Hi all,

I would appreciate any referrals of solid recruiters in Zug/Zurich are and any tips that would serve helpful in securing employment at the management level. I am not bilingual unfortunately so I know the search will be a little harder ; any tips would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Ladydiva,

You mention management level but not the industry. A lot of boutique agencies specialise in dedicated sectors. Maybe some more info?

Oh, and welcome to the Forum

I would also appreciate any tips on finding a recruiter! I am looking for a research position in the biotech industry. Thanks for any help.

[Swiss Job market] English-Speaking Companies

There is always that thread.
Needs a bit of tidy up, but there is a lot of helpful stuff there.

Have sent you both a PM re a good recruiter. Hope this will encourage you both to contribute to the forum more; how about starting off with a proper intro in the Introductions section.

I look forward to being taken out to dinner when you find jobs.

Good Luck!

HashBrown: could you pls pass the details my way as well?

Many thanks!

What type of position are you looking for?

Thanks for the help! I'll go formally introduce myself now. I've been reading a lot of things on this forum and it is a great resource. Once I know more about living/working/playing in Zurich, I will be able to contribute!

Sent you a PM. Am seeking a position in Finance / Accounting. Your insight would be appreciated.

I can promise not only dinner but also drinks after dinner!!!!!

Could you kindly send me this information too?

I am looking for job anywhere in CH in banking-asset management.

cheers!!!!!

Please PM me the recruiter as well - I'm looking for anything anywhere in Switzerland that is in the Telecoms arena (just not sales please) - support/install/design/administration/team mgmt/project mgmt/etc would be good for me...

Sorry, I can't respond to a constant stream of PMs asking me for info. I'll ask the recruiting agency if it's okay to post their name here.

I can't bombard my personal contact with individuals, so I think it best just to mention the agency, which has also been mentioned in many other threads.

Stamford Consultants

They are very helpful, and even have a listing of open positions they are recruiting for on their webpage.

Good Luck everyone.

RivellaFan, you'll get nowhere in the current job market if you groan people who are trying to help within their means. I was about to reply to the PMs still left in my inbox. Guess who's not getting a reply.

I have found the best way to find a job here in the Zurich area is to do it yourself (apply directly). In my experience, these agencies (for the most part-- cannot vouch for all) have been surprisingly useless and are not very proactive. I had to constantly chase after them to see if they were finding any good leads for me.

A lot of employers in this economy no longer want to pay a middle man. It seems it is an expense they are cutting out of their recruitment budgets.

hello mamazurich

ok lets say that i have the list of all banks and asset management companies in the country. what do you suggest to do next? just send my CV to the HR dept? they will just delete it.... if they dont have an opening will they bother answer or create one for me simply because my profile is a good one for their operation?

i am looking for ideas or suggestions...... really struggling to find a job in Switzerland and i have copntacted about 20 different agents.... they all say blah balh blah your CV is good but nothing at the moment we will keep u in mind..... yeah right.... i need to keep on calling them every 2-3 months asking if there is smtg new.....

i am desperate!!!!!! any ideas?

I was out of work for 3 years (In cantons VD, GE, BE, FR) and I never gave up trying to find any job! In between I worked at an art exhibition, at a home for alcoholics, and as a guard at the US Embassy. I can work in 3 languages, I have good references in E/D/F, and I wrote my first computer programme in 1966, in Algol. The first computer I repaired had transistors, ICs hadn't been invented! Every interview I had with an agent ended very positively, but never an offer. I finally acheived a job with Swisscom IT Services in Bern after being referred by a mutual friend, I worked 11 months past my retirement age. My crime was to have been born too early. And that is how short sighted the Swiss HR people are!

During my unemployment I learnt that 30% of jobs are advertised internally, 30% are advertised externally and 30% go by word of mouth.
You need to widen your search, and maybe not rely on the recruiters too much. Look at www.jobs.ch every day, they have the biggest selection, just about every job vacancy I ever saw was on there.

Agencies aren't magic. Finding the right job takes time and patience. If companies aren't hiring, they're not going to change their minds just because you're available. This balance plays out both ways -- sometimes lesser candidates get great positions because they're the best candidates on the market at a given time; other times, great candidates have to settle for poorer positions (or no work at all) because companies don't have relevant vacancies.

You need to learn to live with the ebb-and-flow of supply and demand.

Most importantly, you need to be an active part of your job search. If you're interested in working for a bank, visit their jobs sites regularly. When, and only when, a relevant position comes up, apply for it. Sending untargetted applications, to companies or agencies, is a fast track to the wastebin.

As others have pointed out, www.jobs.ch is the best website to check for positions in Switzerland, especially English-speaking ones.

thanks Ittigen for your encouraging words.....

well..... I have enabled the automatic emails in jobs.ch, i have done the same with efinancialcareers and a couple more sites.....

after 2 years of intensive searching the ONLY interview i managed to have was when i found a job vacancy on the website of a company that they decided not to use agents for finding people..... what does this mean???? to me many things....... agents for whatever reason do not work for me..... i will not go down the route to explain why or to try to understand.....

anyway that interview went well and have to wait the results but because i want more opportunities and because it is VERY important for me to move from where i am now to Switzerland, i have to keep on searching and try to find new methods.....

I believe you have to look at things in life with a large piece of scepticism, and if people are promising a wonderful future for you, then they are probably making money out of your situation.

Many companies do not use agencies. They prefer to do it themselves and keep the control with flexibility. Others use the agencies because they don't want to be seen as always looking for people, and are not prepared to put in the extra work.