How to get a job in Switzerland?

 

Switzerland is located in the middle of Europe but is not part of the European Union. However, it applies most of the law from the European Union and so it also applies the free movement of people within the European Union. There are some trends to limit the access for foreigners to the Swiss labour market but at the moment it's still possible to move to Switzerland if you are a citizen of the European Union. 

 

If you are not a citizen of the European Union it's more difficult to get a job in Switzerland. There are some limitations and you will need the support of your company to get access to Switzerland.

 

Basically there are several possibilites to get a job in Switzerland:

 

1. Assignment

The easiest way to get a job in Switzerland is, if you can get an assignment within your current company. In this case your company will care for all the paper work and relocation costs. It's not necessary to get an expat contract since the local Swiss contracts might even be more beneficial for you.

 

2. Headhunter

Get in touch with a local headhunter (check the Headhunter section) and explain to be globally mobile, especially for Switzerland. 

 

3. Networking

Try to get in touch with senior professionals of local companies. There are a couple of international companies with headquarters in Switzerland. The largest are: ABB, Nestle, Novartis, Roche, Credit Suisse, UBS, Adecco, Swiss Re, Syngenta and Zurich Insurance just to name a few. Don't just send your CV. Rather try to find out what profiles these companies usually hire and then try to get in touch with the line managers. 

 

4. Local job sites

Apply for jobs in Switzerland via the local sites. The largest job sits are jobs.ch, jobscout24.ch or monster.ch

 

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