Hi All
I moved here as a trailing spouse a couple of weeks ago, and at first was given permission from my UK company to continue working for them from home, however it all seems to be very difficult to actually manage to do that, so am wanting to look for permanent employment with a Swiss company, I have been in Telecoms for 13 years, most recently in the VoIP/SIP arena, and have worked in many disciplines from Account management, Wholesale Channel manager, Operations director etc....

does anyone know anyone working for Sunrise, Swisscom or any other VoIP providers who could put in a good word for me and get me in from the inside??

would really appreciate an help that can be found out there amongst my fellow expats!

From what I know sunrise are down sizing at the moment, you might want to include Cablecom in your search.

I got most of my jobs in Switzerland by the tried and tested (but innefficient!) method of applying via the job boards. I got 4 jobs this way, and the other I got by writing directly to the company owner (friend of a friend).

Job boards can work but just remember it is a numbers game. For me, on job boards, the ratio is about 30 to 1, namely, you send 30 CVs, get 1 interview back. This is for the Tech sector so it is a fairly hot sector, but most job postings are stale or they go to recruiters or to some HR who eliminates your CV for some arbitrary reason having nothing to do with you or your qualifications.

The good thing about applying via the job boards is that you can blast away maybe 5 CVs a day and by the end of the week you've sent 25, so statistically you'd be getting about 1 interview a week or so.

Although the ratio when going through your personal network (i.e. get hired via people you know who work at a company you want) is closer to 2:1 or even 1:1, it takes much, much longer to develop that network, and you might not have it readily available here in Switzerland if you come from abroad.

So my point is: don't discount the job boards. If you are in a hot sector and have sought-for qualifications, it can work, but don't get discouraged because a 30:1 ratio or maybe even 100:1 ratio is quite normal with this method...

Funny enough, I applied for a project job that was posted on Adecco's CH website, of course i got the standard refusal email letter from them, 3 days later i got contacted by Ajilon Legal from NY asking if i would be interested in working on the same project, started as a one of the team members (Support),10 days later i were asked by the client (American) to handle project management and if i would accept to have a permanent position with the company in the future, today 1 year later i'm their Swiss office Manager

Job no. 3 - Visulisation
Job no. 5 - Cosmic Law i.e. by doing unpaid work met someone who was able to advise me and recommend me for a suitable paid job

Well, I applied and two days later worked. It was a shocking speed, fun though. Had to find a nanny, took me about 20mins.

I think, target your efforts very specifically. Focus on details. It doesn't matter if you send 100CVs with generic nothing saying blah letters, will get you nowhere. It is better to send well-thought 5, instead of mass of careless things.

Actually through this forum - but it's not what I wanted to do, being domestic. Better than nothing at the time.

I am not completely sure, but I think that maybe it is a good tactic to send a cv directly to a company. Maybe they do not have an opening at that time, but it is possible to call you in the future.

i just want to know
im asian is just graudated from a hotel school
do any one it is possible that i can get a job and also get a working permit from them?
because as my understanding, asian cannot get a job unless they have a working permit.
so does anyone know any company can offer a working visa for asian?
please kindly let me know. thanks

Hi,
Could you please let me know how to find jobs for my wife(non-eu) in IT area? She is having more than 3 years of IT exp. in India?

My first job after University was for the US branch of a European multinational company. They asked me to write a paper about some of their products for internal publication. My boss liked it and asked me to submit it to trade magazines to see if they would publish it. One did. Turns out the products I wrote about were developed by their Swiss branch. One thing led to another and I was offered a job and a one-way ticket to Zurich. That was 24 years and 8 jobs ago, and I am still here.

I was on a carribean beach when the headhunter contacted me...she convinced me that I need to start working again....and she made me an offer I couldn't refuse

Had a 30 min telephone interview and 30 minutes later I got the Job.

Try www.hays.ch

They are very professional and helpful.

After I finished school, I came here for three months to do a prakticum at a Swiss company (organized by a former professor).

The company then spent the next three years trying to get me to come to CH and work full time for them, which I then did (after a year to arrange things on both ends. After four years, a co-worker mentioned that if I was interested in a change, a company in Lugano would like to talk to me. Been here ever since (21 years Lugano).

Tom

Thanks for all the tips guys! I'm moving to Zurich in a couple of weeks and have been worrying about how job hunting is going to be like. I was fortunate enough to get a job straight out of uni (albeit, after lots of rejections...).
So the idea of being unemployed for the first time ever AND struggling to find a job in a foreign country is daunting.

Saying that, Lausannebrit's post is somewhat encouraging!

Hi guys! im planning to move to Switzerland in august of this year, you know if there are jobs for an IT Tester? (im actually an automation tester...)(I did the ISTQB, and im planning to do the advance one also...)...

I speak Inglish, spanish, a little bit of french and italian... im planning to do some intensive German clases...

Thanks!!!
(I also have Geman Citizenship, just in case...)

I applied to Pagepersonnel while I was in London and got the interview in Zug after 3 weeks (and got the job)

There are some jobs, especially for automation engineers, but it's much tougher than last year.
Advanced ISTQB doesn't make much sense in my opinion (unless you want to be a test manager) - companies usually are interested in the foundation level, advanced may be an advantage but not a big one.
Good luck with finding a nice job!

a French colleague of mine applied directly to my company (he was living in Luxembourg), came 1 day for the interview and got the job in 2 weeks

Hey Thanks! yeah, i mean nowadays im happy doing whatever the company needs, in terms of testing, off course =D... When i go, im going to have 2 years of experience in the testing field... which is the average salary for a tester? =P

Thanks Vero too! you came from italy too? =D the mediterranean sea should be beautiful!!!

Salary depends on the company hiring you and the business area. Contractors for banks get more, permanent testers for small companies - much less. Not a very usefull answer, I know...
There were some websites that would tell you all the statistics on salary in specific industry posted on the forum - if you search, you should be able to find some clue.