Hi all,Just registered for the forum and would like some info on options for employment in Switzerland.

Firstly I currently reside in Waldshut Germany and have only been here for about a month.I have been travelling for around a year and a half in Australia and Asia.I met my German girlfriend and this is the reason I'm now here in Germany.

My girlfriend is planning on working in Zurich and I would like to try and do the same.What are the options for a non-german speaking person in Switzerland? I have experience in the following areas.Retail,shopfitting,construction,bar/resturant work,call-centre,shipping industry,marine-fishing industry and warehouse/logistics with some managerial experience in retail.

I am also planning to enroll with TEFL as I think this would create more opportunities in employment.But for now I would like to find some unskilled work just to help me settle and to give me time to find out about Zurich and what it has to offer.

Thanks guys

Scotia

first thoughts - there's an airport not far from you. Have you tried approaching them?

he hasn't even arrived,,, you want him to leave already?

Hi Scotia, Good move coming to Zurich!!

Why not check out the various job sites:

http://jobsearch.monster.ch/

http://job.search.ch/index.php?psprachcode=en (they're recruiting for Hooters :-)

There are many call centers in Zurich that would take on English speakers (or have done in the past) : e.g. Sunrise, Verizon, Swisscom.

Thanks Yorkie

what nationallity are you???

I'm British

Just a quick word - I've found it extremely difficult to find work, and I can speak German fairly well.

Deutsche Bahn, according to the Tages Anzeiger, has decided to cut connections between Waldshut and Koblenz (the connection to Baden and Winterthur) by 50%, and trains along the southern Baden-Württemberg line by 33% (runs from Basel-Bad along the Rhine and travels through Schaffhausen). Because DB wanted to initiate these changes in June, which would throw the SBB schedule into disarray, it was later announced that these reductions would be delayed until the coming SBB schedule update in December. The ultimate decision is dependent upon the government of Baden-Württemberg and DB, so beware if you build your schedule around the current connections (if you remain in Waldshut).

I did a TEFL two years ago. It's very difficult to find a job in Switzerland as they all require experience and it's the old problem how do you gain experience if no-one will give you a job. I started teaching privately, but don't you dare take my students away from me as we live so close to each other. You will find that there is a demand for teaching children English so if you do do a TEFL it's worth taking the childrens diploma as well. Good luck!!

Heya there,

Its quite tough to find work in Switzerand, especialy while lookng from outside the country. I just moved to Zurich a few days ago and am hoping (probably completely nievely) that now that I am here it will be easier to find work. It definatly feels more productive being here and able to go in to bussiness and agencies to enquire for work than doing it all from miles away and always being on the internet. What I had to do was save up quite a bit of money before moving in anticiption that it may take a while to find work.

Best of luck to you though,

Sam

Possibly in the hotel industry?

http://www.hoteljob-schweiz.de/

http://www.horesto-jobs.ch/horesto.php

Just a thought, maybe a starting point....

Any company in Switzerland, before hiring a non-Swiss person must demonstrate to the canton that they have made a serious effort to hire a Swiss person (w/in a reasonable amount of time). This includes posting the job adverts in certain newspapers etc. Because of this, for non-skilled non-Swiss people it is very difficult to find a service job, made even more difficult by the lack of german proficiency.

I know of people who don't speak german not being able to find a job in Zurich for over a year.


Not trying to be a Nay-sayer but before you move you should be aware of the difficulties.

EDIT: This is only true for non-Swiss or non-EU.

This doesn't apply if you are an EU citizen, and I gather that our new friend is English. Therefore he can find a job and rock up to the Gemiende and ask for a work permit.

I stand corrected. I missed that portion. Must read entire thread more thoroughly.

It is still bloody hard without german but not impossible, I have known many non german friends to have been lucky enough to find work in their field. Good luck and its definitely worth trying. I tried it once, left the country in frustration but plan on returning as switzerland is an amazing country to be a part of.