Hi there,

I moved to Basel about 4 months ago and have found it hard to find work with English as the primary language, which I suppose is to be expected. I am studying German at college twice weekly so hopefully it won't be too long before the language barrier can be removed.

My qualifications aren't that academic... I spent 6 years in the British Army as a Military Policeman serving in various places around the world. My strengths are my high levels of acumen and enthusiasm, ability to lead & work within a team and as a consequence of serving Queen and Country, I developed a "Get the job done properly" attitude. I always excelled when working with any kind of electronic equipment, i.e. Computers, Digital Cameras, GSP Systems & Communcations Equipment. I spend alot my free time learning about new software, programs and applications spanning most areas of computing and I am proficiently accurate when working/dealing with numbers.

I do have CV's ready to for any potentially interested employers in both English and Deutsch.

If anyone knows of ANY organisations or recruiment agencies within the Basel area that could lead me in the right direction, please do not hesitate to send me a message.

Jaye

[Swiss Job market] English-Speaking Companies

Guessing you have already tried that thread.
Bare in mind that zurich has more opportunities for English speaking work than Basel, and is only 1 hour away by train.
Have you talked to Swisslinx, adecco, etc?

Thanks for the reply.

I haven't tried that link so thanks! I've emailed adecco but not had a response. I've not heard of swisslinx so i'll be rolling out a CV to them post haste! Any others ???


Thanks again...

hey there
so have you had any joy yet with work yet mr? im in same position you were in, just e mailing my cv off like crazy! want to move over to live with my partner asap , currently having german lessons in loerrach twice a week , but finding it hard!! sure will get there in the end. but first trying to find a job where english is acceptable
cheers
dave

Just like to drop in a few lines...
before seeking employment knowledge of german is very important so you must have some certificate, and secondly you must have a valid working permit before attempting to find a job.
Trust me because I have been emailing like crazy for the past few months and finally now decided to continue my education first...
Though I have working experience for 1 year in admin field i was not able to get a job because of language barrier. My friends informed me that taking a student pass is more safer and after completing studies in swiss its much easier to get a job... anyway good luck to you...cheers

Dave, I'm STILL looking for work! I'm contemplating getting my HGV licence as I know an irish guy who has his own haulage firm, although it's not what i really want to do, it's looking more and more like my only option at the moment! Failing that, I will have to return to England, my work experience is all military... so it'd be great if somebody had a need for a bodyguard, minder or... mercenary !

And thanks Maggie, I am going to an evening class to study, so hopefully, I'll be able to get my head round the language barrier before long. How long did it take you to learn? I got Sky installed and there is NO WAY I'm gonna be watching any German TV, even though I know it would help!

Ok i was taking the migros klubschule intensive course just for a month. I would say it was really helpful they teach you the pronounciation and some important basic form of speech as well. I was doing lots of homework as well and downloaded certain files from the internet to help me up. I am still practising on my own. I am able to converse not very fluently but yeah better than knowing nothing. Yeap your best choice would be joining whatever you get first then slowly after having some knowledge and experience you can look for better ones. Entering a banking sector or hospital based would be much better because you can take paid courses down there which will lead you to a diploma and so on... Anyway good luck...CHEERS

I'd guess at anything banking/financial as being the best career path in a country like Switzerland! I'm thinking of studying for the Certificate in Financial Advising, even though it's a UK qualification, it must be a transferable qualification to some degree, even if I have to re-educate myself to become acquainted with the way Swiss banks go about their business...

I've just this minute sent of yet another copy of my CV, so fingers crossed, mind you, with the amount of "finger crossing" i've done lately plus the cold weather coming in, my fingers stand a healthy chance of becoming permanently crossed... so i'll be avoiding any typist/pianist/hand modelling work, no matter how badly i want some work!

well i would just say its the best idea
yes you have to educate yourself, atleast a diploma then with that you find a work but never let go off your studies till you get masters...
i am actually finding for a college myself, i have completed my higher secondary education from my country... so with that i cant join university here have to pass A levels or get a diploma in some fields of studies like banking and finance and so on... well i have tried some schools out here i swear you the cost are so damn high like nearly 40000 for a year to do A levels... I have never heard of certificate courses down here i am in zuerich well whats that all about and how about the costs??? My friend told me about zhaw college in winterthur but it seems that we have to be a diploma holder or so because you will be working forward either for bachelors or masters in that college but the fee is really low just 600francs per semester and consists of 2 semester per year got it??? so if you do know any colleges or what did you say about the ceartificate course in banking??? whats it all about??? is it in bern???

Now 40000 is alot of money and 600 is so much better!

