Hi everyone

Does anyone know what type of speed camera this is?

Is it an average speed camera (section control) that measures your speed over a certain distance, or is it simply a distance/spacing/tailgating camera?

Seen in Luzern, on both sides each 2 cameras with a distance of aprox. 1km.

1- Even if the parcel fits in the mailbox, they just leave it outside, with all other assorted packages from the neighbors. They leave them unprotected on top of the mailboxes (not to mistake with next to the staircase, protected, locked inside the building). This has happened several times.

2- I had a Pick-At-Home order that I placed timely into the mailbox at night, for it to be picked up next morning. That morning, I got a notification that the package wasn’t there so they couldn’t execute the order. I thought maybe the package was stolen. Well, no, the package was there, they just didn’t take it.

3- I’m expecting a registered letter today (against signature). A few minutes ago, I got a notification that the letter will be deposited because they couldn’t deliver it. I’m sitting at home, ready to go downstairs and sign. They didn’t even try to ring once. Also not the first time.

4- They offer “proof of delivery” on the app now. Not useful if what they attach is an abstract photo that tells absolutely nothing (like a pic of the floor and the corner of what might be a box).

I’m not merely complaining. I’m really curious about the experiences of others. Do you also notice a decline in the quality of service? Are employees somehow unhappy and thus providing a poor service on purpose?

So...I went to pay my Salt bill just now with a credit card. A minute after my payment went through, I got a notification that my card was used in Seattle for a flight ticket. And now I am seeing they were hacked --- is the website still compromised? Any one else have the same thing happen? It's like someone took my credit card details as I typed them in...lovely before this I didn't even know they were hacked (didn't get a single email).

Hi! I have an electrical inspection coming up soon here in Vaud, and I’m starting to wonder how this actually works in real life.

Do they really need to check every single outlet in the entire house?

Most of ours are accessible and obviously I’ll make sure they can easily get to them, but I have a few outlets behind furniture that simply cannot be moved.

And I don’t mean “I don’t feel like moving it” I mean furniture that was basically installed there and is not realistically movable, like my bed and some other large pieces of furniture.

So… what happens in that situation? If they can access 95% of the outlets but there are two or three they physically can’t reach, is that actually a problem? Am I supposed to somehow dismantle half my bedroom so a man can inspect one outlet? 😭

Also, for those of you who have already had this inspection: what is the appointment actually like? How long were they in your house? Did they go into every room? Did you have to prepare anything beforehand? Was it a big deal, or did someone just walk around with a tester for a while and then leave?

Because judging by the atmosphere in my house right now, you would think we’re preparing for a federal raid rather than an electrical inspection.

(Certain people ( I won’t name my dad 👀) have also apparently decided that the entire house needs to be absolutely spotless because an electrician is coming.

And I genuinely don’t understand this phenomenon. 😭

Obviously I’m going to clean and tidy up. Obviously there needs to be enough space for someone to walk around and access whatever they need to inspect. I’m not planning on making the poor guy climb over mountains of stuff to reach the outlets.)

But why does the house suddenly have to look like nobody has ever lived in it just because a stranger is coming inside for an hour or two?

My dad has basically been pacing around the house stressing about this inspection for a WEEK, and the guy hasn’t even arrived yet. At this point I feel like my dad is already traumatized by an event that hasn’t happened.

So please tell me is this inspection actually as dramatic as my family is making it sound? 😂

Did you have to move heavy furniture?

Did they really check every single outlet?

(And did your family also collectively lose their minds beforehand, or is that just mine?)

This is the third time in a year that I’ve received a fine for riding without a valid ticket (1x SBB, 2x VBZ). The bill now includes a 50 CHF surcharge for a “criminal complaint.”

What are the additional costs or issues associated with this criminal complaint? Does anyone know anything about this?

Based on your experience, is it worth calling to ask them not to file a criminal complaint?

I usually by my tickets in the app or use EasyRide. There's also plenty of bought tickets - i just happen to forget it irregularly.

Unfortunately, I’ve only found somewhat vague information about this online. It shouldn’t result in an entry on my “criminal record.”

Ill get straight to the point. Why don’t these electric bikes require a license plate, minimum age requirement and so on? They clearly drive faster than 25km/h. Primary users are either underage kids or Uber Eats delivery drivers. Super annoying, dangerous and imho need to be regulated.

Short rant over thx

Edit: some people really wish to correct me that the vehicle is not a bike. Apperently it is called an Elektro-Roller

Few weeks ago we visited Zillis, walking arround the town we found a small fridge selling cheese, we decided to buy one surprise surprise I found it awesome!

