Is it very tough to get a work permit In Switzerland after graduating from good schools like St Gallen, hec Lausanne or IMD?


Inactive User

Is Germany a better option for most international Students? Germany does provide you with a post study job search visa and so do Italy and Spain. However, idk if there is any such option in Switzerland. Is Switzerland one of the hardest countries to find employment in as a non EU student?
I do speak Italian and have worked in Italy before, however I have rejected my offers from polimi, nova Portugal, uc3m, uni of Zurich and have chosen hec Lausanne instead. However, many people have suggested that I look at lower ranked Canadian programs as well as it is relatively easier to find employment in Canada upon graduation.
The reasons I didn't want to stay in Italy were very low salaries, no work opportunities in any other city apart from Milan

Is Germany a better option for most international Students? Germany does provide you with a post study job search visa and so do Italy and Spain. However, idk if there is any such option in Switzerland. Is Switzerland one of the hardest countries to find employment in as a non EU student?
I do speak Italian and have worked in Italy before, however I have rejected my offers from polimi, nova Portugal, uc3m, uni of Zurich and have chosen hec Lausanne instead. However, many people have suggested that I look at lower ranked Canadian programs as well as it is relatively easier to find employment in Canada upon graduation.
The reasons I didn't want to stay in Italy were very low salaries, no work opportunities in any other city apart from Milan
quote
Duncan

Generally it is pretty easy to get a work permit anywhere if you have a job offer. The question is: what demand is there for you? IMD has excellent placement into multinationals. HEC serves Romandy, so French is a key asset.

Generally it is pretty easy to get a work permit anywhere if you have a job offer. The question is: what demand is there for you? IMD has excellent placement into multinationals. HEC serves Romandy, so French is a key asset.
quote
Duncan

My experience was that HSG was the only school that rejected me, so I ended up graduating from LBS. I think they will admit you only if they think they can place you. Remember, the employers are their customers and the students are the product.

My experience was that HSG was the only school that rejected me, so I ended up graduating from LBS. I think they will admit you only if they think they can place you. Remember, the employers are their customers and the students are the product.
quote
Inactive User

For Switzerland, I believe that if you don't have a job lined up after the MBA, they give you up to six months to find one. During this time your student visa is essentially extended, and you can work up to 15 hours a week. Once you land a real job it should be fairly simple to get a work visa.

The most recent FT Global MBA ranking says that 71% of St. Gallen MBA grads had landed a job by graduation, and 100% had within 3 months. For IMD grads it was 83% / 100%, so that should ease any concerns (assuming you can get into St. Gallen or IMD.)

For Switzerland, I believe that if you don't have a job lined up after the MBA, they give you up to six months to find one. During this time your student visa is essentially extended, and you can work up to 15 hours a week. Once you land a real job it should be fairly simple to get a work visa.

The most recent FT Global MBA ranking says that 71% of St. Gallen MBA grads had landed a job by graduation, and 100% had within 3 months. For IMD grads it was 83% / 100%, so that should ease any concerns (assuming you can get into St. Gallen or IMD.)
quote
Inactive User

i will be aiming for a master in finance hence imd is out of the question. I know that st gallen is a great school but what about the swiss public unis like uni of zurich, lausanne or geneva?

For Switzerland, I believe that if you don't have a job lined up after the MBA, they give you up to six months to find one. During this time your student visa is essentially extended, and you can work up to 15 hours a week. Once you land a real job it should be fairly simple to get a work visa.

The most recent FT Global MBA ranking says that 71% of St. Gallen MBA grads had landed a job by graduation, and 100% had within 3 months. For IMD grads it was 83% / 100%, so that should ease any concerns (assuming you can get into St. Gallen or IMD.)

i will be aiming for a master in finance hence imd is out of the question. I know that st gallen is a great school but what about the swiss public unis like uni of zurich, lausanne or geneva?[quote]For Switzerland, I believe that if you don't have a job lined up after the MBA, they give you up to six months to find one. During this time your student visa is essentially extended, and you can work up to 15 hours a week. Once you land a real job it should be fairly simple to get a work visa.

The most recent FT Global MBA ranking says that 71% of St. Gallen MBA grads had landed a job by graduation, and 100% had within 3 months. For IMD grads it was 83% / 100%, so that should ease any concerns (assuming you can get into St. Gallen or IMD.)[/quote]
quote
Duncan

HSG *is* a public university.

There are two other public swiss universities in the FT MiF ranking http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2018 USI have very strong outcomes. HEC is below average,

HSG *is* a public university.

