jobs for Swiss expats

Hi Everyone. ok.. I'm a Swiss/USA expat.. after 23 yrs away am back in Switzerland... thinking it would be easy to get a job being Swiss as well as 3 languages of Switzerland......... well wrong.... how do you all do it finding a job in Switzerland?? It's starting to get annoying...

maybe expand on what kind of job you are looking for and what is going wrong?

hi thanks... at this point.. almost anything.. I was a receptionist... in the USA>. but here one needs a hotel diploma for a receptionist... I almost have a job.. (I hope) with an agency.. but agencies apparently post fake ads ... to get future clients... from what I've been told......... I would have thought for sure that I'd have a job by now ..even speaking Swiss-German and French...

..some...less....dots.. could be nice....

Maybe try hitting directly hotels and businesses that need multilingual workers. In my other touristy part of Switzerland small hotels etc. don't use agencies and often just find people by word of mouth without putting ads online so it might help you if you don't have connections.

@ EdwinNL LOL hmm not sure why the dots. sometimes keyboard keys get stuck

@Meerkat33. thanks for the tip.

it is the only country ive heard of ,where you need a degree to get a cleaning job

And as so many Swiss have at least two to four languages, you are not special, you left the land of monoglots :-)

Get your foot down for seasonal work in Grisons, Berner Oberland and Ticino.

People who work in hospitality very often just go by hotels and restaurants and ask for work and get work this way. And you can see the working and living conditions and run away if they are bad.

If the job adverts says you need a specific qualification, make sure in your covering letter you explain convincingly that your experience is sufficient. Sure, some people will look at your CV and won't bother reading the letter, but if you don't even apply then you're ensuring they don't read the letter.

Let them reject you for the job rather than rejecting yourself.

Thanks Marischi I'm actually from the Grisons.. but live in Suisse Romand.. I saw there are more jobs there... apparently..

Sorry, big stack of questions coming...

Where are you looking (newspapers, job boards, job websites, etc.)?

How many applications have you sent compared to interviews?

You mention in other threads that you're in a tiny village. Are you willing to move to a place with more jobs? Maybe even to the German-speaking part?

Do you have any qualifications like certificates or degrees? If not, have you considered studying here?

Do you have family or friends that can help you with networking?

And this isn't for us but something to think about when you're sending out applications - why should an employer choose you over someone else? You have to do a bit of self-marketing.

Its hard... I am swiss brasilian and I am still strugling, been back for 3 years, and my specific marketing skills demand muttersprache German... anyway.

Try to get a short formation here. Target smaller companies and locals, and dont be afraid to accept jobs less than 100%...

Also consider a step backwards.. once you are in the market its easier...

And networking is everything here Hard for an introvert like me...

Good Luck...

Hi SwissMissSteph,

I wonder if you could look at school systems both public and private? I am currently employed in Ticino and my school just had a quite a large turnover in the secretarial departments.

Good luck on your job search!

Hi Heidi.. yes anything at this point even ironing!!! - we are in Suisse Romand (Vaud) Near Nyon.......... thanks for the tip.............

Good Morning

I returned after 12 years Australia and understand your situation.

I found a job in Interlaken. The Bernaise Oberland have opportunities in tourism and hospitality. They seek receptionists and I got jobs offered altough I don't have the required qualification. My new job is sales in a souvenir shop. I have the KV and sadly find it difficult to work in that field but this is a starting point.

I think it depends where you are located. Also I asked a professional for help with my CV.

Good luck. It's an adjustment. I miss Australia!

While you are looking for something permanent, would you be open to occasional work in private household services? Could be a good income stream while you are searching for something in your profession.

If you would be open to this, there is a set of platforms under the '24' umbrella designed to connect people offering household services and people who need them. These include babysitting, tutoring, pet care, senior care, and household help. The sites are:

https://petsitting24.ch/en

https://babysitting24.ch/en

https://homeservice24.ch/en

https://tutor24.ch/en

You register your profile, describing what you can offer, what your hourly fee would be. People needing help also post job offers.

People who need help can contact you, you can contact potential employers.

Take a look at what people in your area have advertised for, look what services people are offering in your area.

Just a thought...

@SwissMissSteph

You have my sympathy, for it can't be easy coming face-to-face with a reality which is so different from what you had anticipated, or hoped. Don't give up!

Well done for being willing to try out any kind of work, also employment for which you may not have the qualification, or for which no qualification may be required.

This is a small country, each region smaller yet because of the languages, and a lot of opportunities never reach the internet or the press, but work on word-of-mouth. Therefore, one way to increase your chance of finding such work is by increasing the number of people you know, and who will like you enough to want to pass on your details.

To do this, go to the smaller shops, chat to the woman working in the kiosk near you, and to the vegetable seller. Be ready to talk to the neighbours. Attend a range of activities, clubs, societies, functions run by the locals for the people who are right here, geographically, and get talking to everyone there. Offer to help, on the spot. Volunteer in local projects.

Establishing such connections, and such a reputation, is time-intensive, and can be seen as part of the hard work of job-hunting. Once you become known as the nice, helpful, determined, cheery Swiss who returned after an interesting time abroad, people will start to remember you when they hear of a job opportunity.

In addition to this tip, if you have not already done so you might like to plough your way through one of my favourite long threads of this forum, started by Kiwi2Swiss, herself a Swiss citizen returning after many years in New Zealand.

https://www.englishforum.ch/employme...fications.html

The beauty of that particular, much-consulted thread is that it contains tips and opinions from a range of perspectives, while folks remained polite, probably because Kiwi2Swiss seems so nice, sensible and appreciative.

Perhaps, somewhere in the suggestions for employment on that thread, you might find a key. I wish you all the best!

There's an Aldi in Vich, have you tried there? Seems I've seen them advertise openings.

Hiya SwissMissSteph, perhaps you have already contacted these, even though not mentioned, if not give it a try.

Your location states near Nyon, this is a good region to be located in as so many different industries are based here between Geneva and Lausanne. Your secretarial skills and languages can be adapted to every industry represented here, so consider contacting directly the:

*international schools between these two cities, http://www.nordangliaeducation.com/our-schools/aubonne , https://www.isl.ch/index.cfm , http://stgeorges.ch/ , https://www.ecolint.ch/ , http://britishschoolgeneva.ch/ , https://www.geschool.ch/

*world organisations in Geneva, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ased_in_Geneva

*multinational companies in Nyon, Aubonne, Morges and Lausanne, http://www.vaud.ch/en/our-assets/bus...-headquarters/

*multinational companies in Geneva, http://www.whygeneva.ch/en/companies-chose-geneva

*financial companies in Geneva, Nyon and Lausanne - too many to list

*international sporting bodies in Nyon and Lausanne, http://www.vaud.ch/en/our-assets/spo...g-federations/ , http://www.vaud.ch/en/our-assets/spo...g-federations/

The multinational companies are more likely to be more open to consider your experience without a CFC, unlike pure Swiss companies, especially the smaller regional ones, or the PME (petit, moyen, entreprises)

I think that with no prior hotel experience, and especially with no hotel diploma of any kind, you will not find a position in the hotel service industry in Switzerland, I may be wrong, however in the land of hotel management it will be incredibly hard.

Good luck!

Try Wallis : there is an excellent website RRO.ch under which there is not only a job section, but also O-bei where you can also find the odd job advertised.

Saw one only last week, but it may be for the summer season. Worth a try

Good luck!