ZanAjira interviews in Zanzibar: written, oral and practical stages

Where the call appears

Calls to interview are published on the Commission's website, zanajira.go.tz, as a notice called Tangazo la wito wa usaili. Each notice names the employer and the post, then gives the date, time and venue and a table of shortlisted candidates with full name, sex and ZanID number. Search the PDF for your ZanID rather than your name, because names are spelled in many ways.

The Commission's email is the other channel: the ZanAjira manual says most communication goes to the address you registered with. Check the website and your inbox, including spam, every day after a deadline.

Read the time in Swahili

Calls give the time on the Swahili clock. Saa 2:00 asubuhi means 8:00 in the morning, saa 3:00 asubuhi means 9:00. A candidate who reads saa 2:00 as 2 o'clock arrives six hours late. The venue can be a school, a college or the employer's office. On 28 July 2026, for example, candidates for Assistant Records Officer Grade III posts at the Zanzibar Public Service Commission were called to a written paper on Saturday 1 August at saa 2:00 asubuhi at Mwanakwerekwe B School.

Schedules change. In August 2026 the Commission published a notice moving interviews for several posts that had been planned for 26 August, so check the website again the evening before.

The written stage narrows the list

For most posts the first stage is a written interview, usaili wa maandishi. It is a screening stage. In the Records Officer example, more than 100 names were called to the written paper on 1 August. The call to the oral interview, published the same day, listed 15 of them for the next morning.

Prepare from the advert itself. The duties and qualifications in the advert tell you which subject knowledge the paper will test, and the post title tells you the level. Revise the core of your diploma or degree, and practise writing short, clear answers by hand.

Oral and practical stages

Candidates who pass the written paper are called to an oral interview, usaili wa ana kwa ana. For technical posts the Commission adds a practical test, usaili wa vitendo. On 15 September 2026 it called candidates for System Developer posts at the Zanzibar Examinations Council to an oral and practical interview at the Karume Institute of Science and Technology in Mbweni.

For the oral stage, prepare to explain your studies, your field attachment and what you would do in the first months of the job. Common interview questions and how to answer them. For a practical test, expect a task linked to the duties listed in the advert.

What to bring to every stage

Every call we read gives the same list, and it applies to the written, oral and practical stages:

• your original certificates of completed studies;
• your transcripts;
• your birth certificate;
• your Zanzibar resident ID card (kitambulisho cha Mzanzibari Mkaazi).

Bring originals, not only copies. If a certificate is lost, deal with it before the interview: the ZanAjira profile has a section for lost CSE and ACSE certificates.

Results and the call to work

Results are published on the same website as Matokeo ya usaili, and successful candidates are named in a call to work, Tangazo la kuitwa kazini. My applications in the portal shows the status of each application. The website also carries interview calls and results for Union posts marked SMT, recruited by the national Public Service Recruitment Secretariat, so check which recruiter a notice comes from.

Nobody can sell you a place

The Commission has warned that fraudsters phone applicants, claim they have been selected and ask for money. Its notice says no government job is given in exchange for money. Report such calls to ZAECA on 113 or 0774 824242, and confirm any message about your interview against the notice on zanajira.go.tz.

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