There are two other public swiss universities in the FT MiF ranking http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2018 USI have very strong outcomes. HEC is below average,
quote
laurie

Also in terms of international mobility the Swiss schools are actually worse than many France / UK / Spain MiF programs (something like the MSc in International Finance from Rennes School of Business is a great value in terms of its international mobility outcomes).

Also in terms of international mobility the Swiss schools are actually worse than many France / UK / Spain MiF programs (something like the MSc in International Finance from Rennes School of Business is a great value in terms of its international mobility outcomes).
quote
Duncan

I think this is also because a higher percentage of international students in those countries arrive able to speak the local language.

I think this is also because a higher percentage of international students in those countries arrive able to speak the local language.
quote
Inactive User

Is USI a good school?

HSG *is* a public university.

There are two other public swiss universities in the FT MiF ranking http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2018 USI have very strong outcomes. HEC is below average,

Is USI a good school?[quote]HSG *is* a public university.

There are two other public swiss universities in the FT MiF ranking http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2018 USI have very strong outcomes. HEC is below average, [/quote]
quote
Duncan

The rankings show that it is a good school for the MiF.

The rankings show that it is a good school for the MiF.
quote
Inactive User

But it's still ranked lower than hec lausanne. However it does seem to have a much better employment rate than hec. What could be the reason behind this? Would you advice me to choose USI over hec?

The rankings show that it is a good school for the MiF.

But it's still ranked lower than hec lausanne. However it does seem to have a much better employment rate than hec. What could be the reason behind this? Would you advice me to choose USI over hec?[quote]The rankings show that it is a good school for the MiF. [/quote]
quote
Duncan

I would need to know more about you and where you would fit to make a recommendation, but most Italian speakers with no French will get better roles from USI than HEC.

I would need to know more about you and where you would fit to make a recommendation, but most Italian speakers with no French will get better roles from USI than HEC.
quote
Inactive User

Hello Duncan. I am an Indian student who graduated from bocconi. I speak fluent Italian but without a masters degree, there are almost no jobs to be had in Italy which pay well. I have interned at Allianz insurance in Milan as a data analyst in the past as well as a strategy intern at TATA motors in Bangkok, Thailand. Since my graduation in November 2018, I have been working in my family business which is in the field of supply chain management in India. I had applied to Nova, uc3m, polimi and hec Lausanne and had gotten offers from all of them. Nova, uc3m and polimi offered me a spot in their finance masters and I had applied for a business analytics masters at HEC. I had rejected all other offers, apart from HEC, as I had heard that it's next to impossible to find decent roles in Spain and Portugal, if you are a non EU student. I have also been taking classes for R and had an inclination towards a master in the field of analytics of data science.

However, recently I contacted hec Lausanne and some indian students who graduated from unil. The career services told me that it's extremely hard for non EU citizens to find jobs in Switzerland as the employers have to prove that they have put in a lot of effort searching for the right candidate from the local pool but haven't been able to do so. They said that they would help me to find an internship and everyone has to intern for 3 to 6 months in order to graduate. The handful of indian grads from uni Lausanne told me that they interned at Nestle, Zurich insurance, uniliver etc in Switzerland itself during their program, after which the company transferred them to a different location like Singapore, Budapest, etc. All of them seemed to have good roles. I also got into touch with indian students from St Gallen and uni of Zurich but all of them were working in Bangalore or Mumbai, after having failed to get jobs in Switzerland.
Getting a degree from a Swiss school does seem to be a gamble but unfortunately this is the only choice that I have for the current year. What should I do?

I would need to know more about you and where you would fit to make a recommendation, but most Italian speakers with no French will get better roles from USI than HEC.

Hello Duncan. I am an Indian student who graduated from bocconi. I speak fluent Italian but without a masters degree, there are almost no jobs to be had in Italy which pay well. I have interned at Allianz insurance in Milan as a data analyst in the past as well as a strategy intern at TATA motors in Bangkok, Thailand. Since my graduation in November 2018, I have been working in my family business which is in the field of supply chain management in India. I had applied to Nova, uc3m, polimi and hec Lausanne and had gotten offers from all of them. Nova, uc3m and polimi offered me a spot in their finance masters and I had applied for a business analytics masters at HEC. I had rejected all other offers, apart from HEC, as I had heard that it's next to impossible to find decent roles in Spain and Portugal, if you are a non EU student. I have also been taking classes for R and had an inclination towards a master in the field of analytics of data science.

