Read a posting and decide if you can apply

A job posting tells you what the employer says the work is, what they want, and how they want you to apply. Before you write anything, read it the way you would read a form: slowly, and more than once.

Look for at least these parts:

• the job title and the employer name
• the place and the hours or shifts
• the duties (what you would actually do)
• the qualifications or required skills
• assets or “nice to have” items, which are not always required
• how to apply (email, website form, or in person) and what to attach
• the closing date, if there is one
• any notes about pay, which are information — not a promise and not legal advice

Job Bank’s application page says that before you send a resume you should research the company or the job: what the organization does, the duties, the qualifications and skills required, who the customers are, and what reputation the employer has. That research helps you write a resume and letter and prepare for an interview. Use the posting itself, the organization’s website if it has one, and (if it feels safe) people who already work in that kind of place.

Our practice file is a fictional Weekend Attendant role at Sampletown Community Centre. It is marked sample only. It is not a real job and not permission to contact a real town office.

Hold the posting beside the notes you made in Lesson 1. Can you work those hours? Can you get to that place? Are the duties something you can do safely, or learn with the training they offer?

Then compare the required skills with work, volunteering, or daily responsibilities you can honestly describe. Greeting visitors at a front desk is not the same as managing a budget, but it may match a volunteer shift where you welcomed people at a rink. Alis’s work-search basics page (opened 10 November 2026) says that if you think you have the skills to do a job but you do not have all the qualifications, you should not automatically give up. There are ways to format an application so employers can see your abilities. That is not a promise they will overlook a required licence or a legal requirement. It means “missing one asset” is not always the end of the story.

Required items and “assets” are different. A posting that says first aid is an asset is inviting you to mention it if you have it; it is not always a reason to skip the job if you do not. A posting that says you must have a valid class of driver’s licence is a harder line. When you are not sure, ask a tutor or Alberta Supports rather than guessing.

Write a short match list: three things you can show, and anything you cannot. That list will feed the resume (Lesson 5) and the cover email (Lesson 6).

A careful decision has three common endings:

• Apply after you tailor a resume and, if they ask, a short letter — because the hours fit and you can show most of the required skills.
• Tailor first, then apply — you need a day to gather examples and keywords from the posting (Lessons 4–6).
• Wait or skip — the hours, place, or a hard requirement do not fit, or the posting feels unsafe.

Unsafe signs include a request for a banking password, a fee to “guarantee” a job, or pressure to hide the conversation. Stop and ask council staff. This course will return to careful online applying in Lesson 7. It will not teach you to ignore a scam because you want the work.

Follow the how-to-apply line exactly. If they ask for a resume by email, do not show up unannounced instead. If they ask for a form, fill the form. Alis says to follow the employer’s instructions and preferred format.

1. Open the Sampletown Weekend Attendant file.
2. Mark the title, hours, duties, required skills, assets, how to apply, and closing date.
3. Write three matches you could honestly show, and anything you cannot.
4. Decide: apply after tailoring, or skip, and write why on your master list.
5. Do not send anything to a real employer using this sample.

How do you tell a “nice to have” line from a hard requirement? Who could you ask if the wording is unclear?