{"id":830999,"date":"2025-07-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=830999"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:07:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T12:07:28","slug":"what-you-need-to-do-to-land-a-job-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/830999\/what-you-need-to-do-to-land-a-job-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"What you need to do to land a job in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Recruitment service Pnet has broken down the most important things that job seekers must consider in their online profiles to make themselves stand out to recruiters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Job titles, work experience and educational levels are among the top factors South African recruiters use to filter CVs from prospective candidates for vacancies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is according to the latest Pnet Job Market Trends Report, which looks at recruiter data from over 6 million CVs viewed, recommended, or shared annually on Pnet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnderstanding how recruiters assess and engage with job seekers&#8217; profiles and CVs can give candidates a valuable edge in a competitive job market,\u201d says Anja Bates, Head of Data at Pnet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom showcasing their skills in the best possible light to ensuring their profile can be found by recruiters, their CV and online profile is key to standing out and getting noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recruiters are searching for more than just a job seeker&#8217;s qualifications when they search Pnet&#8217;s candidate database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They will need accurate, complete and accessible information to make contact quickly, and have easy access to availability, employment equity status, detailed location and salary expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report highlights several areas that candidates must consider to stand out, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make sure your name matches your other profiles or professional work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make your profile more searchable and visible with industry terminology<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure your job titles match your skillset<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specify where you&#8217; are&#8217;re situated and where you&#8217;re willing to be<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Highlight your relevant past experience, skills and education<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Make sure your name matches your professional life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, one&#8217;s name matters, as one in three recruiters search for candidates by specific names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If one&#8217;s name doesn\u2019t match the name they use in other online profiles or professional settings, their online profile may never appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Make your CV or profile more visible<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Visibility is also crucial, as highly sought-after candidates are sourced by employers and recruiters more than 100 times per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Job seekers will need to make their profile searchable or \u201copen to offers\u201d to increase their chance of being found. This will be the &#8220;Open to Work&#8221; tag for LinkedIn users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Job titles are important<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>46% of recruiters&#8217; searches and are based on job titles. When a candidate adds their desired past or current job titles to their CV and profile, they sould also use common and industry-standard titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoid company-specific terms or cute titles like \u2018social media unicorn\u2019 as a recruiter may never see them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Location matters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With remote work becoming common in the Covid-19 pandemic, there aren&#8217;t many remote roles on offer in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nine out of 10 job ads in South Africa specify a location. A current and preferred job location can ensure a job seeker&#8217;s profile appears in relevant recruiter searches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Past experience is key <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pnet said that all kinds of work-relevant experience matter, and internships, part-time work, or project roles are key to getting a foot in the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Education is crucial as eight of ten roles require some level of education. Including a full educational background gives recruiter a chance to assess a job seeker\u2019s suitability at a glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>20% or recruiters are also using skill-specific searches, meaning that job seekers need to make sure their hard and soft skills are clearly detailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-26.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"872\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-26.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-831003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-26.png 872w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-26-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-26-768x261.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: Pnet<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Jobs in demand <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Making yourself stand out in South Africa&#8217;s job market is vital, as the country&#8217;s tough economy has made it highly competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many candidates are competing for a few jobs, and the scenario is unlikley to change dramatically for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pnet&#8217;s most recent data showed a 10% decline in the job market between May 2023 and May 2025, indicating ongoing volatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More positively, there was a 7% month-on-month increase in the job market from April to May 2025, meaning pressures are easing within the tough landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The top five trending job roles in May were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pharmacist (Medical &amp; Health sector)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Warehouse Operations (Warehousing &amp; Logistics sector)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Purchasing &amp; Procurement (Finance sector)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Business Analysis (Information Technology sector)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Business Development (Business &amp; Management sector)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Sectors on the rise include Cleaning, Maintenance &amp; Repair (+39%), marketing (+30%) and Design, Media &amp; Arts (+20%).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pnet has broken down what job seekers must do to make their online profiles stand out.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":831013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[16912],"class_list":["post-830999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-opinion","tag-pnet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830999"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":831255,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830999\/revisions\/831255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}