When I first moved to Switzerland, I was going to work for Adobe. Yes, the Californian giant.

You might think that a big American software company would help an expat get started in a new country. And you would be wrong: They only had a service provider for "visas", but as an EU citizen you do not need a visa for Switzerland. So essentially this service provider was just a nuisance. They asked me many questions, asked me to fill out a couple of forms. And then they provided absolutely no added value at all.

They did not help me sign up for health insurance quickly, not even compare prices.

They did not provide any help to find accommodation, probably one of the most pressing concerns for new expats.

So many things to consider as an expat

As a new expat in Switzerland with a signed work contract, you have to:

• Unregister everything in the old country
• Find a place to live
• Register your residence address to obtain a work permit
• Open a bank account
• Get health insurance
• Get some more insurances like private liability insurance (practically obligatory in Switzerland)
• Convert money to CHF
• Find a gym or other sports activities
• And some more tasks

As an employer, you should help

If you want to be the most attractive employer to get the best people on board, you will need to help your candidates help with all these tasks. If you can say during the offer conversation that you will make the life as smooth as possible for your future employee, you have a big edge on any other employer.

As in my case, most employers do not offer help with relocation and moving to Switzerland. Especially with the COVID situation, many people from other countries are hesitant to move. If you can offer them help relocating to Switzerland, you can really stand out among all the other offers your candidate gets.

Talk to me

I know all the pains and obstacles in moving to Switzerland as an IT specialist. If you hire IT people from other countries, I can help you make your new employee's life as smooth as possible. Drop me a message now.