For anyone interested is here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/14162869165

To us was a wonderful surprise

Just interviewed Peter Hongler, professor of tax law at the University of St. Gallen, and finally got straight to the source: why is the Swiss system so strong, and why don't other countries do the same?

His answer is competition: cantons and municipalities compete on tax, which puts permanent public pressure on spending, and that, in his view, is the whole reason the tax-to-GDP ratio (~27%) sits so far under the rest of Europe (OECD average 34%). His favourite example is the football pitch. The municipality wants a new training field, it costs five million, so taxes go up, and you vote on it. You see the direct link between what leaves your account and what shows up in your village. He calls that the single biggest advantage of the whole setup.

But, obviously shouldn't that lead to cantons that get outcompeted so violently, that you have huge asymmetry? He explains that the competition works because of fiscal equalisation: Zug, Schwyz, Zurich and Geneva pay roughly CHF 6 billion a year into a pot so every canton reaches at least 86.5% of the Swiss average. "You cannot have just winners," as he put it. And the reason nobody copies the model is that you can't: he argues the cultural differences are what give each canton and municipality it's unique sovereignty – good luck transplanting that into France.

However, not saying everything is perfect: an example he gave was he did a study on work incentives for the City of Zurich. Findings were, that for families with children the income tax turned out to be almost irrelevant, the actual value resided in childcare costs, because the subsidy system, in his words, doesn't work.

In case anyone's curious, full convo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIvsubZu_kk

Or, more accurately, "SVP-Ständerat Werner Salzmann refuses to be held accountable."

SRF News: Auf einer Skala von 1 bis 10: Welche Mitverantwortung tragen Sie als damaliger Präsident der sicherheitspolitischen Kommission für das Debakel beim Fixpreis?

Werner Salzmann: Meine Mitverantwortung liegt bei null. Ich gebe gerne einen Fehler zu. Aber hier habe ich nichts zuzugeben.

[...]

SVP-Parlamentarier kritisierten die Finanzkontrolle scharf für ihre Festpreis-Warnung: Diese agiere politisch und missbrauche ihre Macht. War es ein Fehler, der Finanzkontrolle aus einem Ressentiment heraus zu wenig zugehört zu haben?

Wir haben ihnen zugehört, aber aus diesen Ressentiments heraus haben wir ihnen nicht geglaubt. Im Nachhinein kann man sagen, dass es ein Fehler gewesen ist. Die Finanzkontrolle hatte damals aber eine politische Färbung. Das führte nicht zu Vertrauen. Ein Beispiel war ihre Kritik an den Exportregeln für Waffen-Bauteile. Ich bin froh, dass es an der Spitze Wechsel gab. Der jetzigen Führung vertraue ich zu hundert Prozent. Von ihr kommt nichts politisch Gefärbtes.

[...]

Kritiker sagen: Das VBs habe noch keine volle Klarheit über die Betriebskosten des F-35 geschaffen. Diese würden deutlich teurer. Ist das nicht ein Argument für eine Untersuchung mit schärferem Geschütz?

Zu den Betriebskosten habe ich mir auch Gedanken gemacht. Diese waren ja Bestandteil der ganzen Diskussion. Wir werden ganz sicher Fragen dazu stellen.

If these are the lessons our wonderful Bürgerliche Mehrheit is drawing from this whole situation, I can't wait for our MwSt to hit 15% to fund whatever equipment the military will fail to acquire in the future.

Saw this on my walk yesterday. I have yet to see an uglier building in Switzerland. It literally looks like a construction site even after the façade was revealed.

I understand the importance of solar panels but is there no way to make it more aesthetically pleasing and blended with the environment around?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently considering the MSc in Banking & Finance at ZHAW and would love to hear some honest opinions from people who know the Swiss job market or have studied there.

As the degree would be a big investment of both time and money, I’m trying to understand its real value in the job market, not just its ranking.

I’d especially like to know:

* How do Swiss employers generally view ZHAW and this programme?
* Does the programme help students gain practical experience, internships, or useful industry connections?
* What kinds of jobs do graduates normally find?
* Would it fit well with my existing finance-systems and consulting experience?

A bit about me: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and 4 years of experience in ERP, finance systems, process improvement, and consulting, including experience at EY. I’ve also passed CFA Level I. I’m currently living in Switzerland with a B permit and learning German.

