hi,
I am looking for a job in Switzerland for quite a long time now but I could not find anything.
I have three years of experience in Financial Services as a business analyst. I worked mainly in Eastern Europe but now I would like to move to Switzerland, in particular to Zurich. I am Spanish so I should be able to work in Switzerland without any permit as far as I understand. I don't speak German.
When I check the job ads, I think I am decently qualified. I am currently working for a big bank, I passed CFA exams and FRM exams and I have good IT skills.
I tried different things, both applying using a recruiter and applying directly to the companys' websites. None of them worked. With the recruiter, I have the impression that they threat me just as a number so they just forward my CV to the bank without really caring. With direct application is even worse as I did not ged any feedback yet.
I want to relocate to Switzerland as it seems one of the best place to live in Europe to work in Finance. I would accept any type of decent job to start, as long as it is decently paid and is in Finance and with room to growth.
What do you think it would be the best way to apply for somebody in my position?Is an international CV ok considering that I am applying to international companies or should I use something tailored for the Swiss market? What should it be my salary expectation?
Thank you very much,
Pedro
If you are an IT BA, you can try the big outsourcing companies (Cognizant, EPAM etc..) They have lots of open BA positions - to tell the truth these are not the best jobs in Switzerland but they could be a good entry point to the swiss banking sector.
Unless you are a Swiss national you will need a permit. The only difference is being an EU national you don’t have to find an employer willing to go to the hassle of applying for one for you. All you need is an employment contract.
Tailoring your CV to the Swiss market may help. You can also try some of the companies in these threads to see what they may have in the way of vacancies.
https://www.englishforum.ch/employme…itzerland.html
Do bear in mind though that the Swiss voted to curb immigration from the EU back in 2014 and although there are no permit quota limits for EU nationals, Swiss employers are encouraged to try and hire people who already have a permit to live/work here.
It’s not impossible you just have to keep trying.
Thank you, I will consider these companies. Why do you say that these are not the best jobs? Bad environment, bad salaries or something else?
Thank you Medea for the links and for encouraging words. I read that I can stay in Switzerland up to 90 days if I am looking for a job. If I have the money to afford this, do you think it makes a difference if I am applying and already living there?
The salaries are neither bad nor good, they are somewhere in the middle. The biggest problem is, that these companies handle you as a "resource", not a human being. If you are in the customers office and they pay your daily fee, verything is fine, if not, byebye. It does not depend on your personal performance or yor abilities, just how the resources are allocated. Stepping forward, reaching higher salary is hopeless. Vacation days are on the official minimum level. But as i said...the other side of the coin is, that you can get reaaly good projects with high reference value, so after some years you can find much better opportunities.
At this point finance is fast becoming a commodity industry and it is a race to the bottom. A commodity industry is a lousy place to try and built a career!
As for Fintech, it reminds me of the .com boom - a lot of young people running around convinced they are doing something revolutionary, where as in reality it is just new to them! Of course there will be some successes, but when you’re operating in a commodity industry they will be few and far apart - the spoils will go to the cheapest solution.
If you think I’m joking... back when I started out and that is along time ago we measured profit in percent, today we measure in base points, like I said: a commodity industry.
Broaden your horizons, look at other possibilities in Switzerland.
do you know similar companies in accounting field ?
Yeah this whole having to report client assets to the relevant tax authorities around the globe is a bitch isn't it? No more 3.5% safekeeping fees and the very cheek of clients caring about their investments' performance!
You are missing the point and wrong in both your assertions, but I doubt you were trying to contribute to the discussion in any case. The point was that today institutions are trying to generate their main income from a generic product and competing on cost - a commodity industry and not a good place to build a career. Career advice nothing to do with your agenda.