Hello,

My previous employer has kindly completed a work reference, although has not described it as an Arbeitzeugnis.

Its more of a to 'whom it may concern' letter detailing my responsibilities and that 'I performed very well and to the best of my abilities in an ever changing and pressurized environment'

Is this enough for Switzerland as a work reference? Its not a great deal of detail and they are not prepared to add anymore.....

they where always good enough for me finding all my old school exam certificates was the harder part lol

My UK references are not on a par with the Swiss fastidious standards but it's never hindered me. Most employers accept the fact that it's done differently elsewhere. The most important thing is not to have any unexplained gaps in your work history.

My employer in the UK does pretty much the same. I have yet to get to the position where this may apply. I will also be interested to find out how they are received by Swiss companies.

Hopefully, any reasonable employer will accept that it is not your fault, or a bad reference.

I've often wondered that as well, I have worked for a few government projects where the policy for a reference is just to confirm you worked there, nothing else, here that would be considered a terrible reference.

Yes, it does seem that despite have plenty of international employers they are still a bit old fashioned to the way references are done...I mean we are not in Germany.

That's a whole different kettle of fish!

I am sure the reference is fine (But it doesn't state how good your abilities are.. ha ha..) and they can always phone the UK for more information.

The policy at my previous employer was that an official reference will only confirm dates of employment and job title. Possibly final salary if you agree to that info being given. No comment on performance, good or bad. I thought that would be a big hindrance, but when I was job hunting no one batted an eyelid when I told them the policy.

Mine was little more than that. Apart from the formal details of dates etc. the substance of it is just three short sentences.

Same here:

"To whom it may concern, XXX worked in the position of XXX from XXX until XXX."

I had no problems with either of the jobs I have had since being here.

I feel a little reassured that my reference has more substance than that (just)

Probably worth noting that neither position was with a large organisation, and both were/are in Geneva. It wouldn't surprise me if large company HR departments were more focused on standardized checks/procedures, which this kind of confirmation might not pass...