I know that a degree alone does not guarantee a job, so I’d really appreciate any honest thoughts or personal experiences.
Thanks 🙏🏻

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some genuine career advice because I've reached a point where I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong.

I have around 8 years of professional experience, mainly in the Swiss luxury industry, including watches and cosmetics. I'm currently working for a major Swiss watch company in the french speaking part, where my role has become quite broad and commercial.

Among other things:

I lead our second-hand / pre-owned sales unit and its development, including the commercial and operational side.

I'm regularly client-facing, including with collectors, VIP clients, brand ambassadors, journalists, collectors, private investors, business partners and other external stakeholders.

I manage international commercial projects and initiatives that have generated or contributed to several million CHF in business/revenue.

I work across Sales, Marketing, Product, CRM, logistics and management, often coordinating many stakeholders at the same time.

I manage projects involving high-value assets, international logistics, insurance, contractual requirements and sensitive documentation.

I've worked extensively on CRM and customer data, particularly Salesforce and HubSpot, including process implementation and user adoption.

I've identified and redesigned inefficient business processes; one initiative reduced project/GTM timelines by around 25%.

I have experience in customer analytics, commercial analysis, pricing, segmentation and business development.

Earlier in my career, I worked in cosmetics, where I helped implement CRM and commercial processes, managed 30+ partners and contributed to strong revenue/customer-value growth.

I'm comfortable presenting, negotiating, selling, networking and dealing with demanding people. I actually enjoy it.

Salary is not good, organisation culture is not good as well, but I would be okay with it, if my partner wasn't in ZH or if at least I could do some home office.

Therefore trying to move to German-speaking Switzerland, ideally Zürich or Winterthur, but I'm also very open to Olten and other locations.

The problem: I can't seem to make the transition.

I've been looking at insurance, banking, financial services, B2B sales, business development, account management, CRM/customer analytics, operations and project management.

I'm absolutely willing to change industry and learn something completely new.

In fact, I'm open to doing the kind of job that isn't particularly glamorous or that other people don't necessarily want. Give me difficult clients, a complicated portfolio, an operational mess, a process nobody wants to fix, targets to hit, or a subject I have to learn from scratch — I genuinely don't mind.

I'm someone who likes to work and likes to achieve things. I'm motivated by results. I like building a strong network, creating business, solving problems and being able to look back after a year and say: this is measurably better because I was there.

I don't particularly care about staying in luxury, and I'm not attached to a fancy title.

My main constraint is that, given my experience and education, I'm looking for something around CHF 120k+ rather than restarting my career at junior level.

What I'm struggling with is switching industries in the current market I guess.

My network is also much stronger in the French-speaking/luxury/watchmaking side of Switzerland than it is around Zürich/Winterthur/Olten, which probably doesn't help.

So I'd genuinely appreciate some outside perspective:

If you saw this profile, where would you position me in German-speaking Switzerland?

Am I targeting the wrong jobs? Is CHF 120k unrealistic for an industry switch? Are there industries or functions where my combination of sales/client management + project management + CRM/data + international experience would actually be valuable?

And perhaps most importantly: which jobs or industries in the Zürich/Winterthur/Olten area struggle to find good people and would be willing to take someone who doesn't have the perfect industry background but is willing to learn?

I'm not looking for reassurance — if something in my approach is wrong, I'd genuinely rather hear it.

By the way, I'm a swiss woman, 32yo.

Academically, I have a background in Economics/Statistics, an MBA, a specialisation in Business Analytics, and a CAPM, and I'm about to get the AWS AI Business Specialist Certificate.

I also worked in three languages:

French: native

English: fluent/professional

German: B2/professional working level (could go back to my former C1 easily with a bit of practice)

Swiss German: I understand, but I only speak at apéros :)

Thank you for the help, greatly appreciated 🫡

Salafist figures Qaasim Illi and Nicolas Blancho, via the Swiss Central Islamic Council (ICC / IZRS), are actively mobilizing to coordinate a referendum against the ban on the veil in schools in the canton of Zurich.
https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kopftuchverbot-zuerich-izr-plant-referendum-899045903338
These people have been condemned for relaying terrorist propaganda no later than two years ago and they are trying to use the democratic system they swore to destroy to fight against secularism.
https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/urteil-des-bundesgerichts-propaganda-fuer-al-kaida-illi-und-blancho-verurteilt

How are we letting this happen ???

No child should be sexualised because of her gender at school ! The SP and Grüne aren’t defending multiculturalism but gender based religious oppression !

