Under 30, working in marketing in Zurich, considering moving to French-speaking Switzerland — advice on RAV, job coaching and retraining?

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Hi everyone,

I’m under 30 and currently based in Zurich. My professional background is in marketing, and before moving to Switzerland I also worked in Sweden.

English is my native language, and I have a decent level of French. Unfortunately, I don’t speak German yet. I have been in Switzerland for less than a year, so I’m still trying to understand the job market and how the different cantons work.

At the moment, my main goal is simply to find a new job. I also have around 18.4 months of previous contribution/employment history that should be relevant for unemployment insurance.

I would really appreciate your advice on a few things.

First, considering my language situation, would it make more sense to move to a French-speaking canton? My thinking is that, since I already have a reasonable level of French, with a few months of intensive courses I could probably reach a solid professional level much faster than starting German completely from zero.

The alternative would be to stay in Zurich and invest heavily in learning German. Which option do you think would give me better employment prospects?

Second, I know that the RAV is not necessarily able to directly find you a job, but I have heard that in some cases they can provide more intensive support, including job coaching with someone who actively helps you with applications, positioning, interviews, etc. Is this actually true? Has anyone here had experience with this?

I also understand that the quality and approach of the RAV can vary quite a lot depending on the canton, city and individual office. Since I am potentially open to relocating anywhere in Switzerland, are there any particular cantons or RAV offices that you would recommend because they are more proactive in helping unemployed people return to work?

For example, I have read some positive things about Fribourg and the support available there, while I have heard that larger offices such as Zurich can sometimes be more overloaded and therefore less hands-on. I would be interested to hear whether this matches anyone’s experience.

I am also open to changing direction professionally. I would consider jobs in administration, office support, secretarial work, public administration or similar fields if that would give me more stable employment prospects.

My final question is about retraining. Is there any course, certificate or short professional qualification in Switzerland that I could complete within a few months and that would significantly improve my chances of getting a stable job, especially in administration, municipal/public-sector work, office management or similar roles?

I am particularly interested in qualifications that could be combined with improving my French and eventually learning some German as well.

I would be very grateful for any advice from people who know the Swiss job market, have experience with the RAV, or have gone through a similar career transition.

Thanks a lot!

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Welcome to the forum. :slightly_smiling_face:

Okay, first questions you need to answer? What nationality are you? What Swiss permit do you currently hold and is it tied to your job?

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The RAV is pretty good at providing you with lots of resources to find a job, and you don’t need to be in receipt of unemployment benefit to use it, just register with them.

What they don’t do is re-train you for a whole new career. That’s not really in their remit.

Essentially, if you are in receipt of payments via the RAV, they can and will pressure you to get back into work at your first opportunity, because that’s their job.

I only have experience of the Zurich RAV and that’s going back a fair few years so I can’t give you up to date feedback. My impression is that if you toe the line, and show them you’re making big effort to get back into work they are endlessly helpful and pleasant.

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I have a number of experiences from 4 people I know well (all 4 with B2 level German), all concluding that RAV is absolutely useless:

  1. Zero resources to find a job, and what little resources there are, they are only unlocked if you’re receiving unemployment benefits
  2. No pressure to find a job if they’re not paying you, people were “advised” to volunteer
  3. No explanation of options or even how the Swiss system works with regard to practicum/ausbildung, or retraining
  4. Not at all helpful or pleasant, in fact their decisions appear arbitrary (eg “you need to show 10 applications per month” > “but there are not 10 relevant positions to apply to per month” > “tough luck”)
  5. they withhold/reduce/delay payment of benefits according to whims, and the dazed and confused, recently unemployed, and depressed person needs to figure it out
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Maybe it has changed in the 11 or 12 years since I went there. My advisor was really helpful and gave me a lot of tips and tricks to find work, and also how to navigate all the forms and stuff but, yes, I was a being paid at the RAV. I can understand that the pressure is different if they don’t have to pay you - then you can take your own sweet time.

The 10 relevant positions isn’t THAT strict (in my experience). My advisor said I could put in a couple of “meetings” with people in my industry, i.e. “Went for coffee with Mr XYZ to discuss possible job openings at ABC company” and it’s perfectly acceptable so long as you give the contact details so they could check if need be - they never did. Also a couple of speculative applications were also fine. The trick was not to fill the entire sheet with that kind of thing.

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I suppose it’s expected to be different in Zurich, and was definitely a very different job market 10-11 years ago :slight_smile:

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I’m currently on the RAV with a completely different experience:

This website is operated by RAVs of all cantons. I got access by being registered with RAV and without getting unemployment benefits.

Volunteering in this context means to continue receiving money from RAV while gaining further work experience without getting pay by a company. So it’s volunteering in the traditional sense.

Though I didn’t ask I did receive such an explanation.

So what? You just apply for 10 positions and RAV is happy :grinning_face:

Would you really want RAV to treat unemployed people as broken or sick people who cannot handle their lives anymore? I think most people can handle unemployment, just like any other change in life.

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Not my personal experience - as in I don’t have personal experience with RAV, just reposting what I was told by people I know and trust. I wonder if it makes a difference if one if foreign vs Swiss.

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A lot will depend on your French language skills. Other than Geneva and Lausanne there are few employers in Romandie that will use any language other than French for their day to day activities.

Employment opportunities in Geneva and Lausanne are extremely few at the moment due to cutbacks in the international organisations. Jobs requiring English will have hundreds of applicants.

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There are a few international companies in Neuchâtel who use English as their working language too but the job market is tight here.

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The solution is to apply for totally unsuitable jobs in Switzerland, such as medical director of a hospital. The hospital will write you a charming rejection letter that will satisfy the RAV, also you can apply in India & China, those 10 applications don’t need to be in Switzerland.

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ahhhh the ways to trick the system in a well-off country…

the only time that i was "unemployed’ (whilst starting up my own sting) it happened to be in Slovakia. The lady at the local “RAV” who helped me (and who could speak my native language, so I didn’t have to scramble with my Slovak) was clear:
(a) First she apologized because the unemployment benefits in Slovakia were capped, i.e. despite the fact that i was at the 0.1% bracket of salaries in the country, I would receive only the ‘maximum’ of 800 Euros/ month. The rest would go to support other unemployed people.

then she told me how it works

(b)The unemployment support would last for 3 months; i would have to send evidence of at least 10 interviews or rejection letters per month.
(c) If I didn’t get a job, I would have to ask for an extension for another 3 months; during these additional 3 months, I still had to send also evidence as (b). During the last month (i.e. month 6), if I didn’t get a job, the RAV would offer me a job (picking up potatoes, sweeping streets…). If I didn’t find a job, and I didn’t take the offered job, the unemployment benefits would end there.

My reaction? I congratulated her for making part of a system that helps and forces employment, and not resources abuse.

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No, it’s to comply with the way that the system is set up.

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Basically, one should do the option that is most affordable. Relocation costs money. And if unemployed can lead to disastor. So stay put if you can afford it. RAV is about the best unemployment service in the world. And Canton ZH is one of the wealthiest with lots and lots of unemployment insurance franks in their treasure chest. You have no time to relocate only to have to possibly relocate again when you find another job. Unless of cause you happen to find a sugar momma who speaks french.

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THIS!

There’s also the trial period of 3 months at the new job. Quite risky to move to another canton only the be unemployed after 3 months.

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Yeah. I know people who had the expense of moving to Switzerland only to be made unemployed before the end of the 3 months.

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