Are there differences between South African hiring preferences and overseas?


Yes and no.

CV content and structure is somewhat different to overseas requirements, where we have an emphasis on full disclosure by providing a detailed breakdown of all activities from high school onwards. This is influenced by increasing governance around qualification and experience verification, due to high levels of fraud and misrepresentation. 

South Africa focuses closely on educational achievements, more so than overseas. 

There are increasing demands for intellectually disciplined skills such as critical and analytical thinking, mathematical and numerical ability, conceptualisation, innovation, reasoning and problem solving, 

On the other hand, we are becoming increasingly aligned to international trends, where multinationals demand a broader range of skills from their executive teams. An example would be the increasing demand for softer skills, such as EQ (emotional intelligence and self-awareness), leadership qualities such as strong communication ability, collaboration, ability to influence, strategic thinking and a global markets mind-set.

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