The “Job Browse” – finding a job in South Africa
The web has brought a lot more joy to aimless job “hunting”…you could call it the “Job Browse”. One has to be a little careful of doing just that though – browsing. I’ve seen some lovely looking jobs online, saved them to my Favourites and then totally forgotten about them. I think it’s because I’m still in migrant recovery state and I’m liking the luxury these pounds have afforded me to do the browsing.
For those wondering if there are indeed jobs in South Africa, look no further. I’ve compiled for you below, a list of my preferred job spots with comments on the browsing experience. As I’m new to this game, I’m sure the list will grow and change organically.
Industry-specific jobs: -
Bizcommunity.com: Jobs in Media / Marketing / Advertising Industry. Easy to find what you’re looking for.
The Skills Portal: Focus on Human Resources, Training/Learning and Development. Informative resource.
Role-specific jobs: –
Compujobs.co.za: Easy-on-the-eyes interface with location/sector/skill level/job type/employer criteria.
Intuitive job-searching all industries and careers: -
Jobspace.co.za: Interesting Blog format with blog search capability, categories and tags.
PNet: Clean site offering jobs by category, recruiter and search. Offers email job alerts.
Careerjunction.co.za: So many jobs! Useful search results for the broader browse.
Less-intuitive job-searching sites: –
Careerjet: Feeds mostly from Gumtree – often with expired links. Search results quite random.
Careers4u: Job type title search best. No job posting dates. Page two results came up with null return.
If you prefer to search by rated employer, here is a link to the Best Employer South Africa Website.
We’ve also put together some live job feeds at 2010 cape town and sorted them by job type in the toolbar.
I hope you find something enticing to match your skills and come to SA soon!
…this is what it looked like from the top….
….beeuuuuuwtiful! Views to Lion’s Head and the Upper Cable Station with a cable car in action!
If you’re seeking activities…
Looking out at that mountain and the beautiful blue sky, I just had to organise a hike up TM tomorrow. Skeleton to Platteklip. Searched Google for “Weather Cape Town” and my first pick was http://www.uncoverthecape.co.za. Great find! I like especially the Cape Town Hikes section. Hike route descriptions are included, with approximate length in hours, photos and a printable map!
The site also gives some useful information about activities in the Cape, as well as the usual accommodation etc. The Events section by month is pretty comprehensive. You can add your own event for free using an online form. Whilst I’m on the mountain tomorrow, I’ll be missing The Three Little Pigs at the Baxter and Bushmans Kloof Gourmet Food & Wine Weekend.
They’ve got a complete Gauteng Guide too, which I know I’ll use when I’m there. Can’t seem to find any RSS Feeds though. We like to add upcoming events to our 2010 Cape Town Music Gigs to help all the tourists and locals (including me!) have a good time.
The “new” shopping hours
It’s taken me a while to remember that people go home here. No more of the 8 – 9 Sainsbury’s or 24 hour Tesco top up your supplies opportunities. Mostly, I leave the grocery shop to the last minute and I’d prefer not to have to trawl through web pages to find opening times, whilst the doors slowly close. If you agree, you can save this page to your “Shopping” favourites and hopefully it’ll get you to the shop on time!
Western Cape popular grocery shop locations, contact details and opening hours:
Pick ‘n Pay: (Opening hours, store locator and contact details)
Woolworths: (Opening hours not provided, contact the store directly for store opening times)
Checkers: (Opening hours, store locator and contact details – click on the store’s map marker for details)
Information about Shopping Centres in and around Cape Town (Provided by SA Venues’ Website)
- Blue Route Mall
- Canal Walk
- Cape Quarter
- Cavendish Square
- Constantia Village
- Gardens Centre
- Longbeach Mall
- The Paddocks
- Somerset Mall
- Tyger Valley Shopping Centre
- V&A Waterfront
- Willowbridge
…
Happy Shopping!
…
Yum – the homecomer’s “local”
Having been there more than thrice, I now like to think of Yum as “my local”. For those returning from London, “Local” perhaps conjures up images of beer-soaked pubs, smoky nights (in the days that this was still possible) and a good draught beer or ale for the more seasoned beer lover. There is some evidence of UK in the manager’s accent, with a generous South African hospitality (I feel very much the prodigal daughter – or sister – whenever I return).
Location: Yum Website. Address: 2 Deerpark Drive, Vredehoek: Cape Town Map
Ambience: Great for fireside cosiness. Separate restaurant for peace from the hub-bub on busy nights.
Seating: ”Romantic” table seating near the windows and walls. Outside seating popular on sunny days.
Menu: The meal portions (including starter) were hearty and tasty. Good Vegetarian options.
Wine list: There is a small selection of wines, albeit very drinkable choices.
Coffee: My table agreed that the coffees (I had a decaf) didn’t taste great. Not the Ultimate Caffeine Kick.
Screen Sports: Major sports events (including football) shown for big matches – visible from the lounge.
Bookings: Our confirmed email booking didn’t filter down to the waitress on the night.
Keeping up to date with affairs back home…
I love the South Africa Info site. It’s a great read, with a really good overview of current affairs in South Africa. It gives a broad insight for the traveller or resident. Whilst pining for our sunny shores, I kept up-to-date on business happenings on their business pages and often referred my foreign friends planning their South African visits to SA Info’s Interactive map. Having recently arrived in South Africa, I realised that SA Info was also writing about South Africans Abroad. A handy way to connect to home and re-ignite that good ol’ homesick feeling!
Coming Home to South Africa
When I resigned from my wonderful job at the Tate Gallery in London, it was with some trepidation because I knew how good I had it, but I had been putting off coming home at each new employment opportunity and every new travel find – too hard to say no! You know what they say about when you want something badly enough – yep, the world conspired to get me here and there’s no looking back!
And it’s so good to be back. There’s a lot to learn – like you pay the bank to take your money, so that they can loan it out to another customer at a prime rate. You can’t just open a bank account with all the frills – you need a job to get the frills. It’s not like London – a train won’t necessarily get you there…
I aim to let you know about my findings and share some of the learning with you – save you a bit of time when you decide to do it!
We’re talking!
We wouldn’t like you to surmise from this blog that our London experience was a wasted one, so we’d like to thank the wonderful “Old Smoke” for her experiences.
She saw us arrive on her well-trodden pavements as penniless graduates with large rucksacks and naiveté to match. Departing her walkways – having shamelessly marketed South Africa’s marvels for 12 years – we’ve hopefully returned more useful human beings!
