An old story I know - I have just moved Zurich with my partner and am wondering if anyone has any success stories on actually finding a job here .

I'm an Oxford graduate (2008),with marketing experience in UK and Dubai.... will any of this be useful in finding something here?

Where to start? Does anyone know any recruitment agencies?

Huge thanks in advance.

Daniel

Yes, my wife found herself a job, she just looked up all the local companies in her field and emailed \ sent them her CV, 2 responded straight away and she was offered jobs at both. It helped that she can speak german fairly well.

I found a decent job after moving here with my husband in April. It took me a few months. I had to switch my UK CV over to the Swiss style with a photo etc before I saw any interest at all. I think you will need to be persistent but there is hope! I did a whole series of job searches every day on monster.ch and jobsinzurich.com etc and trawled the internet looking for UK/US companies based nearby. I wrote dozens of applications and sent my CV on an unsolicited basis to countless companies. I didn't have any luck with any job agencies. They didn't seem interested at all.

It's worth checking the recuitment webpages of any company you might be interested in working for. They don't always advertise externally. Also, just because a job isn't advertised in English, don't necessarily discount it... mine was advertised in German but I phoned the HR guy and asked if they'd consider an English-speaker with just basic German knowledge and that turned out to be no problem. Good luck - hope you find something!

Yes, moved because of the boyfriend, but I got the job first while still living and working in the old country and only then packed the suitcases. First CV I sent was successful - sent it directly to the company, they asked me to fly over for a couple of interviews and made me an offer I would have taken even without the boyfriend here So yes it can happen.

Yes, My Brazilian husband got a job after job hunting for 10 months. He first took an intensive French class (4 hours a day). He changed his CV.

He made contacts with the recruiting agencies like Michael Page. He also went networking crazy and searched for alumni, brazilian, whatever netowrking group he could contact...

He ended up getting 2 job offers in the same week.

Not to rain on this parade, but for every four members who struck gold, I'd guess there are many who didn't, at least for a long while. Don't despair. Browse some of the many Job related threads for inspiration and tips. Good luck.

Hello, the first 3-4 weeks for me in Switzerland were probably the lowest I have experienced. I felt completely worthless, I hung up a couple of times when ringing agencies when confronted by the swiss german, at the time I had no german to speak of.
I finally got some joy through adecco at the airport as English is the language of aviation so perhaps you could look to apply to some airlines if you don't have german in your quiver.
I have a great job now and I am happy to be here but I certainly sympathise with anybody looking for work here, it is not easy at the best of times so I can imagine it is extremely difficult in the current economic climate.
good luck in finding something, perseverence is definately the key

You need to do all the things mentioned by people above and be really really patient, you will find something, but it'll probably longer than you'd like.

In 2004, it took me a month to find a 3mth temporary contract. It wasn't a great job but I took the contract anyway, just to be working and 'normal' again. Turned out it was awful and I quit after two months. I then spent another month looking before I found the job that I still have today.

Good luck!!!

My wife made an excellent career after moving here... looking back moving to Switzerland was a difficult decision back then, but paid off well. I believe this is to some extent simple the "jump into the cold water" effect: Now you do have to search and put more energy into your career than you might have done at home. While it looks like a lot of fruitless work (I wrote far too many applications already in my life), this work might pay off in the end.

Can i ask, for those people who did find work, what industries do you work in?

The reason is because, i too followed my partner to Switzerland (from the UK), leaving behind a good career with good job prospects in psychology.

I have been job hunting almost full time in Switzerland since we arrived at the end of February (nearly 8 months) and so far have had absolutely no success. I have had a few bites but when employees have heard that I do not speak fluent French, they kindly decline my application.

I have found the entire process of job hunting in Switzerland really soul destroying.

I have since made the decision to spend 3-6 months improving my French on a full-time basis, and then try job hunting again in the new year.

But as I asked at the beginning of my post, I wonder if it's simply easier to get work in certain industries and with less than perfect language skills? Or am I just looking for excuses for why I am yet to find work?

Any ideas?

