Zurich at a Glance
Working in Zurich
iStockphotoUBS is one of the most important banking companies, both in Zurich and worldwide.
Working in Zurich, you will be participating in one of the most competitive economies worldwide and in one of Switzerland’s strongest regional economies. Switzerland is a very affluent country, which has recovered well after the financial crisis of 2008/2009. In 2011, the Swiss GDP grew by 2%, and the unemployment rate dropped to roughly 3%. A considerable part of Switzerland’s success is due to the people working in Zurich and its metropolitan area.
Working in Zurich: A Service-Oriented Economy
The Greater Zurich Area is often called Switzerland’s economic growth engine. This growth is strongly service-oriented. Nowadays, few of the highly skilled labor force are working in Zurich’s manufacturing sector, let alone in agriculture. In the canton, over 80% of all employees are currently working in Zurich’s service industry. In the city itself this percentage rises to an astounding 90%. The most important field of employment for those working in Zurich is, of course, finance.
Zurich’s financial sector is often considered synonymous with the professionalism, wealth, and discretion of Switzerland’s banks in general. About 25% of all people working in Zurich City are indeed employed in banking, finance, and insurance. Zurich is among the top 10 financial markets around the globe, on a par with New York’s Wall Street or the City of London. In addition to the Swiss Stock Exchange, the city features such household names of the finance industry as UBS, Crédit Suisse, Swiss Life, Swiss Re, the Zurich Insurance Group, and AXA Winterthur.
Working in Zurich: Alternatives to Finance
Even if you don’t plan on working in Zurich’s banking and insurance companies, the city and the canton offer plenty of potential employers for highly qualified expatriates. The Zurich Office for Economy and Labor is trying to strengthen other industries in the region. While finance will remain important for many people working in Zurich, it may also lose in significance on a global level. Thus there is even greater interest in other fields to provide job opportunities for working in Zurich: tourism, health and life sciences, information and communication technology, aerospace businesses, and the creative industries attract more and more people who consider working in Zurich.
Future growth sectors like medical technology, micro and nano technology, and IT/CT profit from the presence of several renowned universities in the Greater Zurich Area. Research and development as well as business intelligence benefit from the graduates of Zurich University, the ETH Zurich, or the University of St Gallen. Today’s MBA student or newly minted PhD may become tomorrow’s entrepreneur working in Zurich’s technology park or in the Google engineering labs.
Apart from Google, various other multi-nationals have their Swiss or even European headquarters in the Zurich area. So, if you are interested in working in Zurich, you may as well land a job in vehicle engineering (BMW, Fiat, Ford, GM, Renault, Volvo), chemistry and pharmaceutics (Bayer, Pfizer), or business consulting (PWC).
Working in Zurich: Advice for Job-Seekers
Executives who’d like to start working in Zurich are often hired via headhunters or international recruitment agencies. However, as a well-qualified expat below the upper management level, you’ll probably have to do most of the work yourself. If you see yourself working in Zurich for a global player, start by checking the company websites directly. Businesses of that size usually advertise all vacancies online and have a standardized recruitment process.
For networking purposes, the numerous foreign chambers of commerce in Zurich are a good place to start. Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US are Switzerland’s biggest trading partners. Nationals of these countries or people with professional experience in these markets may therefore have a good chance of working in Zurich. Last but not least, below you’ll find some job search engines that expats dreaming of working in Zurich should check out.
Working in Zurich: Online Resources
- NZZexecutive (German only)
- Experteer (French, German)
- Monster (French, German)
- Topjobs (French, German)
- Jobs.ch (English, French, German)
- Jobscout24 (French, German)
- JobsinZurich (English only)
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