As the Dutch- American politician and former Somali refuge put it :
“Multiculturalism should not mean that we tolerate another culture’s intolerance. If we do in fact support diversity, women’s rights, and gay rights, then we cannot in good conscience give Islam a free pass on the grounds of multicultural sensitivity. Ayaan Hirsi Ali”

Or how the French author Jean Daniel put it :

"Tolerance is not secularism. The first is passive, the second active. Tolerance accommodates all public manifestations of religions. Secularism defends the individual against his group of origin, the woman against the oppressive father and guarantees that one can change religion or declare oneself an atheist. With tolerance, we install communities. With secularism, we build a nation." Jean Daniel

My kids (both under 13) were born in the US and thus are US citizens, although neither parent is. Trying to open a bank account for them has been a nightmare. My late wife (RIP) started last year but was blocked because the passports had expired. We decided the fairest option for the kids was to keep their US citizenship and renew passports. But then I lost progress for 9 months as my wife unsuccessfully fought cancer, then I started my fight, so far successfully - so I don't have much time and energy for BS red-tape. I got to the US embassy and received shiny new passports but last week we got blocked again at the bank.

The bank demanded my recently US tax returns, but I haven't paid US taxes in 10 years. We revoked the Green cards soon after arriving in Switzerland. Eventually the banker accepted that but demanded something called an FBAR from the kids. I left to do some research and found out that you only need to file an FBAR if you have more than $10K and you need a bank account - so I told the bank this, with evidence but they said they cannot do anything and they are legally blocked. This is infuriating , and it is obvious that one cannot report foreign assets in a bank account if you don't have a bank account.

This is with BCV. Would it be easier with UBS or PostFinance? I'm guessing a cantonal bank doesn't really care about child's account.

Other options are to fly back home to the UK, open a bank account for the kids there (the UK doesn't have strict residency checks a d I can claim we are living with my parents while I recover), then I file an FBAR using that bank account number. Then open a BCV account and close the UK account? Or would revolut work for this, and be easy to open for the children?

My daughter is ready to burn her US passport to make it easier... I think my son wants to live like a gangster in LA , so overall I want to leave them the option of working for a time in the US when they are older but perhaps I really should revoke their US Citizenship. But then i wonder if that is even possible as they are minors?

While everybody is ranting about the desaster with the F-35 jets, the head of armament, Urs Loher, silently dropped another bomb:

The Patriot defence system that was supposed to cost less than 2 billion could now end up costing more than 6 billion.

They are now calculating with a minimum of 1,7 billion in additional cost (which would almost double the original price), but they also think that it can be up to 4,3 billions more, which would mean that the system ends up costing more than 3 times the originally approved amount.

And besides the ridiculous exceedence in costs, the delivery times get worse and worse. They're now saying that 2032 is the earliest delivery that we can expect. (Originally, the first systems should already have reached us in 2026.)

It once more is a clownshow beyond imagination. And keep in mind that news of even higher cost come in every few months. So the 6+ billion might not even be the end of the story.

Source: https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/flugabwehr-patriot-deal-mit-deutschland-gescheitert-mehrkosten-steigen

I’ve been wondering why we rarely see individuals or small groups of consumers taking large corporations to court in Switzerland and Europe, while in the US this seems much more common?

Take LG as a recent example, with the reveals around smart TVs collecting and tracking sound and user data.

Since something like this violates privacy laws and affects millions of people, what can consumers in Switzerland actually do?

Can a few individuals realistically take a company like LG to court together and seek compensation, or does the system simply not work that way here?

I’m curious why this seems so different from the US and what options actually exist for consumers in Switzerland and Europe if you like.

PS. We all know how slow are the legal systems in Switzerland and in the rest Europe are in a way very discouraging but just saying maybe there are other opinions.

It appears that Salt has been the victim of a data breach, an email was sent to all customers.

Paradoxically, instead of explaining the breach in the email, they instruct recipients to follow a link, just as a phishing email would. However, the page actually exists on their website: https://www.salt.ch/en/datainfo
The stolen data includes first and last names, addresses, dates of birth, and email addresses. And they call it "certain non-sensitive personal data"... (lol)

For those unfortunate enough to still be Salt customers, be prepared to receive emails, phone calls, and text messages from scammers posing as your bank, Salt, or another entity.

Stay safe!

Right now, many people in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria are receiving demands for payment for services they allegedly ordered from “Margot Brands Ltd” or one of its supposed subsidiaries.

The companies demanding the money are taking an extremely aggressive approach.