The certificate course is an english course which enables you to become accredited with the Financial Services Authority. It's an english based thing, but it's a quick qualification and you can learn it from home and even take the final testing in Switzerland (I think in Lausanne).

My idea was to do this course, as it would show I have the aptitude to work within the finance industry and try and get a trainee/junior role within a banking or financial company and build on the knowledge gained by through studying for the certificate. Almost all banking & financal companies will offer in-house training and courses anyway, so as long as you get a foot on the ladder, then your going to get there in the end.

Of course getting a diploma or bachelor's would mean you can join in at a higher position, but sometimes it's quicker and easier to work your way up in a company. I'm going to try and master the language for now and get whatever work I can...

offcourse 600francs per semester thats better isnt it???

so going forward for this certificate i would just say good luck to you

Well in my case yes i am also trying to master the language... well most of my friends down here do master the language so i am clarifying with them now and then... since i completed the beginers course it is really helpful...
i am going to the library to get materials...learning new vocabs now and then and yes listening a lot i think that really helps...

and for a career let me be straight forward just two days earlier i was trying for one with the UBS bank. Everyone were so promising i even spoke with one of the human resource manager but it ended up with nothing! They were telling me about the all rounder praktikum program and finally informed after 2 days that it also requires german because the program is ongoing in 3 diff languages german, french and italian...

i dropped the idea of looking for something which might help in banking sector... finally now im trying in the airport lets see whether that helps...
ok where is this all about the certificate course? how do you get to know it? and how much does it cost??? are you aware that london lambeth college provides adult education if u are 20 and above and you no need academic background??? it caters for school dropouts and students who were unable to continue their education when they were young... gotta study for 1 year and a foundation cert is awarded and with that you can go to any colleges to do a diploma course... it cost about 4000 pounds for foreigners and EU nationalities its free of charge and offcourse its free for you since you are from UK

I've been down to the Bide & Tanner bookshop and got myself a couple of publications to help with my studies of the language and i have an audio cd from the college course i did last year too, so i spend some of my time doing that, rest of the time, i'm looking for work and... sleeping! lol

As i'm ex-military, I get learning credits which i can use for courses. The only stipulation is i pay 20% of the course costs myself and the course has to give me a level 3 NVQ qualification or better, otherwise i won't get any funding. I think the couse will cost me around £100, which is pretty good, and it's a relatively short course, 60 - 70 hours study time and a two hour testing phase. I've to make a few phone calls first and check things out, but as far as i can tell, it should be ok to do sometime this month or next.

I applied for a job as head of security for the all the Novartis sites in Basel, my background is in security and Novartis is a major international company, so i'm hoping they've adopted the international business language (i.e. ENGLISH !!!) and my lack of german won't knock me out of the running for the position! I'm getting a bit disheartened and to be honest, bored of looking for work, so I hope something comes of it, even if it's a lesser role, I'm just dying to get working so I can get some structure back into my life !!!

Hello,
I am also new in Basel. Actually I live in Lorrach near the border, so I can think that I almost live in Basel.
The first think that I tried to do after getting out from the shock or still being in the process of having shock ( I don't mean cultural shock which became a fashionable word nowadays), I tried to start learning German. Whether we want it or not, but if we chose the country to live in, we first of all have to know the language of the country. I don't mention other no less important factors. So, I have been going to the integration courses and I taking private German lessons.
I am not going to speak about the the advantages or disadvantages of both courses, I will just mention:
courses make me speak, no other way to communicate with students but speaking, meanwile private lessons let me deeply go into the language, studying rules, grammar, phonetics, etc.
I understand that language lessons are a matter of money, but believe me, it is better to invest some amount into the language studying then to lose time studying on your own. Studying language is like a building a house.
Step by step, one brick on another, and when all the bricks are laid ...then we can say-OK, now I can master the language myself. Foundation is estableshed, polishing as well decorating we can do without teachers.
If I had much time, probably I wouldn't hurry with courses and lessons. It is easy to learn the language living in the country,...people say that, they must be right, but... I am eager to find myself here, I want to fulfill myself, my potential, that's why my daily time is not enough for me...
I often wondered how the prisoners in romantic novels could learn languages.And now I know the answer! They have all their life at their own disposal just a joke.
I am not a mentor who is teaching you a lesson here, I am just want to give a it.
I have been here 2 months, today is the second month of my moving , it is difficult. In the other life (I call my life before "the other life") I had a lot friends, nice jobs...in the real life I will have to start everything from the beginning.
I tried a lot to find a job for English speakers, because it will take me long time to learn tailoring German, but all my efforts were in vain. Though I think it is a rule of life:nothing is given immediately and easily.
Life has shared its secret with me - if we surrounded with friends we can overcome some problems, such as loneliness, melancholy, homesickness...
In Basel you can find an English theater for amateurs. You can join the theater, become a member( for a membership fee of course), play in the performances, obtain new friends, make your life more interesting...we all need it. I am going to join them. Probably I can find friends.
I couldn't give you advice on finding a job, I am in the same situation as you, I just wanted to share my very little experince with you.
Sorry if I was boring.

