# Getting a Job Offer in South Africa for Expats



## docsonic007 (May 9, 2018)

Hi All,

I am new to the forum & have read most of the articles & have found it quite helpful. I am a finance professional with 10 plus years of experience in Investment Banking. I am have recently got my permit changed from ICT to CSV, however finding a job for all except for IT professionals is becoming a challenge for expats. 

I have applied for a few jobs which were exact match of what I have experience about. Either the profile was rejected stating that the employer is looking for a local SA citizen, I did not receive a response.

I understand for almost all jobs, they require a person to have an SA ID & citizenship, else Critical Skills & PR do not make much of sense. I am not sure how should I go about. Am I doing something wrong.

Need some assistance from the community.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## kingJames (Apr 22, 2018)

It is very hard to get a job offer without a visa. Some tips:

- When applying, make sure you stress the point that you are eligible for a CSV. Employers usually don't entertain foreigners without permits because they know it's nearly impossible for them to get a g*eneral work permit *(because of the company has to prove that they couldn't find any local with the same qualifications, etc...)...but a *critical skills visa *doesn't require employers to do this....however, most employers either don't know or they just don't want the hustle and would rather settle for locals or those with work permits.

- Apply to big companies, especially multinational companies. They are much more likely to give you an offer despite not having a CSV

- If getting an offer proves to be too hard, you can try to apply for the CSV without a job offer. You will get a 12-month visa which you can use to apply for a job. Be warned that if you fail to get a job within those 12 months, you will most likely be rejected when you apply for an extension (because you failed to get a job).


----------



## docsonic007 (May 9, 2018)

Hi King James,

Thanks for your prompt response, I am on critical skills permit and have the necessary approvals from FSCA and have also cleared the RPE exams required to land a job in my field, the companies that I am talking about are the multinational players rejecting profile stating that they need a local candidate. I am not sure if I am need to di something in a different way for me to get a call for interview.

Please advise.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk


----------



## jollem (Nov 9, 2016)

Welcome to the reality of being a foreigner in South Africa (in SA they dont call you an expat, they call you a foreigner or foreign national). 
Indeed most companies prefer to hire citizens because they get rewarded for it by government (BEE). 
But the good news is there are still companies who do not mind employing foreign nationals. So the trick is to apply for lots of positions. By lots I mean over a hundred. You will encounter a lot of rejection but persevere. You will get hired. Just dont loose heart. Remember you just need 1 acceptance. It doesnt matter the number of trials. Some get a job on the 1st trial, some after 10, some after 100 but bottom line is you all got the jobs. so keep on keeping on


----------



## kingJames (Apr 22, 2018)

I agree with Jollem. Job Hunting as a foreigner with no valid work permit in SA is brutal. Send out as *many* applications as possible. Create a daily quota for the number of applications to send per day. Use LinkedIn too. Try to look for recruiters in your industry (via LinkedIn) who can hook you up with jobs. From my own experience, Tech-Companies are much more likely to give job offers to foreigners who qualify for a CSV.


----------

