Fluent German would be great to open up jobs outside my training (customer service, factory work etc) but not required for most of the jobs I applied for in International Companies, Pharma, Postdocs, International Organisations etc
Switzerland is not a good place to look for a job as a foreigner without solid industry experience. Many former colleagues left after their PhDs due to lack of opportunity here (including many Germans).
I know this is cold comfort, but I am surprised that with a molecular biology PhD (putting aside field specifics), and assuming a nice swathe of papers under your belt (as a result of the PhD), striking out even after two years is actually possible. After one year, especially with little tangible alternative, I would have more than shifted gears, I would have changed cars (so to speak). Otherwise, I'd likely go crazy (if I hadn't gone broke).
What kind of volunteer work have you been doing?
I'm an sustainability engineering (field was mining engineering, bachelors in environmental engineering) PhD from Australia. I found my current job at EPFL, and luckily didn't need to know French to land this position, as did at least two of my other colleagues. (That doesn't quite help my being completely self-sufficient in CH, but that's another story, and I am learning French as a I go). I actually found this job after looking abroad from Australia for appropriate postdocs or even industry positions, of which there were none appropriate. But even though I found this position here, I wouldn't say it's because Switzerland was exactly aplenty with postdocs or research positions, I just happened to find a position here . I hear it's been an overall depressing year for jobs (at least in Australia), except in particular fields or unless you have tremendous depth of experience. Ironically, because I had some field experience (months) and full time research assistant experience, this - combined with the PhD - was enough to disqualify me from applying to graduate programmes in Australia.
Unless the postdocs in the field you are applying for are absolutely swamped in with applicants (and many of them local/EU), then interesting that those jobs would require German language proficiency. I'm not saying it's wrong or unusual, and in an otherwise equal field of applicants I can see that factor being a discriminator, but at least here the lingua franca for work is English (papers written in English, reports written in English, the literature is English, etc.). The main thing that French is useful for here is (a) dealing with administrative matters, and (b) undergraduate instruction. Not sure how it is in the German side of Switzerland. Suffice to say that locals and EU nationals take precedence over third country nationals, which is fair enough as it is like that pretty much all over the world. I was warned as such before I applied for my current job; luckily I seemed to have beaten out the others as it were.
On that note, what has kept you here for so long? (Maybe I need to read up on your postings) Unless you have family here or other financial support or the like, this doesn't seem like the best country to be in if you are without a solid job (or otherwise some form of income), unless you live on a farm on a rural lifestyle or something like that.
Good luck!
Like many others I fell in love and cannot leave until I find a job and can support my wife to do the same.
I have a great publication record and I have applied for postdocs all over the world but only had 5 interviews. Every time I was second choice (the PhD research of the successful candidate was always in EXACTLY the same field as the proposed postdoc project).
People cannot understand how I can be unemployed for 2 years with a PhD but having a PhD actually makes it harder to get a job. Blame a shit economy and the unwillingness (due to cheapness or risk aversion) of industry to train people
However if you are willing to branch into industry there will be many more positions open to you. I know of several people with PhDs that went straight into industry without a problem. The upside of doing that is you can start earning better wages right off the bat (post-doc assignments are notorious for being cheap labor with long hours). The downside is you might not be able to get back into academia for a while.
Are you tailoring your application materials to every position or is it all sort of generic? For example, do you use the same cover letter for every job and only change the name and address of the company? Or are you making each letter and CV specific? Have you had a friend review your materials to remove stale phrasing like "I'm a team player that likes new challenges"?
You have to put yourself in the position of the hiring manager and ask what you have to offer that they can't live without. Then focus on that.
Or get a job in the German or Italian part which would help you to acquire such, with some home study- but not in your field? I've known many people who have taken jobs 'below' their qualifications and future aspirations, in order to do this as they could not afford a formal course. Mentioned before the young Romanian working in a Leisure Spa/Hôtel/restaurant where I used to live in the UK, who was a young qualified doctor- and needed to improve his English whilst earning money. He was a great asset to the resort, earned his board and lodgings and a fair wage on top- and got to fluency very fast- with a little help from some of us who used the resort.
The main issue with PhDs entering industry is experience. Again, this depends a lot on which industries and what was achieved during one's PhD candidature. Sometimes the pathways to entry into industry are unorthodox compared to standard processes, e.g. relies a lot on connections, recommendations, even a cold call...
I have about 20 different CV templates. I have sought professional advice and tailor a CV and cover letter for every job. It is hard to stand out when there are 300 applicants for every job. Publications are also meaningless and I have never been asked about what I did during my PhD...only what I can do for the company
Many of us here on EF have taken poorly paid jobs in the past in order to gain experience and other skills- in my case to learn English and acquire translating skills, and to support ourselves. When I was a young mum, I took a job as a child-minder to contribute to the household.
BTW I have 2 words for you but it would be too rude to write them here! I did not choose to be unemployed and I have worked my ass off to find a job. I think your user name says it all really.
I'm simply asking if in this 2 years you have looked at other forms of income like working in a bar, doing an admin job, etc. From your immediate defensiveness, I'm guessing maybe not.
You get the interview, but fail to reach the goal-post. In one post you say you "weren't the right fit". Yes Ticino.. but if they like you, and want to hire you, and can see themselves working with you, then they bend the rules.
An old friend once said, in the interview, you have to "believe that this person is your new best friend."
Of course dressing the part, shaving, clean non-religious underwear etc goes without saying.
Give it a go, mate. Whats the worst that can happen?
California dreamin