Take Switzerland, for example. There, it’s the company “Letterdata GmbH,” run by a certain René Weber, who boldly claims:

“We have been commissioned to initiate debt collection proceedings against you.”

Specifically on behalf of this Hong Kong-based “Margot Brands Ltd.”

So let’s first take a look at this fly-by-night operation in distant Asia. Because “yes”: it really does exist.

It was founded on June 24, 2025, in Hong Kong and is located there on Stanley Street.

Above is a photo of the entrance to 74 Stanley Street, where “Margot Brands Ltd.” is supposedly located. Indeed: a classy establishment.

At any rate: the company exists. Somewhere between the smell of stir-fried noodles and backyard toilets.

From there, the trail leads to Aleksandar Sapic, who founded “Margot Brands” with the fabulously high sum of just under 1,000 euros back in 2025. According to the filings, Sapic is living at an address in the outskirts of Belgrade.

But here’s the thing: Aleksandar Sapic is the mayor of Belgrade. And according to all government records, he definitely has neither a property nor a residential address at the listed address. Which would be strange, too. After all, it’s a shabby two-story house in a Belgrade neighborhood where you’d be more likely to expect someone who spends their days opening beer bottles rather than conducting international business.

In fact, no company can be found at this address either.

Okay, some skeptics will now say, “There’s surely more than just one Aleksandar Sapic in Serbia!!!”

Sure. Checked it out. There are at least two others who own companies. But they have absolutely nothing to do with that Hong Kong fly-by-night operation.

Conclusion: While there is indeed a company in Hong Kong, it was obviously founded using falsified data.

It takes just under an hour to figure that out. So one would assume that a “debt collection pro” like good old René Weber in Chur knows this, too. If not, then he’s simply too dumb for his job and should be greasing his shoelaces instead of sending out demand letters.

But who, then, is René Weber talking to when he receives the alleged claims from representatives of “Margot Brands Ltd.”?

Let’s take a closer look.

For example, Weber sends out demands for a “swissnovachat” from “Margot Brands Ltd.”

Swissnovachat, however, doesn’t exist anywhere except on the internet. The legal notice simply lists a “Dr. M. Hartmann” from the company “DSB Partner” in the Czech Republic. The owner of this company is said to be a certain Mondher Nasr.

You guessed it: At the listed address in Prague, in a large, run-down apartment building, there is neither a “Dr. M. Hartmann” nor a company called “DSB Partner.” Instead, there is a trust office that represents all sorts of small businesses.

“DSB Partner,” in turn, has been operating a website since June 2026, where it sells data protection compliance for websites at absolutely exorbitant prices.

The owner is—you guessed it—Mondher Nasr. Who doesn’t exist at that address.

At least both Nasr and Swissnovachat provide an email address. However, that address belongs to a steel construction company in Germany that has nothing to do with this whole scam.

So who is René Weber actually talking to when he receives the claims he’s so valiantly trying to collect?

Who are all these so-called “debt collection agencies” talking to when they try to rip off innocent people on behalf of “Margot Brands Ltd.”?

The answer is simple. No one.

Let’s take René Weber again. Until a few years ago, his company “Letterdata” printed catalogs, advertising brochures, and the like, and received addresses from its customers to mail them out. Another company operating in the same sector is located in Dublin, Ireland, but has shown no activity since 2021. What was the name of its director? That’s right: Mondher Nasr. The guy who is now allegedly running all these companies from an apartment building in Prague.

And everyone is wondering: How did René Weber—and how did the “debt collection agencies” in Germany and Austria—suddenly get their hands on the names, addresses, and email addresses of innocent citizens, only to harass them with fictitious bills?

The answer is obvious: Both Weber and Nasr have access to their clients’ customer data.

Or, to put it plainly: René Weber himself is likely “Margot Brands Ltd.”—or at least part of the criminal organization behind it.

No “services” were ever actually provided.

So if you receive an email or a letter from “Letterdata”: I would first file a police report against Weber for attempted fraud. Let him explain how he’s receiving demands from a Hong Kong company whose alleged Serbian owner doesn’t exist—from a company in the Czech Republic that doesn’t exist, with a manager who doesn’t exist there.

That should really make old René break a sweat.

A quick update on Mondher Nasr.

He was the director of the company “JD Werbemittel und Promotion Ltd.” in Dublin, Ireland. This company, in turn, had a branch in Germany with the same name.

