Good afternoon,

As a newbie to this platform and also to Switzerland I am reaching out for this community in the hope finding some advice. I have read a lot of threads in the employment section and noticed that it can be challenging to find a job in Switzerland. The last two months I applied to finance positions with banks such as CS, UBS and so on. With some I am currently in the recruiting 'process' and with others, well let's say that recruiters are receiving a lot of resume's each day and don't find the time to inform candidates. It is what is, but unfortunately without any succes so far.

When I used to live in The Netherlands there were from time to time networking meetings for candidates to attend. Does anybody knows if this sort of happy gatherings are usual here in Switzerland? Or maybe does anybody have suggestions what else there is left to do besides sending out cover letters and resume's? I used to consider myself as extremely creative, but working in the banking industry has taught me to stay within the lines

Thank you for your reactions and I am looking forward to contribute to this platform in the near future.

I think you should get out there and try and network. But this is where you will need to think outside of the box.

You shouldnt be going to a networking event specifically to ask for a job.

Try and find networking events that are more general, get out there make connections, sell yourself a bit and see where it goes. This will have several advantages. Obviously you said you are new here, so approaching it this way allows you to meet people on a social and friendly level, and secondly you will gain in the process some handy business contacts.

Something to consider is it could be a friend of a friend of a friend that will be the one to give you a job, so dont consider it being the person you speak to directly as your opportunity, maybe your hairdresser or neighbor knows someone.

Networking is really important. The other way in, because the recruitment process is difficult here. Make sure you are registered with all the recruitment agencies around. Try to get a face t face but at the very least get your CV on their database and being available immediately is a big advantage, once your foot is in the door, its your task to ensure you stay.

Thank you Peaky for your reply, much appreciated!
I like the idea you suggesting. So I guess I need to start buying drinks for people and start mingling in the crowd But seriously, I am lucky that my girlfriend is Swiss and have a lot of friends in Bern. Meeting her friends made it possible to create a social life and send my resume to them. So everybody is on the look out sort of speak.

What did surprised me is that a lot of those people all have a different perspective of the Swiss employment market. Some say you have a ton of working experience this is easy while others say that for people that don't have Swiss nationality it is very complicated due to regulations of Swiss Employment market.

Can I ask you what you mean with the recruiting process being difficult? From what perspective? For example are there a lot of candidates in the banking sector available. I am trying to get a better understanding of how the current employment market is.

Comments:


1. Interviews: if you are getting interviews, that suggests that your CV and application letter are acceptable.

- If you are not getting interviews, review your CV and ensure that it meets Swiss CV standards.

- Consider translating it into German to help get it past the hiring company's HR department, even if the job is in English.

- If you haven't heard back from a company/ recruiting firm, follow up by telephone.

2. Networking: on average, 70% of jobs in CH are not advertised, although this varies widely from industry to industry.

- For jobs in the "credit/ insurance industry", 51% are publicized and 49% are not. See this link (German):

https://awa.zh.ch/content/dam/volksw...4-2017_4-6.pdf


Good luck to you!

Interesting comments Mullhollander. Especially the one to consider translating my CV into German, thank you!

Your comment regarding invitations for interviews is also somehow intriguing.This is also why I want a better understanding why the recruiting process is considered difficult in Switzerland. It makes me somehow doubt about the quality of my CV and/or Cover Letters. From a grammatical point of view I am convinced that it is spot on so automatically it might can be in the structure/layout of my CV. If there is somebody willing to have a look at my CV please send me a PM.

There are example Swiss CVs available on the internet. Suggest searching on "lebenslauf schweiz muster". A suitable photo is also considered a must.

Also, have you registered at your local RAV Swiss job service? They might be able to provide some assistance in your job search.

Good luck!

Thank you! I will definitely have a look searching for "lebenslauf schweiz muster" and also consider adding a professional picture of myself. The local RAV is something I will look into further.

Off-topic, but when my online application status with CS has changed from 'initial screening' into 'further evaluation' and it stays like that for over a week without them contacting me, is that usual?

Yes, normally in big companies (sometimes in the small ones too) this recruiting process can take months due to different reason.

In Switzerland I think this event take more time because companies here if they look for the candidate they can wait long time until they find a perfect or almost perfect candidate for the position.

It is very seldom (depends of course on the industry) that recruiting process is very fast from sending CV to getting a job and I think unfortunately finance sector is not part of this group.

In my case it took me 4 months to find a new job in IT sector with around 200 applications sent and maybe 20 interviews with different companies.
In the company I'm currently working I sent the application end of September and I got first interview invitation after 1 month, second came 1.5 month after 1st interview which was then final.

Good luck.

A week is a very short time, especially for a big company like CS...

Really?
If specifically mentioned in the job ad, then obviously it's needed, but otherwise it shouldn't be a show-stopper not to have it, should it?

Even if it is for a temporary position for 5 months?

Yes

You applied around 200 times? Holy shit, I was already getting desperate, sort of speak, for applying 43 times on jobs for a month and a half now. 80% no response at all, besides the regular "We received your application" e-mails. 10% e-mails with the message "They received better profiles" and 10% that are (hopefully) slowly moving. Can I ask if you are Swiss nationality? I am a Dutch nationality nothing special, but somehow it feels like a disadvantage.

I also received different opinions regarding adding a profile picture. The best thing to do for me is to just test and see if it makes a difference.

Well it's my estimate - maybe it was 150, I don't remember exactly but a lot. Regarding feedback I had the same experience.

I'm in CH already 10 years and changed job 3 times so it's definitely possible to find something.
I'm not Swiss and I don't speak business level of German. I would say enough to communicate and get things done... so far only working with English speaking environment which for sure has impact on the job search time.
I would advise to search this forum for valuable information how to prepare for the interview and to maybe update/change your CV structure to match Swiss standards if you don't get enough feedback.
It's also OK if you ask "hot to improve to get a job" when you will fail on the interview level so then you will have a person to which you can ask this question.
Be patient and continue your research - something will pop up.

I honestly doubt they will go through the hassle of hiring a foreign person (do you have a permit to work in Switzerland? do you have an address in Switzerland in your CV) for such a short position.

Photo is hit and miss. Good professional one is better than nothing. But a bad one is worse than nothing.

Not sure what scrabblegrey is on about...Dutch nationality is fine, no problem for the hiring company at all. Definitely make sure you have a local address + nationality + Swiss work permit status in a prominent location near the top of your CV though.

For networking maybe try Meetup + Internations.

For short term/contract roles might be worth connecting with a few local agencies. Lots of posts on here with names...

Good luck!

Good morning, I have a Swiss dress that is always mentioned in my cover letter. Working permit for a Dutch nationality is a pretty straight forwarding process that can be done easily. Nevertheless I understand your point.

Good morning and thank you for the Meetup + Internations tip. Did a Google search and it looks very interesting! Will search the forum to get the names of some the local recruiting agencies here in Bern and in Zurich.