Hello Bell

"I'm almost at breaking point where I want to turn into godzilla and just stomp all over them!"

I can understand your frustration but you might want to draw some small comfort from the fact that you are not alone. My own story appears in the complaints and employment threads and you are welcome to check what others like you are going through. It is never easy to get a job in a foreign country qualified or not and we got to accept that fact. As to the Swiss job market and the attitudes thereof , I have my doubts things will change anytime soon: The Swiss are what they and I will bet you my bottom dollar you would find the same attitudes in Ulan Batur, Timbuktu or some such place.

The thing to do is is to be resourceful-widen your job search to include international organisations, NGO etc - most of them would be happy to take on volunteers (paid of course e.g the United Nations Volunteers). I am assuming of course you don't mind ending up in places stranger than fiction. The other way to think about your problem is to say, if nobody can give me a job then I create one for myself( not sure if this works here).

Am hardly qualified to offer advice since I am as hapless as you are but it helps letting off the steam, sometimes. Keep on looking and good luck

Hi ,
just wanted any opinions on job hunting.
I am just about to seriously start job hunting. Still in UK but hope to move this summer and start working in ? Sept/Oct.
I am a well qualified ( masters degree + various post grad quals), fluent-French ,senior nurse looking for a job in Vaud. Not sure whether to start contacting hospitals directly or let the agencies do all the leg work for me. From reading some of these posts feel rather uneasy about going the agency route, however I did use an British agency when I previously worked in Switzerland and had no problems. I am also pretty realistic about my expectations and will consider anything initially, but I thought the agencies may be better placed to negotiate salary etc
Any advice?
Jo

Well, as far as agencies go, I need to swallow my previous words. Thanks to Adecco, my girlfriend and I have both found new jobs recently. It can't hurt to give agencies a try - by placing you they earn money - just don't expect miracles.

Hello Everyone

I too know and have felt the pain of looking for work in Zurich. I lived in Zurich for 12 months in 2004, and found the job seeking process disheartening. My wife is Swiss, and we were in Zurich at a time when Jobs were pretty scarce for both of us. She found work after about 7 months, I had a number of job interviews, mostly outside of Zurich, but could not land that one job, my qualifications not quite matching or my German not up to scratch.

We decided to leave the country due to being isck of not having any money. My wife and I headed back to Australia where we both went back to Uni to skill up. I am about to complete my dual Masters in Information Systems Management and Business Administration, my wife compleing a diploma in biotechnology.

I am looking forward to get back to Switzerland soon, but I will be applying for jobs from the outside. If I do not find anything from the outside, it will most likely be an extended holiday. I love the thought of working in Switzerland but do not wish to sit on my ass for months on end again searching aimlessly.

Someone mentioned the "General Dossier".

Is that simply the hard copy of your CV sent the agency?

Well,
just back from La Suisse. Had 2 interviews and got 2 jobs , also one fantastic house- all in one week. Think I must have been pretty lucky. I used a very small agency in Montreux. The director was fantastic and had lined up these interviews which matched perfectly what I was looking for.She is also helped me find the house , and is looking for a job for hubby now and a maman de jour( someone to help look after kids when I am working). Now only have to decide which job to take.
Jo

Congratulations!! That was a bit of a result

congratulations again!

Also, just to follow on from agency mentions.
I contacted a number of agencies and they were great until they realsied I wasn't in IT (this includes Elan).
Agencies such as manpower etc. haven't got back to me, so any ideas on who is best to contact for construction/ Project manager type roles? as no one seems to be biting from the agencies.
Thanks

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trust me, do not just go with the agencies. That should be a small part of the total job search as it often ends up not getting even an interview, unless one is in IT as you said.

Apply directly to companies for project manager type positions. PM if you need to discuss.

Hi JoJo,

Can you say which agency you used?

Thank you

Chester

Wow, this is all a bit discouraging I have to say. I'm moving to Zurich permanently next month and was hoping to find a job within weeks not months or years. I do speak Cantonese, Dutch, French and English fluently and intermediate German and Mandarin and hold three university degrees.

My boyfriend managed to find a job very quickly through contacts and though he's Swiss he doesn't even speak Hochdeutsch let alone Swiss German. Through his contact I got a call from this company C-M-C and they expressed interest and then suddenly when I wanted to arrange an interview they rejected me with a very curt email. Strange. Also got rejected twice by UBS, sigh.

Well LC...I just pray for you. I thought the same as you when I arrived in Zurich December 2006. I have gone through hell...been rejected by UBS, Novartis, and the whole international lot over 300times! Yep, I finally asked a woman at Credit Suisse why and she replied because it would be too difficult to arrange a permit!

Luckily I managed to get a contract with a Swiss company but I mainly work from London. That is about as close as I got.

I wish you all the best. For me, I wish I had read all the horror stories before coming to Zurich, I would not have wasted my breath and my dignity it seems at times!!!!

So try and enjoy the mountains

Wow... I started this thread and haven't been back in a long time. I didn't realise it was still going!

Anyway, lc_craze & thecappacino... don't be too discouraged by it all. Good things come to those who persevere Have to say that I'm still on the look out for a job, and the interview count is as yet at ZERO. But I'll stress again that I'm not trying TOO hard. I've heard many many success stories already.

Also, lc_craze, multiple languages is a big advantage

Hold your heads high and soldier on!!!

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll soldier on, maybe sign on a fourth degree in mathematics at ETH. That might do the trick...

Well, if you have a lot of papers with your name on them, that definitely helps. At least in the German-speaking part of Switzerland

In general compared to Canada I find the Swiss to be very education and qualification-oriented. Perhaps this is just because of the fact that the market is so competative but if you don't match or exceed the requirements for a job you are usually passed over for an interview. In Canada it is much more experience and personality-oriented.

I am married to a Swiss citizen and was searching for a job for about 21 months before I found a job just last week with a background in web development. I will admit that my job search efforts were not always constant because it is frustrating hearing no or just nothing repeatedly. I did not even get an interview for 18 months until I had a German B1 level proficiency diploma but have had several since. I've heard about 100 times that there are a lot of english-only IT jobs in Switzerland, and there are, but generally only for highly specialized positions which didn't help me.

I think I am lucky in that I found a company that was more willing to invest in the potential of the person being hired since I did not meet all the requirements and there are many people looking for work in the same field that do. I am happy about that because in my opinion it makes them a much nicer company to work for(we'll see about that).

applying from the outside...way to go.

Switz and qualification oriented....i don't think so.