Next week I finally have my first job interview (administrative assistant) in a big company. It took me 5 months to finally have a company answering one of my applications. Until now, all I got was: sorry but German is required for this position...I would like to have some tips from the forum's users because it's my first interview in Switzerland and I'm really stressed because I'm not familiar with the programs and tasks I will have to work with (they know it but decided to invite me anyway). I'm a very fast learner so it should be alright.
First of all, congratulations on landing an interview! That's great news.
Without naming names, what kind of company is it? Where is it headquartered? Is it a Swiss or multinational company? Is it one of the big banks or a manufacturer/importer/exporter?
How many people would you be working for? Would you be a team assistant, supporting several people, or an executive assistant, supporting a senior executive or two?
In the companies I've worked in here, the business has been international in scope and English is the business language. We've used MS office programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, etc.), one place used Lotus Notes email, then migrated to MS Outlook. So if you know those programs, you should be fine. There will probably be other applications, like SAP (for travel arranging and time management) and MS Sharepoint, and maybe some proprietary applications/software, depending on what the company does.
I don't know if this is helpful, but feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
After being multiple times on the other side of the table when it comes to interviewing, I have one piece of advice: never lie, enhance the truth, claim to be something you're not. I would much better prefer to hire someone honest, open, willing to admit the truth, but much less experienced, vs. great experience but a tendency to forget to mention certain things.
Other than that, good luck with your interview; just be yourself and you should be fine.
Hi ! Congrats on your first interview and I had a similar situation : landed my first job here without having to know any German. I work for a multinational company and they wanted someone that could speak French and English. All the best of luck for your interview and hope it goes well !
I don't have much experience of Swiss interviews and can only speak from a UK-based standpoint but expect the interview to last longer here in CH and that they will probably really take time and effort to introduce the work and the office to you, so expect to be taking in quite a bit of information as well as trying to answer their questions.
Also, research the company as best as you can, find out who you will be interviewing with, and prepare some thoughtful questions to ask at the end of the interview.
@NewGuy: Thanks, you're right. I really don't like lying, that's why I told him from the beginning I'm not familiar with the programs they are using and that I don't have any experience in administration, but that I;m a fast learner and that with 2 days training it should be fine. Hope they'll like my honesty and that I will be the only candidate for the position
@Fati: Hi! I also speak english and french, so I think it's an advantage.
@Homer: I hope it won't last half a day.
@Kristanez: I read a lot about the company and thanks for the tip, I'll prepare some questions for the end of the interview.
Well, what I wanted to know was did you apply following a job advert or did you contacted companies you wanted to work for yourself?
How old are you? For how long have you been unemployed?
Because I have been out of work for more than 2 years now and at the last job interview I went to, they picked the other person as she had a more recent working experience than me! Well it's what they say. So upsetting as it's not going to change at this rate!
No I didn't put any picture, I'm also looking for a job for a long time and it's the first time a company invites me for an interview. As I said earlier, it's a miracle and I hope it will also happen for you. However, I'm not counting on this job, I hope for the best but don't want to be upset if I don't get it.