Things to consider when analysing the position include the following:

• What is the overall role of this job within the department and within the organisation?
• What skills are listed as necessary for the job? These could be generic or general skills such as communication or teamwork skills or they could be skills related to a particular professional area, such as taxation planning or writing press releases.
• What other skills do you think are important for the job, but are not listed?
• What experience is listed as necessary for the job?
• What other experience do you have that could be useful for the job, but is not listed.
• What educational qualifications are listed as necessary for the job?
• What other educational qualifications could be useful? Why?
• What on the job or off the job training have you done that is relevant to the job?
• What other self directed or self managed learning have you done that has developed skills and knowledge relevant to the job?
• What personal qualities are listed as necessary for the job?
• What other personal qualities, that are not listed, do you think are important for the job? Think about the context of the job and the organisation and what the important needs and drivers are, both now and for the future. This will help you read between the lines to discover other important skills and qualities the organisation needs.
• It is a good idea to highlight the closing date and the contact person's details as this is usually where you send your application and you can also contact this person to find out more information before writing your application. Whilst the information is fresh in your mind, note the reasons you want this job and why you think you would be good at it. This information will be helpful later when you are writing your cover letter and your career objective in the resume.

Deeper Analysis Of The Role
To answer the next questions well, besides reading the advertisement for the job, it will be important to research the company, the department and the role so that you have a very good idea of what is involved in that job type. You can also analyse:

• What kinds of results or outcomes is this position expected to achieve?
• What kinds of opportunities, success and achievements could be available in this job for someone who had initiative, drive and capability? What skills and personal qualities would make it easier to realise these opportunities? (Thinking about these questions is important as they will help you to think like the employer and will help guide the skills, knowledge and accomplishments that you highlight in your resume and letter.
• What kinds of challenges, barriers, difficulties and problems are likely to emerge and face the person doing this job? What skills and personal qualities would make it easier to face these challenges successfully? (It is important to have a good understanding of the nature of the challenges and difficulties involved in a role as particular skills and knowledge and personal qualities will be important for meeting and overcoming these challenges. If you know what these are, you can take the opportunity to highlight your abilities in these areas in your resume and therefore reinforce your suitability for the role.)

Analysing Unadvertised Jobs
For jobs that have not been advertised the process of analysis is very similar to that of the above, there is just a little more work involved. You will need to research what is involved in the type of job you are interested in and then find suitable employers who may have this type of work available.

Some suggestions for researching a job where there is no job advertised:

• Look at 20 –30 similar jobs that are advertised in the press, online or in industry journals.
• Look at the position descriptions (also called duty statements and job descriptions) for other similar jobs. You can find these by:
  • Requesting information packs on similar jobs that are advertised and reading the position descriptions.
  • Requesting a position description from the HR Office for other advertised jobs.
• Go to the positions vacant section of government departments and large organisations and look for position descriptions of similar jobs.
• Visit the web site of related Professional Associations. They often have information on careers in their field, they also may have publications, or may recommend publications, that contain details of what is involved in professional roles.
• Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABs) also have very detailed information on competencies required for the various levels of jobs in a professional area.
• Visit the Sydney Job Network Access and Information Centre (10 Parker St, Sydney NSW 2000 Ph: (02) 9209 1650). It has folders of information, clippings, videos and other resources on thousands of different jobs.
• Look up short job descriptions in myFuture's occupations database. For each occupation you can examine the set of duties and tasks that the occupation involves.
• Visit the UK prospects web site for detailed descriptions for many jobs and careers, particularly relevant for university graduates

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