TEAM 3THIRTY RESEARCH · 6 OCTOBER 2026
NSW job applications: what 2,698 ads say
Application instructions vary from one job ad to another. Before you reuse a CV or cover letter, check what the role asks you to submit.
We analysed 2,698 job ads listed on iWorkForNSW on 6 October 2026. The wording ranged from specific page limits to a choice between a CV and an online work profile. One ad we checked said a cover letter wasn’t needed.
Research date: 6 October 2026. The figures and downloads below use version 4 of that day’s data.
What the ads mentioned
CV or resume wording appeared in 1,176 of the 2,698 ads (43.59%). Cover letters were mentioned in 601 (22.28%), while 296 (10.97%) used “target” or “targeted” question wording.
These figures count mentions, including optional documents and ads that say a document isn’t required. For an individual role, the ad and its linked application guide set out what you need to send.
| Agency group | Job ads analysed | CV/resume mentions | Cover-letter mentions | Targeted-question mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ads | 2,698 | 1,176 / 2,698 (43.59%) | 601 / 2,698 (22.28%) | 296 / 2,698 (10.97%) |
| Health | 1,854 | 596 / 1,854 (32.15%) | 100 / 1,854 (5.39%) | 85 / 1,854 (4.58%) |
| Education | 187 | 111 / 187 (59.36%) | 72 / 187 (38.50%) | 79 / 187 (42.25%) |
| Other agencies | 657 | 469 / 657 (71.39%) | 429 / 657 (65.30%) | 132 / 657 (20.09%) |
Health accounted for 1,854 ads, Education for 187 and other agencies for 657. That mix matters when reading the totals. Health ads can ask for selection-criteria answers without calling them “targeted questions”, while teaching roles can point applicants to separate guidelines.
In 1,509 ads, we found none of these terms. The application form or linked guidance may still ask for documents and written answers.
Page lengths and questions in the ads
Five pages was the most frequent CV length among the 366 ads where we could link a single number to a CV. The chart below also shows the most frequent figures for cover letters and targeted questions, with a separate total for each.
Each percentage uses only the ads where we identified a number for that item. Table 2 shows how many of the 2,698 ads we couldn’t count this way.
| Component | Most frequent number | Ads / total with a number | Share of that total | Ads we couldn’t count here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV/resume page length | 5 pages | 300 / 366 | 81.97% | 2,332 / 2,698 |
| Cover-letter page length | 2 pages | 219 / 334 | 65.57% | 2,364 / 2,698 |
| Targeted-question word count | 300 words | 69 / 108 | 63.89% | 2,590 / 2,698 |
| Number of targeted questions | 2 prompts | 135 / 145 | 93.10% | 2,553 / 2,698 |
A five-page maximum lets you submit a shorter CV. The page counts here include maximum limits and other stated lengths, so use the wording in your chosen ad to guide your application.
Word limits need a closer look: an allowance can apply to each answer or to the whole response. Check that scope before deciding how much to write.
Four ads, different instructions
These four ads show why checking the role matters. One allowed a resume of up to eight pages; another said a cover letter wasn’t required.
We checked these pages on 6 October 2026. Follow the current ad for closing dates and any changed instructions.
| Job ad and source | Instructions in the ad | Checked closing date |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Director, Community Engagement | Resume maximum eight pages; cover letter maximum two pages. | 8 October 2026 |
| Director, Educational Leadership, Coffs Harbour | Resume maximum five pages; cover letter maximum two pages; one targeted question capped at 650 words. | 11 October 2026 |
| Senior Policy Officer | Resume maximum four pages; cover letter maximum two pages; two prompts and a response capped at 600 words. Per-answer versus combined scope remains unspecified. | 13 October 2026 |
| Registration Officer (Authorised Person), SEO1 | Platform work profile and/or CV; cover letter expressly not required; separate criterion response capped at 300 words per criterion. | 19 October 2026 |
iWorkForNSW also lists some organisations outside government. A fifth ad we checked, for a HammondCare Registrar, describes a not-for-profit organisation affiliated with NSW Health.
How we counted the ads
We used the text of 2,698 different ad records saved at 8:32 pm AEDT on 6 October 2026 (09:32 UTC). Ads marked expired or already closed at that time were excluded. The download completed all pages and contained 2,742 unique records, with no duplicate IDs; 2,698 met those filters.
154 ads had publication dates later than the time we saved them. The study covers the records iWorkForNSW supplied. We therefore can’t assume every record was already live when we saved it.
We counted each item once per ad, even when it was mentioned several times. For lengths and question counts, we kept a number where we could link one value to the item; conflicting or unclear values stayed unknown. This approach can miss fractional page lengths, unnumbered questions or instructions further away from the document’s name.
We didn’t check linked role descriptions, teaching guidelines or application forms across all the ads. Other requests, such as selection-criteria responses, sit outside these counts unless the ad uses one of the terms we searched for.
The groups in Table 1 follow agency labels rather than occupations. This is a dated view of one website’s ads, so it cannot show a trend or demand across the whole NSW job market. One ad can cover several jobs or a talent pool, and the same role can be advertised again under a different ID. We counted those IDs separately; the figures don’t measure people hired.
Checks and limits
An initial review covered 36 ads and three unusual examples. A separate AI review of 48 more ads agreed with 144 checks for mentions and 41 checks for numbers, while finding six numbers the first pass had missed. Those additions are included in version 4.
A fresh AI review of 18 other ads covered 54 decisions about required documents or answers. Six clear requests were still left unclear, with no false “required” decision observed. This small, selected sample cannot establish an accuracy rate for all 2,698 ads.
No human reviewers took part. We haven’t published percentages saying how many jobs require each document. Automated checks confirmed that all 2,698 texts matched the saved source, including the exact passages used for the checks, and that the 63 rows in the download agree with the underlying records. Five employer-page checks support the examples above.
Read the role’s application section and any linked guide before deciding what to send. If the scope of a word limit is unclear, ask the employer for clarification.
Download the data or use it in a story
Download the 63 rows of summary figures and the guide explaining each column. Both files use the same 6 October 2026 data and show which total each percentage uses.
Team 3Thirty (2026), NSW job applications: what 2,698 ads say, data from 6 October 2026, version 4. https://team3thirty.com/iworkfornsw-application-instructions-2026-10-06/
When quoting a figure, include the date and the total it uses. Describe it as a count of mentions or of numbers found in the ads, and link to how we counted them.
Version note: Version 4 includes five counts of two targeted questions and one 300-word value missed in the first pass. The writing on this page was simplified on 6 October 2026; the figures and download files are unchanged.
Questions or corrections: email [email protected] with the date and figure you’re asking about. Factual corrections to this dated research will be recorded here.
About Team 3Thirty: We provide government application support and prepared this research using public job ads.
Related practical guidance: answer the application question you have been asked and write selection-criteria responses.