A crash course about the Swiss job market
But first, what do Spooglers have to do with anything? Is it the name of a trendy band? Some new, hybrid kitchen utensils?
When we landed in Switzerland, I didn't know that I met the criteria to join a community called the Spooglers. Actually I learned about this group through the manager of an adjacent team of my husband's. A "Spoogler" is a spouse or partner of a Googler. So technically I've been a Spoogler for a few years, but never officially part of any community until now.
The group is organized by lovely volunteer Spooglers who want to promote and maintain a welcoming community to all members.
I quickly requested to join this group and then discovered subgroups based on interest, again, all organized by volunteers. The one that (obviously) caught my attention was the Spoogler Professional Network (SPN):
I was wondering how to start meeting folks to learn about job opportunities and share job searching experiences and this seemed to be the gentle introduction that I needed. At the first event I attended, the speaker was Antonio Oliva, a career coach in Zürich. He walked through a number of topics centered around understanding the Swiss job market and how to increase your chances of getting interviews.
Antonio kept the session moving and made it interactive, which was pleasantly engaging. In this way, I got to be heard by not just Antonio, but also my fellow participants, some of who I have since connected with online. Networking win!
My key takeaways from the session:
1. I learned about some documents that don't really have an equivalent in the US, namely the Arbeitszeugnis.
2. The cover letter (aka motivation letter) is a document that is also considered optional here, but may tip the scales in your favor as it is additional space to set yourself apart from other candidates. I guess that is true in the US, but there was good information about the structure of the letter, really tapping into the "motivation" part of the motivation letter.
3. Recruiter and hiring manager contact info is included for a reason.
So this third one stumped me when I came across contact information when I first started applying to positions. I thought to myself, "What would I even say to this person other than 'um, hi, is this position still open'?" After Antonio's session, I came to view it in a different light; it is an opportunity to learn what may be the absolute key competencies for the position because for example, priorities changed between when the posting first went up and now. In any case, it is yet another chance to make yourself known as a person instead of just a soup of words on a page.
I find it intimidating to literally cold call someone (yes, using the part of the phone to vocally communicate with a person), but for the sake of practicing and self-improvement, I went to a bookmarked job posting and called the hiring manager to ask if German was a required skill for that position. The person didn't pick up so I left a message, thinking that was that and at least I gave it a shot. I was shocked when I received a call back the next day with a response. Even though German was indeed a requirement, I was able to get solid information and feel comfortable about why I was not applying to that particular job. It feels a lot better than applying, hoping for the best, and probably never hearing back. It's nice to get positive reinforcement for something that was challenging.
During the networking/mingling/snacking after the session, I was told again and again by Spooglers to adjust expectations about how long it would take to settle in, including how long it might take to find a job. Seeing how low unemployment is in Switzerland, especially Zürich, I am keeping busy on multiple fronts, tapping into my resilience, continuing to build my network.
Thanks, Spooglers, for the warm welcome into the community! I am looking forward to future events and giving back to the group!
