1

I have an excellent job opportunity in Switzerland. It would require me to relocate and bring my wife. We would like some info about how hard it is to find a job for her - it is hard to find anything specific knowledge.

I would start the job early summer, and my wife would for different reasons want to start a job some time between October and December. Which gives us about 6-8 months to search for a job.

We're both EU citizens, and my wife has a university degree in mathematics and economics and 3 years of relevant work experience in analytics / data work.

She has a decent knowledge of German, and can understand some, but in no way fluent. What is the best way to find job as a foreigner with that background?

Improve this question
3
  • Not sure if I am pointing out the obvious but there are a ton of financial institutions (banking, insurance, consultancy etc) in Switzerland. She could apply to those just as one would to any other job.
    – Calculon
    Jan 26, 2018 at 17:13
  • She nees to speak English, French, or German good enough to hold a job; otherwise that’s the first step. If so, just apply. No magic needed.
    – Aganju
    Jan 28, 2018 at 3:55
  • A lot depends on where in Switzerland you're moving to. As a software developer, I've found in my experience that in Zurich there are a lot of jobs with English but no German required. In Basel, there are a reasonable number. In Bern, it's very hard to find one without German required.
    – Kyralessa
    Mar 26, 2018 at 8:39

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

I work in a software house in Zürich where it is absolutely not a problem that some people have essentially no German. On the other hand, one of my colleagues returned to Hungary because his wife was unable to get a job without fluent German.

My gut feel is that for analytics/data work it should be relatively straightforward to find a job based on fluent English. I notice that you are from Denmark, and assume your wife is too, so I assume she speaks fluent English.

One of the differences I noticed between Germany/Switzerland and the UK when submitting a CV/resume, is that here a Lebenslauf should contain a small photograph (which would be plain wrong in the UK). Also, firms will ask for copies of all certificates eventually (I had to go back 40 years for some of mine!) I don't know how this compares with Denmark.

Improve this answer
1

She should definitely look for a job in banking/finance. There is a huge demand of skilled data analysts. English is a condition sine qua non in this field, and depending on your location (french or german speaking part) one or even both of these languages are a huge asset.

The only difficulty I see, is that Switzerland as some quota regarding working permits for EU nationals, and it might be difficult to find a position at the end of the year, she might have more chances at the beginning of the next year when quota are renewed.

(I am a Swiss national living there.)

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.