
include the Federation of Unions of South Africa and the Congress of
South African Trade Unions; they each represent 19 different unions.

The guidelines to help you begin your tireless job search in SA
include:

Status of the job market

You have to have the formal job qualification and at least a five-year
working experience relevant to the type of job market you are in.
Mzansi has a very high unemployment rate. This is because citizens are
majorly semi-skilled and unskilled. For most employers in South Africa,
the natives come first before foreigners during employment. Luckily for
foreigners, the government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative
for South Africa (ASGI-SA) encourages the employment of immigrants with
specific critical skills provided that they have the qualifications and
experiences as discussed.

Job opportunities in South Africa

The government of SA invites highly competitive foreigners to work in
the country. These competitive individuals need to be highly skilled
for them to get jobs in the numerous shortage occupations available in
SA.

In SA, working days are from Monday to Friday. Working days begin at 9
am and end at 5pm. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
require employees to work up to forty five hours per week. visa
applications. The categories include; economic and management, health,
engineering, business, agriculture, medical science, economics and
management architecture, earth or life sciences, communication and
technology, and finally Information.

Management practices and work environment

In SA, working days are from Monday to Friday. Working days begin at 9
am and end at 5 pm. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
require employees to work up to forty five hours per week.

The employees may choose to work overtime up to ten hours per week. In
addition, employees are entitled to a twenty one days leave, which
excludes public holidays. Labor Unions play major roles in the country,
especially when defending the rights of workers. Approximately a
quarter of South Africa`s working class enjoy its benefits. The
congress of South African Trade Unions is an example of labour unions,
and it is also one of the largest in the country.


Languages

Mzansi people speak a minimum of eleven languages with English being a
common language to all. It is, therefore, spoken and understood by
many. So, you ought to be well-versed with the queens language for you
to have an upper hand over other applicants. Having a good knowledge
about Afrikaans is also a plus.

Qualifications job market in south africa Image: pixabay.com Source:
UGC You are advised to reach the South African Qualifications Authority
(SAQA) so that you can know if your qualifications are recognized by
the government and to be evaluated. This can be done online. If your
qualifications have not been laid down in English, you have to
translate it by the help of a sworn translator.

How to apply for a job in South Africa

In SA, you need to forward a concise profile during your initial job
application stages. The profile should briefly contain your education
background, personal details, and a series of the jobs you have
previously done in a chronological order highlighting the most
important ones. You should as well be clear on which position you are
eyeing. Mention that you also have a detailed and well-written CV and
then send a cover letter if speculated.

If requested to send a detailed CV, highlight all your qualifications,
education, and employment background in depth.

With these tips in mind, the question of how to get a job in South
Africa as a natural-born citizen and immigrant has been made easy. As
one of SA job seekers, you need to get your affairs in order and start
finding jobs that are best suited for you. Good luck with your search.

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