Dear Frau: How to find a Job in Switzerland?

Welcome to another edition of Dear Frau. It's kind of like Dear Abby except with an international twist. If you have a question about life in Switzerland, be sure to contact the Frau and maybe your little Frage will be in the next edition of Dear Frau.

Dear Frau,

I have been looking for a job in Switzerland and am confused by what the (m/w) means after the job title in the listing. And what is up with the age thing. I’m 38 and some of the jobs I’m interested in give an age range of 25-35. Am I over the hill already?

Thanks,

Job Seeker

Dear Job Seeker,

Looking for a job in Switzerland can be tough. The Frau can relate. She once had an interview in Switzerland that involved reading in German, reading in French, writing in English, and naming the acronyms of Swiss political parties. Ja.

If all the language requirements weren’t tough enough, there’s also sexual and age discrimination to be concerned with. In this country, the discrimination is right there in the job listing: in Switzerland, jobs are still listed as whether they are for males or females or both. If you see (m/w), that means both men and women are welcome to apply. And the age thing, yeah, since you have to put your birth date on your resume, there’s no way to pretend you’re 35 when you’re really 38. And many jobs do specify an age range up front. This sometimes also has to do with the pay level. In general, older people get paid more in Switzerland.

The Frau doesn’t necessarily enjoy all of this upfront discrimination in the Swiss job listings, but she’s come to accept it. Because even though some countries, like the United States, would never be so openly discriminatory in a job listing, it doesn’t mean that the reality is any different behind the scenes. At least in Switzerland, you won’t be wasting your time at an interview if you don’t really fit the job specs.

Anyhow, the Frau wishes you luck with your job search. If you’re looking for more information or advice on how to find a job in Switzerland, check out a few more posts from the Frau:

How to Find a Job in Switzerland
10 online resources for finding a job in Switzerland. Included are sites especially for those in finance, communications, academia, as well as general job searching sites.

Trailing Spouse Advice on Finding a Job in Switzerland
How the Frau found her Swiss job and tips for finding yours. Hint: if you can, start looking before you move.

How to Land an International Assignment
You're Young. You're starting your career. You want to move abroad. What to do first.

Does anyone else have advice on how to find a job in Switzerland? What do you think of the open discrimination in Swiss job listings?

Amount of B-Permits Cut in Half

Yesterday I was upset to hear that the Swiss government has cut the number of B-permits it issues each year to non-EU residents from 5,000 to 2,500. That's a cut of 50% this year (50%!). The country is so paranoid about its 4% unemployment rate (4%!) that as usual, the foreigners are becoming its scapegoats.

But as an unemployed foreigner, I speak from experience that about half the people in my local unemployment office appear to also be foreigners. So let's see. We're not taking Swiss people's jobs, we're losing our own. We get laid off first. And now, to add insult to injury, we also get kicked out first.

The head of the HR department at my husband's international company told him she is frustrated with this as well because it makes hiring personnel all the more difficult. She can't find enough Swiss engineers to fill the positions at her company to save her life, but now the government won't let her hire those she can find because heaven forbid, they're the Non-EU version of the F-word.

According to her (and she's Swiss), Non-EU B-permit holders are not typically taking jobs away from the Swiss. If you want to see who is, head over to your local Aldi and listen to the cashiers speaking high German there. Most Non-EU B-permit holders are working in highly specialized jobs that could not be filled by a Swiss and is the reason they were allowed into Switzerland in the first place.

And in my opinion (I'm not biased of course!), losing half of a highly-qualified workforce will only hurt Switzerland's economy in the long run, not help it. But who needs engineers anyway?

Anyhow, that's my little "raclette rant" of the day. Anyone else have an opinion on this?

A DINK Abroad

A lot of us yodeler expats (especially us former DINKs: Double-Income-No-Kids) know the frustrations with not being allowed to work in Switzerland. Whether you have an L-permit, a B-permit, or the lucky C-permit, it's still a challenge for the trailing spouse (especially for us non-EU nationals) to be allowed to work in Switzerland.

I was one of the lucky ones. With a B-permit, I was allowed to work if an employer would sponsor me. I just had to find that employer. It actually turned out not to be so hard, although the wait to hear if the government would approve my work contract was excruciating. Anyway, they did. Merci, Switzerland.

But still, I wish Switzerland would join the international trend of loosening some of the legal barriers concerning work permits for accompanying spouses. Because according to trailing spouse researcher Yvonne McNulty, 84% of accompanying spouses have a bachelor's degree or higher and 64% of us left careers behind to come abroad. We were not brought up to be Hausfraus or Hausmanns, oder? And come on, Switzerland, you know you want the tax money. Why let France have all the fun?

In 2007, France became one of the latest countries to allow family members of multinational employees to take jobs without obtaining a separate permit (see, they know the tax money's good). And according to the International Herald Tribune, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Argentina, Singapore and the United States have also loosened restrictions. Why not you, Switzerland? I know you don't love foreigners. But you do love our money. So let us make more and we'll both be happy.

Are you a trailing spouse in Switzerland? Were you allowed to work?

How to Find (and Lose) a Job in Switzerland

I came to Switzerland as a trailing spouse who never planned on becoming a Hausfrau. I found a job in Zurich. I lost a job in Zurich (thanks, economy!). But that's where you benefit. Because I have become a Switzerland job searching (and losing) expert. I've written about finding a job in Switzerland. I've written about losing a job in Switzerland. I've even talked about it on the radio. Here, I've rounded up all my knowledge in hopes that it might help you:

FINDING A JOB:

How to Find a Job in Switzerland
Here you'll find 10 online resources for finding a job in Switzerland. Included are sites especially for those in finance, communications, academia, as well as general job searching sites.

Trailing Spouse Advice on Finding a Job in Switzerland
How I found my Swiss job and tips for finding yours. Hint: start looking before you move.

How to Land an International Assignment
You're Young. You're starting your career. You want to move abroad. What to do first.

LOSING A JOB:

Laid off in Switzerland? What to do First.
Five things you should do first upon getting laid off from a Swiss company.

A Three Month Sentence
An essay about getting laid off, Swiss style.

The Living Layoff
A Four-Part Radio Series about what happens when you get laid off but still have to keep going to work.
(email me if you'd like the audio files, blogger makes them difficult to post)