I sent my CV to a few companies in Zurich & Geneva telling them I wanted to meet with them when we are on holiday in July as we are looking at relocating in Jan 08.
I am a swiss national (although currently living in South Africa) and I can speak French (not German).
I found the response time to my emails very slow - sometimes even 3 weeks later or never, all saying they have nothing at the moment which is not the question I asked in the first place... I just wanted an interview.... Is this custom in Zurich to not respond immediately to emails and do you think the fact that I am applying from outside Switzerland, could be the issue?
Your feedback in this regard would be appreciated.
Companies in Switzerland seem to have two speeds: Superfast, and Fast. Unfortunately due to time and space warping caused by CERN activities, these translate to three speeds in the normal world: Slow, Glacial, and Stop.
In short: yes, it seems pretty normal. I'm sure they're just being, err, "thorough"
My husband never interviewed with agencies here (Zeurich area). The custom seems to be a phone interview if they are interested in you for a specific position, then send your CV on to the employer. Agencies don't seem to prescreen candidates in person here, as is customary in the US. So probably the reason you aren't getting a response is that you didn't inquire about a specific position. I'd advise contacting them closer to your arrival, and then inquiring about specific positions that are open. My husband's skills were highly in demand, so he had responses usually in less than 24 hours, and had an offer in hand within 2 weeks.
A scatter-gun approach may be beneficial, as it's often the case the most famous agencies get thousands of requests for info / interviews / help and can't / won't respond. Smaller agencies may be more willing to accomodate your requests. Damn their eyes, the lazy so-and-so's.
You are probably planning too far ahead for them to be interested in you right now. They won't have any requirements for next year so why waste their time with you now? Don't mean to sound harsh but that was the attitude I saw when I worked for one of the big agencies.
The majority of recruitment agencies just filter CVs by keyword search and will only talk to you if they have a match. This is particularly true in IT.
Are you a hot prospect ? Do you have something they are looking for now and are you available ? If so they will pester you by phone and email. I even had an SMS from an agent recently.
Otherwise you will be lucky to get a "are you still looking, and send us a CV update" call every six months. As you have sent them your CV, they may judge you not a hot enough prospect yet to spend time on.
I have never had a face-to-face interview with an agent. I would rather spend time talking to the organgrinder.
Thanks to those that responded to my thread! What would be the best avenue to follow if I were looking for a job in Zurich / Geneva. Should I send my CV to agencies and directly to companies? Does anyone know of the good agencies to contact in Switzerland?
I am a recruitment specialist with account and relationship management experience.
Like I said in my previous thread, we are only planning on relocating in Jan 08, however we will be in Switzerland for a holiday in July this year.
I missed that line. The original poster is a recruitment expert ? Here we are sweating over a hot keyboard thinking we are answering newbie queries...when in actual fact we are being lead up the garden path by a recruitment "expert". Hold on a minute though. Isn't that ability a key requirement of the job ?
The reason I ask is because the response time here in South Africa is generally rather quick and I have found my experience in dealing with Swiss agencies / companies quite different.
I thought there was maybe a different work ethic with regards to responding to emails or acknowledging receipt of emails?
It is not just employmetn agencies that are slow, i work for a Swiss company in the UK and am in process of applying for a job at head office in Swizterland, my application went in 8 weeks ago and i have only just got an interview!! You have to learn patience!! but it is so frustrating!
If you are going to be doing some thread necroing, please dig a little deeper into what you're bringing up from the depths of the forum please. This thread has not been touched for 4 months.
Hello (Tanya's first post with intended location, however unspecific)
Plus if "Creative and Commercial" means you're an agent, why not just be upfront and say that?
No need to be so rude - apologies for not being on-line for a while but I have been ill and not able to travel to Switzerland - So just take a hike with your attitude!