Sorry for misprinting. I sent the message without checking and now I can see that some llines are accidentally deleted, and some mistakes...

well i have to say im kind of in the same situation your in j-swiss except im just a high school graduate who has no experiance at all who moved to geneva 2 weeks ago.. the language barrier thing totally kicks in even when you want to do some voluntary work.. not mant english places here to volunteer either even the few places dont actually bother to get back to your E-mails.. the one place i got left is mac donalds.. got the application form from there and the entire thing was in french
I agree with ellina 100% you have to know the language of the country you live in.. so i taught of keeping things aside and start a french course, gona cost a few bucks though but its for a worth full cause i guess...

your little short story waz interesting ellina

Hey Ellina,

Thanks for your response, it definately wasn't boring but more refreshing to hear someone who sounds so passionate and ambitious about life's prospects in Switzerland. Your philosophy and wisdom appears to come from a head that should look alot older than the one in the picture you have displayed... if that is indeed you!

I have tried in ernest to find work as a native english speaker, but like you, my attempts have also been in vain. I'm still writing to many of the major businesses, sending my CV everywhere and anywhere, asking about any available positions I could possibly fill, just to get my foot in the door. It is always easier to find employment when your already in employment, so it's worth trying anything at first, even if it is not within an industry or company you or I wish to seek a long term career within.

As for the language, I was studying last year and completed a basic short course, I find my problem is that due to my lack of employment, I am extremely limited to where I can practice what I already know. I haven't been able to continue with my tuition either, due to being in England so much between December and upcoming March. It simply wasn't feasable to pay for a course I would not be attending on a regular basis, so I resigned myself to watching the German News channels, downloading podcasts and reading the "20 Minute" free newspaper often found on the trams in Basel!

I am in the very same position as you when it comes to "My Other Life", I too had many friends and had a fantastic job within the British Army and life was pretty good, but I decided to come here for a new adventure in life. And again, due to my lack of employment, I know only a handful of people. Your idea about joining the theatre is a good one, but for me, I cannot sing or act, I can dance (mostly like a chicken or a man possessed!) so the theatre is probably not the place for me!

It was great to hear from you and keep me updated with your progress here in Basel!

I recommend you to visit JobsinZurich (www.jobsinzurich.com). The site offers great job opportunites for English speaking professionals in Switzerland together with great features to support job seekers.

If you register, updates are sent to you on a regular basis.
Good Luck

Hey Casper,

I know how you feel man, it ain't easy getting into anything without a strong understanding of the local dialect, regardless of your experiences before you came here. I've decided to join one of the local Schwingen (Swiss style wrestling) clubs, to try and gain a few contacts and potentially open up a few doors. It should also to stave off the boredom of not working and keep me active (until someone breaks my neck!)

I've not been to Geneva yet, but it's on my to-do list of 2008! Heard some interesting things about the place...

i know... wrestling! nice experiance at the military will really kick in there... well as long as there's no john cena's or undertakers in wrestling here i think u'll do pretty well... just watch ur back though.
geneva interesting?...... mmmmmmm i dono man(maby coz i'v just been here for only few weeks)...

anyways man best of luck wit your job search..hope you find one soon

Hi Jaye,

I have been very interested to read your posts and your struggle to find work and learn the language in Switzerland. I myself am a Brit and am in a relationship with a girl from the St Gallen area. I am currently in Australia but will come to Switzerland in April to go through the same struggle as you. As i see it the language barrier is the biggest problem for me also. I never had a flair for languages but i am enthusiastic to learn now. Wish i had taken German at school now. I am doing self study at the moment to learn but hope to get into a total emersion course when i arrive. I am a healthcare proffessional by training in the UK (Podiatrist), i would like to continue in this but would be willing to retrain in anything once my langauge is up to scratch (could be a while then!). I don't see there being any realistic chance until that is the case. My girlfriend says she would come and live in the UK, but i know how much she loves her homeland and friends and family. I can't take her out of there and I know she would get home sick in the UK.

Any progress on your search? I will continue to read your posts. Good luck.

Jonathan