After 7 years being in Switzerland, working, moving jobs and applying through internet, i would like to share an advice based on experience.

Whenever you're looking for jobs (mid career / senior / management), it is better to you apply through foreign agencies as they work way much better, faster and have way better experience analyzing resumes....Swiss based recruitment agencies don't really have that much skills nor do any effort to analyse, they just want to see a copy paste of what is in the job posting which normally is very poorly written and many times doesn't even exist ie. I've seen a Swiss agency demanding an obligatory MCP certification which doesn't actually exist as a certificate.

I have had an application sent for the same job via 2 agencies, a very famous one in CH and another in the UK, the CH sent me this automated email saying i do not qualify while the UK one arranged me and interview 2 days later and the client is so interested in hiring me.

In brief, it is way much easier, faster and practical applying for a Swiss job with a foreign agency than Swiss ones (I've always been refused by Swiss agencies and got the same exact jobs through US / UK agencies)

On the other hand, as I understand it, foreign agencies often do not have the correct government approvals to place people in Swiss companies, and the hiring company can get in significant problems for using them. So be sure the company you work with has a good understanding of Swiss legal requirements!

Of course this is have to be cleared before hand that they are legally representing the company they're hiring for.

Just a single bit of info, Jobserve is a very good place to start, just avoid Swiss agencies as possible

That is a very valuable piece of information and I can confirm that I made the same experience in the past years. I know only 1 very capable agency that is Swiss, beside I work with 2 UK agencies. On the other hand, two of the biggest names in the market I would avoid at all costs considering the quality of service.

I think i know one of the 2 you have in mind and yes, they're bloody awful

..and they are?????

This is quite true.. Both jobs I got in CH was via UK recruites.

I think it's not professional to disclose them publicly, one of them is the biggest in IT

Naah... Come on... PM me. The good ones are Westhouse, Oprandi, and couple smaller outfits. Elan, Michael Page and Mercuri Urval will never get my business both as a customer and candidate.

Interesting. I've also had this experience. The jobs I've gotten here were through foreign "conduits." The local recruiters/agencies were not helpful at all. Other expats I know have had similar experiences. So I would definitely agree.

It just makes the job search here all the more frustrating.

I have had job interviews with local recruiters and it was really disappointing to see the level of knowledge they have about what they're recruiting for.....they couldn't tell oranges from apples.....i were even advised to rephrase my c.v to what the job description they wrote included which was totally wrong and would show i'm just an idiot...which i refused.

They were asking for MCSE server 2008 in the JD and i hold 2 MCITP including server 2008 + Win 7 Enterprise + other 3 MCTS and they said it's not what they want.....My answer was, you might wanna consider you won't ever get MCSE Server 2008 cause Microsoft changed it to MCITP

They're just muppets repeating themselves rather than understanding what reality in the field is

So in a nutshell, foreigners get hired by foreign headhunters for (mostly) foreign companies.

Where is Switzerland in all this? I start to understand the motivation of UDC/SVP supporters..

I don't want to really drift with the thread to this direction but in reality if Swiss agencies are doing their job right and are qualified, I wouldn't have advised contacting foreign agencies, lack of professionalism is the issue here not being Swiss or not + this situation even applies on Swiss candidates / companies too not only foreigners

That has also been my experience: lack of professionalism with the local recruiters. The people conducting these interviews were amateurs, asking stupid and irrelevant questions. Several other friends/colleagues here noted the exact same thing. I've worked in three other countries and never saw anything like this.

I was also told to "dumb down" my CV for some silly reasons, and I also refused. It didn't prevent me from getting another job.

Sorry, this is the subject of the thread. Being foreigner myself I'd be careful to make a generalized statement implying that all local recruiters are dumb and useless.

Yeah I can confirm that they tend to ask you to adjust your CV if they see it fit, never happened with a foreign agency though. The only thing I was prepared to add was to deliver some additional information, for example a more detailed project description, as you cant fit everything in one CV after some time. Foreign agencies work faster and seem to be not asleep half of the time, they know what the customer wants and what he doesnt like at all, which is helpful for the candidates as well. Like I said before, I only know one Swiss Agency that is on the same level, and one that used to be, long time wasnt, and is now improving.

.. hilarious, fact- and content-free. Thanks for the groaning anyway (my 1st )

So true for me as well!

And I was wondering what was sooooo wrong with my experience and knowledge to be rejected all the time, where when I was working in OZ and NZ I would get a job within a week.

Thanks so much for the advice
Ivana

Just to give credits, i have been in contact for over a week now with an agent of a Swiss recruiter and i got offered several jobs, she is definitely very professional, handling my file with very good care and have very good communication.....i would definitely recommend her to anyone who's qualified and looking for work in Romandie

Being swiss myself, and seeing what is posted above, I wonder if we're not letting the wrong people into the country. And no, I'm not SVP - UDC.

The amount of swiss citizens with similar concerns is growing.

Again this is not about Swiss people specifically, it is just an analysis of performance in a certain sector and based on experience regardless of the nationality.....and to even confirm it more, most of my Swiss friends agree on the same facts discussed above....so instead of digging heads in the ground and blaming foreigners being wrong you might wanna add a positive feedback to the discussion on how this can be changed or other ways to deal with the problem....cause this way it always ends by bringing more expats from abroad while qualified citizens and local expats are being over looked

And about your concern, i don't think you should have any whatsoever cause we're not here to steal your jobs, lands or women, most foreigners come here based on market demand and to fill gaps that cannot be filled locally which results in enhancing the economy performance and insure businesses performance as required....any expat who's here today won't have an issue moving anywhere else to do the job but do you really want this to happen and understand the effect it will cause on the economy / local industries?