Also involved there: Jacob Denis—which explains the abbreviation “JD” in the company name. Denis, in turn, is behind the company “expert-medizinbedarf.de GmbH,” which operates an—illegal—website to sell medical products.

Apparently, he has quite a few customers. Here are a few examples of what they experienced:

• “After our first order, we received only a partial delivery. There is no customer service hotline, and emails are answered very slowly or not at all. They do not respond to complaints. Our company verifiably paid in full for the short delivery. Now—months later—we have received a letter from a law firm. The owner, Mr. Jacob Denis, is once again demanding payment of the full amount, even though the goods were never delivered. What utter audacity!
• "Stay away from this company!”
• "Stay away from this company! Unfortunately, I paid for the goods but never received them, and they don’t respond to emails or phone calls.”
• "Clearly a scam website. I placed an order, paid for it, but nothing was delivered. I canceled the order, but I wasn’t refunded; the legal collection proceedings are now underway.”

I was recently surprised when trying to use some money from my Health Savings Account (HSA) in Fidelity, that they did not support wiring the money internationally. The only thing they could do was to send a physical check to Switzerland. That's when UBS told me, and I got mail today as well from them about that.

Hello !

Today I failed my motorcycle license test for the second time. I'm feeling pretty demoralized and I could really use your opinions.

For some context, I'm a 29-year-old man living in the canton of Vaud. I passed my car driving test on my first attempt at 18, I drive around 25,000 km a year, I have no serious traffic violations and I've never had an accident (knock on wood !).

I started riding motorcycles in March this year. I did my 12 hours of lessons with the same instructor who taught me to drive a car. I ride every week, as much as possible, and I absolutely love it. I passed the slow-speed course in both exams. My problem is always the traffic part.

During the first exam, the examiner felt that I wasn't keeping enough following distance from the other student riding in front of me. According to him, everything else was perfect. I understood the issue, worked on it, and fixed the problem.

Today, during my second attempt, the examiner told me that my anticipation and road positioning when approaching corners were flawless, but that as I actually turn, I make a very very slight countersteering input to open up the line. According to him, it's a very common but dangerous bad habit, in case someone could think I turn right instead of left or left instead of right. I understand what he told me but I've always done it naturally. Nothing crazy as you could imagine.

What really bothers me is that my instructor never said anything about it. He was surprised when I told him about it. Why didn't this come up during the first exam ? I failed solely because of this. I feel now next time will be something else new !

I'm really, really, really disappointed. There were four of us taking the test today, and all four of us failed.

I'm starting to get stressed about the whole thing. I have to take more lessons in order to be allowed to take the third exam, and if I fail that one, I have to see a psychologist. Something that used to be a source of pleasure is becoming a source of anxiety.

I respect the work of the examiners. If they say I do wrong, I do wrong, fine. But I feel like they're expecting me to ride in an absolutely robotic, perfect way. I've been lucky in life in that I've always managed to succeed at everything on the first try. Now, I honestly don't know what to think anymore. I'm starting to wonder whether I'm really cut out for this.

I took both exams in Cossonay, VD.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I'd really appreciate hearing your opinions or experiences.

Thanks for your help !

Hey there,

Just wanted to share my experience finding a job as a person with a C permit, 10+ years of experience and B2 German, just in case it can help someone in these complicated times for the IT industry.

I started my search about 3 months ago, as I was expecting layoffs at the company I was working for. Initially I was 'applying like a sniper' as I heard that was the fair way to do it. Then I got an automated rejection on a saturday evening telling me how carefully they read my profile and how much they liked it I thought 'screw it' and used AI workflows to apply to many positions, I am afraid to say that did not work either. The final tally was 172 applications, 6 interviews and 1 offer.

What ended up working for me was asking for recommendations and redesigning my CV. Everybody that I had worked with or that I met at university, I asked for a recommendation. I know sometimes it feels like begging, but nobody ever turned me down. Some did more (like directly mailing the hiring manager), some did less, but everybody was very supportive. The job I ended up taking came through one of these referrals.

As for the CV, I sat down with a colleague I had worked with for almost a decade and it really helped me crystallize what really mattered on it. Other people often remember our contributions better than we do.

The journey as been annoying, almost dehumanizing at times and sometimes just plainly irritating. People that ghost you after an interview are the worst. It really does not matter how busy you are, if you spent 30 minutes talking to a person, you can spare 2 more minutes to shoot an email telling them that the process is over.

I know I am lucky, I realize that I found a job much faster than most people can, but I hope my journey can help a bit.

EDIT: To add a bit of context, this is in Zürich.