It may seem a bit challenging to find a new job in general during COVID times. And if you do not live yet in Switzerland, it will of course feel even more daunting to do so. There is a FREE offer somewhere hidden in the text :-)

But fear not! If you have a bit of patience and follow some of our recommendations, you may land your dream job in the land of opportunity of the Alps.

Research: What jobs are in demand now?

The most important realization that you should make upfront is that the world is changing. You may hear a phrase like “until things return to normal, …” But what if things will never return to normal?

At 38Countries we believe that COVID opens up a new decade of digitalization and things will not return to normal. Sure, some day people will use planes a bit more and there will probably be some events and trade fairs in the future and the office will also not completely disappear. But clearly, we see more digital jobs that can be done remotely, from home or the peak of the Matterhorn. Remote and digital work is slowly moving from what used to be a privilege in the past to becoming a necessity now.

So here is your first task: Which of the roles that are now popping up can you do with your existing skill set?

Which roles will be highly sought after in 2 - 5 years if we have a few more COVID waves and then next year multi-resistant bacteria break loose?

You can think about typically digital jobs like virtual assistant, programmer, blog content marketer, call “center” agent and so on. But those roles have existed in the past already and are just becoming more important now.

Can you maybe think of less obvious roles that are sought after much more since COVID than before or that were only created this year?

Plan: what Swiss job can you do in the COVID age?

We can’t just give you a simple answer here, because nobody knows that answer yet. But we can provide you with a question that will hopefully help you find your dream job in Switzerland. 

So let’s break up the questions from above a bit into more granular steps:

Step 1: Make a list of things you like to do and jobs / roles you are thinking of taking up. This could either be based on what you currently do in your current home country or simply a “wish list” combining the ingredients of your dream job as well as combination of both.

Step 2: Highlight all the aspects from Step 1 with one color e.g. red that connect to industries and adjectives that stand for Switzerland, e.g. digital / IT, high tech, pharma, banking, precision mechanics, management, premium services, requiring data protection and so on. (We will write more in a future article about which industries are currently growing in Switzerland.)

Step 3: Of those aspects that were highlighted in Step 2, which ones do you think will be in even more demand in the digital, remote work COVID age? Highlight those with a different color, e.g. yellow.

Now I know: You might be thinking: “Another three step methodology that is supposed to guide me to my luck?” Well, yes and no. As I indicated previously, it’s not that simple, but we think it is a great start to get your planning started and to familiarize yourself with the thought of what roles and skills are in demand in Switzerland.

So here are a few examples of jobs and roles we think will strive and continue to become more in demand in the current situation: software developer, online marketer, social media marketer, virtual assistant. These are of course just a few ideas to get you started.

There will certainly be many more in other industries. And keep in mind that the less obvious ones are probably the best opportunities, so it really pays off that you do the brainstorming described above with your unique branch knowledge.

Interview: all the time and every week

So as soon as you have a short list of jobs, roles or companies that could potentially fit you, it is time to start the conversation process. Finding a job in Switzerland can take longer than in its neighboring countries, so better start early and more importantly, start “getting your hands dirty” early.

There are a lot of small things to learn about interviewing in Switzerland and landing a job that you best learn “on the job”, i.e. while doing one interview after another. For example, politeness is much more important in Switzerland than in most of its neighboring countries. But politeness is not universal. It is often based on extremely local and specific phrases and metaphors. So you will need to learn the phrases and ideas the Swiss will want to hear, even you know e.g. British politeness already. Which again is a good reason to get your hands dirty interview as early as possible.

We are in the age of communication and agility, so go ahead and schedule a video call even if it is just about a less formal chat with a potential employer in Switzerland and only about asking questions about the role. Not every employer will offer this, but some will. Any contact is practice for you and gives you new insights. Plus, we live in less formalized times. Do not fear making an inexperienced impression too much, but embrace the chance to learn something about the Swiss job market and to see where your edge could be. It is really hard to ace your tenth interview, if you have not screwed up the previous nine.

Get help: rest on the shoulder of giants

Rome was not built in a day, but also not by Caesar alone. So in the interest of making the best of your own limited life span, get help on finding a job in Switzerland rather early. There is as always no right answer on when that “right time” is exactly, but you can start with our free CV check offer: Send us a message through WhatsApp and send us your CV in English or German and we will give you an initial feedback for free with no strings attached.