Hello,

I am an MBA in HR, with 1.5 years of HR experience(7 months in Geneva). Unable to find an HR job that really matches with my job interests here in Switzerland, I plan to take up a PHR or SAP HR certfication.

Can anyone please suggest if this would be helpful to give proper direction to my career in Switzerland? If yes, also please suggest if you know any classroom trainings available in Vaud area, as I could only find e-learning courses on the web.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Swati

You have an MBA in HR and you want us to give you career advice ?

I did not know that there was an MBA in HR but that sounds great. I am working in HR but doing and MBA in Business Administration, as it is extremely important for HR to understand the business drivers and thereby the deliverables for HR. I think you should ask yourself what area of HR you would like to work in; Processes, Learning & Development, Administration & Payroll, Compensation & Benefits etc.

If you are interested (as you mention) in SAP then Administration & Payroll is maybe the right area for you? and then start the training and look for jobs within this area.

I am not sure what level of HR jobs you are looking or applying for but with your limited practical experiense I would look for a HR Consultant job or HR Business Partner job.

Good luck with the job hunt

Hello Upthehatters2008,

Ofcourse, if this forum is meant for guidance, then why not? Its been 2 years in Swiss, and If i feel I want to know more about my career possibilities in this country, I would really appreciate a sensible advice. No harm!

Best to you.

Bit speedy there. Usually you have to wait a few weeks for a reply from HR...

Sorry OP . Hello and welcome to the Forum.

Thanks QODK. I am looking for an HR Specialist role, but like you said, there are not many people in Swiss with an MBA in HR degree, that makes finding the right job here a little difficult for me. So, I wish to upgrade my knowledge meanwhile. SAP sounded like a great certification but I am not exactly sure which module will work the best for Swiss job demands.

I appreciate your quick reply, thanks again!

Welcome to the forum, swati.

Just a little detail: it's called Switzerland, and we have a lot of nitpickers in here (including me) that go crazy on that. Using the proper terms will help you in your life in the English Forum as will probably help you in your HR career.

Cheers

What ARE your job interests?

most companies will not care that you have an MBA in HR or find value in a further qualification at this stage. With only 1.5 years experience, you need more time hands-on working.

In fact, in HR, the hands-on time is worth far more than qualifications...it's only when dealing with real situations that you learn the joys of HR.

SAP qualification would only help you if you intend to specialise in system implementation / maintenance...i.e. be a techie. Most HR people need to know what to use SAP for, and communicate that to their technical people, not program/spec it themselves

Finally, I note from your profile that you are Indian. If employers need to sponsor you here in Switzerland, then it will be very difficult to find a new position other than with your existing employer - it would be nearly impossible to convince the authorities that no Swiss citizen or EU citizen (sorry, EU's get preference over non-EU's) can be found to do a role that can be done with 1.5 years HR experience.

If you don't need sponsorship to get the working visa, then you need to state that clearly in your CV.

Is your foreign MBA actually recognised in Switzerland?

Hi Heckenhocker,

Thanks for your response. My first preference is always to work in the HR Domain, but unfortunately there are not many HR Job openings at the moment that match my requirements and therefore I was looking for a knowledge upgrade, not willing to waste time. Meanwhile, I'll keep my job search on. Your opinion on SAP sounds logical to me, probably 3 years down the line I'll plan that. For now, if you have any suggestions (job ideas/courses), they are most welcome.

I am a B permit holder, so that takes care of my working eligibilty in Switzerland.

Hi OP, I wish you good luck with your inquiry.

However, what are you really looking for? In my experience there are broadly three main types of non management HR job:

1. Admin (payroll, holidays etc)
2. Training and development
3. Recruitment

Wow. Doing a Masters of Business Administration in Business Administration.

Not necessarily - not if it's tied to your current employer.

I disagree, slightly. While certification would probably be overkill, getting yourself on the appropriate end-users courses may make you slightly more attractive to prospective employers. The HR module is rather different from Logistic or Finance modules, in that there is a much closer link between the end-user concepts and the system in many areas. To use the system effectively you may need to understand the data model.

I'm married to a Switerland Citizen, that allows me to hold a valid B permit. Thanks for your concern though.

Does that mean you are still considered non-EU or does it put you on a level playing field with them?

Language tip

Swiss/Indian/French/... when talking about the people.
Switzerland/India/France/... when talking about the country.

So you're married to a Swiss citizen. You've been in Switzerland for two years.

I work in HR, well used to before moving to CH, and even this made me giggle. Thank you

Or a citizen of Switzerland

Swati

Good luck for the start in Switzerland and English forum. I guess you already have got the taste of forum and its sarcasm. I think in last few years it has become an integral part of an expat settling down process in Switzerland. So enjoy it and don't get annoyed, all people here mean good to you. It helps.

Coming to the core topic, as you are married to a Swiss citizen and looking for a long time settlement I would IInd your own idea of getting more technical skills. A typical HR job in German or French region needs a lot of language skills on both German as well as French. So choice is yours, you want to be learn the languages or other option like you said is get a technical skill but related to your profile. I would second your opinion of doing SAP HR.

Usually if you can manage to go to India then you can find a good course for much smaller prices. But still start learning the language as well because most of these software are used in native languages as well.

If you have some tech skills then you can also work in agency as technical recruiter. Best luck

Wow, i find quite surprising that there aren't HR jobs.... Bizarre. Perhaps you are looking for something quite specific? http://www.optioncarriere.ch/offres-...eve-38247.html

There is a Brevet Federal covering HR, but as others have mentioned, many start inHR from other areas. It could be interesting to convert your master in a Swiss credential, it may help employers to understand. They may worry that you are overqualified, and will either leave quickly or be too expensive, hence resulting in a waste of time.

SAP HR would be relevant only if you love the technical work. It is a niche in a company, and even in the larger groups it lands you in a career with a relatively ceiling. Even more relevant, SAP will not just train you... Unless you are hired by a consulting firm or by a company installing! You would need a customer number or vendor number to register in those courses. Of course there are 3rd parties...