In any industry, the "people jobs" - sales, answering the telephone, anything where you interact with customers - are much more likely to require fluent German/French.

Unfortunately, I can't really think of any non-people jobs in psychology. Think improving your French may be the only way forward.

A friend's wife got a job doing 3D CAD design, with only bare minumum French and a solid grasp of English (English is her second language). There seems to be quite a lot of work in the watch industry for English speakers. Odd that there seems to be no EFrs in that sector? I know quite a few folks from the U.K., Ireland, and Scandanavia in watchmaking and they usually show up with about 5 words of French and have no problems.

The whole IT and banking side of things I haven't a clue. Most any profession that deals with health seems to be tricky at best, often requiring quite a bit of re-schooling here.

for us it also worked out...scarely enough - i really thought i would have the opportunity to try and be a stay at home mom, but we even found a place for childcare etc.
work for an international so english is the language - no problem there - doing almost exactly the same thing i used to do...so i'm really happy...and lucky!!! i realise how 'exceptional' this is though, more and more - we're the only ones in our circle of friends where both work...some tried but gave up eventually - mostly due to language issues...and difficulties with childcare!
landed in feb 08, interview in april, started in june, was to be retrenched in dec 09 but found an alternative and moved in oct. (i think the current economic climate does make a difference, while searching from june 09 i felt there were less opportunities and also more sceptical responses...)
good luck with your search!

MathNut, you are quite right, there are few (if any) jobs in psychology in which you do not need an excellent grasp of both verbal and written language. So as you suggest, this is why I've come to the realisation that I simply must improve my French....and as quickly as possible!

Well, I searched for a year before finding something, but then I only wanted to work part-time, in English, and in the education/training sector. I eventually did find some sessional lecturing, which I did for six months.

But, just today I received a letter giving me permission to be self-employed as a music teacher. It took a million phone calls and wading through much bureaucracy as I am non-EU, but I got there. So now I will start my own business.

I know this isn't necessarily an option for everyone, but, given how difficult it is to find work at the moment, it is, at least, an option!

Kate

I've met a couple of psychologists who were native English speakers and who seemed to do quite a bit of business just in that language. There is certainly a 'customer base' who would likely prefer that care from a native speaker.

I think it would take a very long time to become fluent enough to catch the nuance needed as a psychologist.

To the original poster- with an Oxford degree and what sounds like some international experience already under your belt it sounds to me like your prospects are good. Wish I could offer some actual advice.

presently finding a new job in this econmic climate is quite difficult. one of the main factors is simply that there are many well qualified people looking for the few positions that are available. this said, it really means that your documents (CV, Cover letter) have to be better than the rest. i have been giving courses to the unemployed (in french and english) for almost 5 years and have worked with over one thousand candidates. only the demotivated have not been successful. what many do not realise it that you not only need to "know" your CV, you have to "be" your cv. and that is a process which requires more than just "formatting" the presentation style of the document. selling your car or apartment is something most people can do. marketing themselves is quite similar, but most people are unable to consider themselves as a product to be sold. sad, but true. that is what the cv is all about. if i can be of any help, just get in touch with me with a private e-mail on this site. best of luck,
roger

I would suggest actually to try with the HR departments of some of the English-speaking companies located here. It may not be exactly what you want or what you were trained for but I'd think psychology comes largely into play with some things that (particularly) some of the large HR departments may have to handle.

A very good suggestion Peg. Can i ask, what would you suggest is the best way to approach HR departments? Ie. letter, email, phone call?

I am definitely not 'precious' about working in psychology per se and I am more than happy to transfer my skills to other positions. My problem, so to speak, is that my experience is primarily in the area of forensic psychology which seems to have limited my employer base even further. In addition, it is not always easy to get employers to see how my skills can transfer to a non-forensic setting.

But I am definitely willing to try your suggestion!

true, it is not easy for employers to try and find how your skill set tranfers etc. but that is your job. and part of the whole re-thinking of your cv. to show what skills you have rather than where you have worked and what job you have done. just thinking out of the box, insurance companies may be interested having " forensic psychologist" skills in their insurance claims department, for example.