Employment in HR

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Hello,

Let me introduce myself first. I am a EU national and I have arrived in Zurich about a week ago, with the defined purpose of finding a job in Switzerland, if possible in my field -HR. Writing this message makes me feel a bit awkward, not only because I’m not used to forums anymore, but also because I’ve seen people’s opinion on HR or regarding those who just pop up, trying to find a job.

So I’d like to tell you a few things about my background, before you start judging me

I am 36 yrs. old, with over 10 years of work experience as IT Recruiter, HR Generalist and Learning and Development Specialist, all of the positions being with top global companies in their field. I have also had my own online business in Retail industry so I'm also experienced with sales and customer service. I have good recommendations, I speak French and Romanian (not that the last one matters), I am professional, hardworking and very adaptable.

The reason behind “Why didn’t you just not apply from your country and IF you found a job...” is because it’s even more unlikely to find a job from distance, without a Swiss address or phone number. Maybe in other domains this is not an issue and expats are coming with full relocation package and so on. But I haven’t been a manager or worked in Finance/Banking etc so I thought it is better to try than to regret my whole life that I didn’t.

Of course, I have the means to support myself for couple of months here but the most difficult part is that my husband and kids are not with me and my biggest fear is that I might not find a job till October (my self-imposed deadline). I am perfectly conscious of this high risk but I keep applying to different jobs every day. My husband is applying too (he's an IT PM) but one of us had to keep his job and his was paying better than mine.

I have connected with different recruiters across Switzerland, I have sent open applications to recruitment agencies and I have applied to all HR and Administrative jobs that did not require German (I have started to learn it because I want to anyway). One recruiter at Adecco sent my cv to the line manager for two positions that were a fit for my experience (in Basel) but he decided to only invite locals at the interview – I wasn’t in Switzerland last month when it happened. So in a week's time I have already received 5 negative responses, even my profile seemed a good match or even overqualified, they didn't consider me for an interview at least - which worries me but I need to be patient I guess

I am not even picky, I would literally take any decent job (temporary, part-time, below my skills, etc) in order to have a start and some Swiss experience.

I thought this might be a good place to connect but sorry for my loooong introduction. If you have some advice or a job , please tell me.

Thank you.

2
I think the Swiss address and phone number won't count that much to be honest. Employers are far more interested in what work permit you have.

No idea how the market is for HR, but it is possible to work for a (normally large multinational) company in HR without the local language. Good luck with your search!

3
Thank you.

I understood it is fairly easy to obtain the work permit (as EU national) once you have an employment contract.

4
If you speak French already .. Why on earth not come to the French speaking part to look for work?

5
Honestly, there are less jobs in HR in the French speaking part and I found a good long term rent through airbnb in Zurich. I have applied to anything I could find in Vaud, Lausanne and Geneve but the work market cannot be compared to Zurich and Zug.

Of course I am willing to move immediately in case of an offer...if that ever happens

6
Bear in mind you'll be competing with a lot of locally available and experienced competition, already fluent in the local language, and cogniscent of local laws and procedures, with existing residency.

Don't forget you must register with the authorities after three months if you're still looking, even with the new ruies for Romanians and Bulgarians applicable since June 1st, including health insurance etc.

Good luck!

7

Aren ́t you supposed to register immediately when you arrive here? OP is not a tourist but looking for a job so OP should apply for a job seekers permit

8
Yes, thanks, I have read the laws, I am planning to stay up to three months and if some interviews appear till then, I will definitely register.

About the competition, I'm thinking that maybe they don't apply as much for temporary or for immediate availability positions. I really have to try, however hard this may be. I am very motivated, determined and results oriented so I just hope that if a company gives me a chance to participate in interviews or tests, I can prove my skills.

9
OK few things

1) a Swiss phone number or address doesn't matter the slightest when looking for a job

2) you will not find a generalist job in a small company as you probably know nothing about local labor law, legislation, markets etc. Small companies won't hire anyone who doesn't know about that because the very purpose of the HR generalist role is to deal with that.

3) your lack of language skills will be a massive hindrance in generalist/front HR jobs

4) larger companies tend to not really give a damn about your lack of knowledge about the local market, Swiss legislation and language. Therefore that is your best bet, if you want a generalist role

5) an even better bet is a specialist role, though these are far and few between and typically filled with internal candidates. Of course same here - only in global companies

6) a lot of HR activities, both on the admin and specialist side, have been outsourced (and sometimes offshored), just so that you're aware

7) it often takes a very very long time to find a job in CH, no matter your qualification. It's not unusual to send dozens and dozens of applications and can easily take 6, 8 months or more. Especially if you're not the ideal candidate (which you won't be for several reasons). Switzerland's labor market is not particularly dynamic, and while you may get lucky, you need to be very realistic too. You will probably get many many rejections in the weeks to come

8) as you are probably unlikely to find a full-time position within a reasonable timeframe, I recommend to also (aside from Adecco) go to Kelly, Manpower, possibly even smaller agencies and see if they have any temporary jobs available. Some of them might well be in global companies and while that is not necessarily an easier way to "get in", it's a least a little bit of a foot in the door and something to do

9) there are many large companies in the French-speaking part, especially FMCG, so I very much recommend to look there too, cause as said, global companies and specialist positions are your best bet. Also, most Pharma and Finance are not really hiring much externally at the moment, not in supporting functions like HR anyway

HTH

10
Not necessarily, I have visited the Labour office and their employee said I can still stay up to three months without being registered.