However, recently I contacted hec Lausanne and some indian students who graduated from unil. The career services told me that it's extremely hard for non EU citizens to find jobs in Switzerland as the employers have to prove that they have put in a lot of effort searching for the right candidate from the local pool but haven't been able to do so. They said that they would help me to find an internship and everyone has to intern for 3 to 6 months in order to graduate. The handful of indian grads from uni Lausanne told me that they interned at Nestle, Zurich insurance, uniliver etc in Switzerland itself during their program, after which the company transferred them to a different location like Singapore, Budapest, etc. All of them seemed to have good roles. I also got into touch with indian students from St Gallen and uni of Zurich but all of them were working in Bangalore or Mumbai, after having failed to get jobs in Switzerland.
Getting a degree from a Swiss school does seem to be a gamble but unfortunately this is the only choice that I have for the current year. What should I do? [quote]I would need to know more about you and where you would fit to make a recommendation, but most Italian speakers with no French will get better roles from USI than HEC. [/quote]
quote
Duncan

You should speak with USI and focus more on your goals. Have you been in touch with MIB about roles in the insurance industry?

You should speak with USI and focus more on your goals. Have you been in touch with MIB about roles in the insurance industry?
quote
Inactive User

Is MIB a good school? What is the best Italian school after bocconi? I had never heard of USI before this.

You should speak with USI and focus more on your goals. Have you been in touch with MIB about roles in the insurance industry?

Is MIB a good school? What is the best Italian school after bocconi? I had never heard of USI before this. [quote]You should speak with USI and focus more on your goals. Have you been in touch with MIB about roles in the insurance industry? [/quote]
quote
Duncan

MIB is a good school but, as you will know, the issue is not the quality of the school but finding the roles where employers will consider you able to hit the ground running.

MIB is a good school but, as you will know, the issue is not the quality of the school but finding the roles where employers will consider you able to hit the ground running.
quote
Inactive User

Given a choice would you suggest usi, MIB or polimi?

MIB is a good school but, as you will know, the issue is not the quality of the school but finding the roles where employers will consider you able to hit the ground running.

Given a choice would you suggest usi, MIB or polimi?[quote]MIB is a good school but, as you will know, the issue is not the quality of the school but finding the roles where employers will consider you able to hit the ground running. [/quote]
quote
Inactive User

Would you suggest that I take the GMAT and apply for better schools like ESCP?

MIB is a good school but, as you will know, the issue is not the quality of the school but finding the roles where employers will consider you able to hit the ground running.

Would you suggest that I take the GMAT and apply for better schools like ESCP?[quote]MIB is a good school but, as you will know, the issue is not the quality of the school but finding the roles where employers will consider you able to hit the ground running. [/quote]
quote
Inactive User

I would also like to add that MIB is good at placing it's msc risk management students in top insurance firms. However, I found insurance to be uninteresting. I had a few interview calls from startups in eastern Europe but as soon as they came to know that I just had a one year work search permit for Italy and not for any other European country, they decided to not let me go to the second rounds. I have been successful at scoring an interview from a swiss consulting firm for its office in Johannesburg but was too worried about the safety issues.
My true passion lies in luxury brand management. I did score an interview with Richemont which I failed to convert but I feel that with experience I could get there. Data science also interests me and I am taking classes for programming languages in the meanwhile

I would also like to add that MIB is good at placing it's msc risk management students in top insurance firms. However, I found insurance to be uninteresting. I had a few interview calls from startups in eastern Europe but as soon as they came to know that I just had a one year work search permit for Italy and not for any other European country, they decided to not let me go to the second rounds. I have been successful at scoring an interview from a swiss consulting firm for its office in Johannesburg but was too worried about the safety issues.
My true passion lies in luxury brand management. I did score an interview with Richemont which I failed to convert but I feel that with experience I could get there. Data science also interests me and I am taking classes for programming languages in the meanwhile
quote
Duncan

I can't make a confident recommendation to you. It's not clear to me that you could hit the ground running in an Italian luxury brand. The data suggest that students at Bocconi and USI have excellent employment and high international mobility. However, your experience at Allianz makes me unsure about what roles will meet your expectations.

I think your goals need to be clarified more.Consider taking the careerleader.com test, or hiring a careers counsellor.

I can't make a confident recommendation to you. It's not clear to me that you could hit the ground running in an Italian luxury brand. The data suggest that students at Bocconi and USI have excellent employment and high international mobility. However, your experience at Allianz makes me unsure about what roles will meet your expectations.

I think your goals need to be clarified more.Consider taking the careerleader.com test, or hiring a careers counsellor.
quote

Reply to Post

Related Business Schools

St. Gallen, Switzerland 44 Followers 142 Discussions
Lausanne, Switzerland 4 Followers 26 Discussions
Lausanne, Switzerland 46 Followers 155 Discussions

Other Related Content

Post-MBA: The Work Visa Rundown

Article Apr 10, 2017

Post-MBA work visas can be vexing for many students. Here are the rules for getting visas in countries popular among MBA students.