Every recruitment notice has a table of important dates near the top. Candidates glance at the last date and move on, and then miss something else in the same table.
The dates you will find
Opening and closing dates for applications, the last date for fee payment, the correction window, the tentative exam date, and sometimes the date for the admit card. Each is a separate deadline.
The fee date is not always the closing date
Online fee payment often closes on the same day as applications, but payment by bank challan may close earlier or later. An application without a fee in time is treated as incomplete.
Tentative means tentative
Exam dates in the first notice are provisional. The confirmed date arrives with a later notice or with the city intimation slip.
Cut-off dates for eligibility
The date for calculating age and the date by which you must hold the qualification are usually in the eligibility section, not in the dates table. Find both and write them down.
A simple habit
Copy every date from the notice into one list on the day you apply, and set a reminder two days before each.
Dates for current openings are summarised under latest government jobs, each with a link to the official notice.