How to Read a Government Job Advertisement in Pakistan

Each post is listed with its title, its pay scale (for example BPS-11 or BPS-17) and the number of posts. One advertisement often carries many posts, and each can have its own qualification, age limit and domicile condition - read the row for your post, not the advertisement in general.

The number of posts is often split into quotas - open merit, women, minorities, persons with disabilities - and sometimes by district, division or zone. A quota decides which seats you compete for, so it matters as much as the qualification.

• Qualification and field. You must hold the stated qualification on or before the closing date. At PPSC, a candidate whose result has not been officially declared by the closing date is not considered, and a higher qualification does not make up for a missing essential one.
• Experience. Only the experience the advertisement describes counts. At PPSC, internships, training and part-time work are not counted unless the advertisement says so, and experience must be supported by an order or certificate from the appointing authority.
• Age. Your age is worked out on the closing date, not on the day you apply. See the guide on age limits.
• Domicile. Many posts are open only to candidates domiciled in a particular province, division or district. See the guide on domicile.
• Gender. Some posts are for women or men only; the advertisement says so.

The advertisement names the method - an online portal, a testing service's form, or an application by post - and the address to use. Use the address printed in the advertisement itself. Most official websites end in gov.pk, but Punjab uses gop.pk, public universities edu.pk, and testing services such as NTS and ETEA have their own addresses.

Do not wait for the last day. FPSC advises candidates to apply online soon after the advertisement appears rather than waiting for the closing date, and portals are at their slowest in the final days.

PPSC lists the usual grounds for rejecting an application. They are worth reading before you apply, because each one is avoidable:

• the fee was not paid on or before the closing date;
• the candidate is under or over the age limit, or has no proof of age;
• the candidate does not hold the advertised domicile;
• there is no proof of the qualification, or it is not the relevant one;
• the required experience is short, not relevant, or not proved;
• a serving government employee's departmental permission was refused.

1. Find the row for your post and note its scale, number of seats and quota.
2. Check your qualification and field against it, and that your result was declared before the closing date.
3. Work out your age on the closing date.
4. Check the domicile condition against your domicile certificate.
5. Collect proof of everything: certificates, experience letters, domicile, CNIC.
6. Open the official address printed in the advertisement and apply there, in good time.

Rules differ between commissions, departments and testing services, and they are revised. The advertisement for the post and the instructions of the body running the recruitment are always final - where they and this guide differ, follow them.