Thanks for your input. It's a good idea with the FMCG companies, I will look into it. I have also registed with Manpower, Page Personnel etc.

11

Conditions for obtaining a short term residence permit with a view to seeking employment in Switzerland

Since 1 April 2015, citizens of the European Union (EU-27*) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA**) who are looking for work in Switzerland are only granted a residence permit if they have sufficient financial resources to cover their living expenses.

*The EU-27 comprises the following countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Cyprus.

**EFTA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland

12
@roegner

The point is if someone wants to get a residence permit to look for jobs, yes, they have to prove the financial funds and apply.

But my understanding is that if you don't want to apply for the residence permit as a job seeker, you may as well as stay three months without registering.

I told the office employee that I am looking for jobs and he definitely said it is not mandatory to register before the 3 months.

13
Summer time is a bad time for job seeking, everyone is on holiday. You will see more job offers at the end of September. Good luck! www.jobs.ch

14

Looking for work while you’re here as a tourist, i.e. without registering, is perfectly okay. If she finds a job within the 3 month tourist period then she must register before starting work.

If she doesn’t find a job within 3 months and wants to continue looking, then she has to register as being resident and providing she meets the financial requirements will be granted a 3 month L permit.

So you’re both right, but for different periods of time.

15
I am sure you are right, I could also consider the option of going back home at the end of August (rent is paid anyway till then) and spend time with my family and keep applying in the meanwhile.

Yes, I have already used jobs.ch and all the sites that I could find with vacancies in HR, Training and other administrative jobs.

Thank you for clarifiying it

16
It doesn't make sense to start a new thread so I will continue writing here about my situation now (not that many would be interested in reading it ).

I should have just sit tight and look for jobs rather than getting in the below explained mess just because I want to do everything legally.

So, while looking for any office job that fits my profile and does not necessarily require German, I wanted to earn some money by doing unskilled work e.g. cleaning. That way I wouldn't use my savings altogether. But here comes the problem, when I received a nice (cleaning) contract for 12 hrs a week. I went to the Gemeindehaus to register myself. (Why in the world did I just not go by those three months without registering). After looking at the employment contract, the lady there told me to bring proof of accommodation, my marriage certificate (even though my husband is not here with me) and a photo. The next day I went with everything she requested and she said, I quote "You will get your residence permit and work permit in a week or two". Yes, she read the employment contract. God, I was happy that day. It didn't last...

Now, after a week I received a note from the Migration office, asking me how am I gonna support myself financially if I only work for 12 hrs a week? Do I have other jobs? They said I should send them proof until 12th of September.

What I plan to do (seems I don't really have a second option I guess) is gather all documents like a bank statement, diplomas, recommendation letters, cv and at least try to get a short term residence permit while I am seeking jobs matching my experience. I have all the e-mail applications that I've sent, together with a couple of rejection answers. I also had a "let's get to know you" interview with Michael Page recruitment agency. I don't know if it's good to send all of these, too.

As for accommodation, that's another issue because I have used airbnb when I first came last month, then moved in with some friends that filled in a form for the Gemeinde as proof I live in their house. But now I found another airbnb room till the end of September and I will move during week-end.

So I'm not sure anymore what I should do and what would be the best form of sending the documents, via mail, via e-mail or going in person. I will look for a place where I can print all docs.

Please, if you have any advice you could share....thank you. Don't be harsh, I am pretty upset already.

17

Your problem is that the contract doesn’t have enough hours for the migration office to think you can support yourself on that alone. Hence the query regarding any other jobs. Generally they’ll be looking for at least 50% of full time hours so around 20-25 hours a week minimum.

Take your bank statements to the office and show them what you have to supplement your income. If they think the two combined is enough you’ll get your permit. If they don’t you won’t and you won’t be able to start working here. Also take the airbnb contract to show them. They’re not going to be interested in the rest so don’t bother to take that. Their only concern is that you’re not going to try and get social aid while you’re here. If you can show accommodation and finances that match their requirements then they’ll be happy.

18
I can't really know how much it should be on my bank statement. Or enough for how long? I know it's at their discretion but I wish I knew what amount they would be happy with.

So you say I should go in person?

19

I would go in person then you can answer any questions they may have at the time.

The general figure to work to is CHF100 per day. The L permit will initially be for 3 months so they’ll be looking for around CHF8,000-9,000, maybe a little less as you do have an employment contract to help out a bit.

20
Well they're right, how ARE you gonna support yourself on 12hrs/week? In the mid- to long-run, that will be nowhere near enough. Also see point 7) in my previous post.

As Medea says, 100/day is a rough estimate of a minimum someone needs to get by around here. If you don't have at least 7k in your account to supplement the roughly estimated 1000-1200/month you will make on the cleaning job, you won't get a permit.