Swiss CV format: building a Bewerbungsdossier for Switzerland

What goes into a Swiss Bewerbungsdossier

Swiss employers ask for a dossier rather than a CV alone. The careers office of the canton of Graubünden lists its parts in a leaflet dated September 2025: the letter, the CV, work and school certificates, and any references. arbeit.swiss, the jobseekers' site of the federal unemployment insurance and the regional employment centres (RAV), adds that the work certificates must be complete, without gaps, newest first, and combined in one PDF.

We read seven Swiss sources on 13 October 2026: arbeit.swiss, the Graubünden and Obwalden careers offices, the careers service of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the federal portal ch.ch and the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Their CV advice differs in detail, mostly on length.

Left to the German guides

The two-column date layout and the grading phrases of German references are explained in the German CV and Arbeitszeugnis guides. This page covers what is Swiss: the dossier, the Swiss rules for references, language regions and permits.

First step: one reference for every job, in order

1. List every job with start and end month, newest first.
2. Next to each, note the document that proves it: a reference letter, or at least a confirmation of dates and role.
3. Ask former employers now for anything missing; arbeit.swiss tells applicants to request references in good time.
4. Copy each job title onto the CV exactly as the reference states it, which is what the Obwalden careers office advises.
5. If a document is not in German, French, Italian or English, have it translated; the SEM asks for that in permit files.
6. Put the references in one PDF, newest first, and keep diplomas in a second one.

How the Swiss CV works

One to two pages, three at the outside

ZHAW gives one to two pages and allows three for very long or academic careers; Graubünden says the same. arbeit.swiss sets three pages as the limit. Aim for two unless your career clearly needs the third.

Personal details, including your permit

Graubünden lists name, address, phone, email and date of birth, then nationality and place of origin or residence permit, marital status and children with year of birth as voluntary. ZHAW says the date of birth is expected and that foreign applicants should state their permit status, for example permit B or C. If you have no Swiss permit yet, say so plainly.

Photo expected, signature not

ZHAW calls a photo legally optional but very common and expected; Obwalden says optional, usually expected. Signing is the opposite: ZHAW says that, unlike in Germany, a Swiss CV is not usually signed, and a date on it is not necessary.

No ß, and grades explained

Swiss German does not use ß: write Strasse and gross, as ZHAW and Graubünden both point out. ZHAW also notes the Swiss grade scale runs from 1 to 6 with 6 as the top mark, so explain any foreign grade next to it.

Languages and skills in words

ZHAW asks for CEFR levels with the mother tongue first. Obwalden asks for levels in words, not dots or bars, because neither people nor applicant software can read a bar.

Gaps of more than two months

Obwalden asks you to explain gaps longer than two months, for example family time, reorientation, a long journey or job search. Graubünden wants language stays, travel, illness or unemployment shown as periods of their own.

Sending the dossier

Graubünden: at most three attachments, 2 to 3 MB each, PDFs named like Lebenslauf_VornameNachname, not zipped. Obwalden: PDFs only, no Word files. References are usually given on request, according to arbeit.swiss.

Language regions decide the language of the dossier

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. The federal About Switzerland site says Bern, Fribourg, Valais and Graubünden and the city of Biel/Bienne are officially multilingual, French is the main language of the Romandie, and Italian that of Ticino and parts of Graubünden. The Federal Statistical Office (page updated August 2026) counts the languages spoken at work: Swiss German by 61% of the employed population, German 36%, French 28%, English 24%, Italian 8%.

The third column is advice, not a rule from any source. For a permit file the SEM needs documents in the original language plus a translation into a Swiss official language or English, so an English CV is acceptable to the authorities even where the employer works in German.

The Swiss Arbeitszeugnis, by law and in practice

SECO's FAQ explains Article 330a of the Code of Obligations. You can demand a reference at any time, during the job as an interim one or at the end as a final one, and the claim lapses ten years after the job ends. A full reference (Vollzeugnis) covers type and duration of the work plus performance and conduct; a confirmation of employment (Arbeitsbestätigung) states only type and duration.

• Content ch.ch says a reference must contain: start and end, function and tasks, the workload percentage (Stellenprozente), an assessment of work quality and of conduct, and why it was issued.
• Form, per SECO: typed, linguistically correct, no crossings out, signed and dated, usually on the last working day.
• Truth before kindness: SECO says wording must be benevolent but true, and significant negative facts may appear.
• No codes: SECO and ch.ch both say ambiguous wording and hidden negative codes are not allowed.

That last point is the clearest difference from Germany, where a graded phrase scale is part of reading a reference. For a reference from Türkiye, ask the employer to cover the items ch.ch lists, including your workload, so the letter answers the questions a Swiss reader brings to it.

Sample dossier for an applicant from Türkiye

The person is invented: Can Öztürk, 33, a data engineer in Istanbul, applying in English to an insurer in Zurich that posted the job in English.

Work permits for non-EU/EFTA nationals, from the SEM

The SEM pages, last changed on 5 July 2026, describe a dual system: EU/EFTA workers of all skill levels have easy access through free movement, while people from all other states are admitted only if highly qualified, in limited numbers.

Who can be admitted

Article 23 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act allows managers, specialists and other qualified workers, in the first place people with a university or university of applied sciences degree and several years of experience. Adaptability, language skills and age also count, and the authorities check qualifications from the CV, diplomas and references.

Priority for workers already available

Under Article 21 the employer must show that no suitable person from Switzerland or an EU/EFTA state could be found, with the job reported to the RAV and advertised on EURES. Salary and working conditions must match what is usual for the place, profession and sector (Article 22).

Quotas, for context

The Federal Council sets annual maximum numbers. On 19 November 2025 it left the 2026 quota for third-country workers unchanged at 8,500: 4,500 residence permits (B) and 4,000 short-stay permits (L). You do not apply for a quota place yourself; the canton and the SEM handle it within the employer's application.

Who files what

1. The employer submits the application to the cantonal employment or immigration authority; if you need a visa you also apply at the Swiss representation for your place of residence.
2. The canton screens it and takes a preliminary decision.
3. The SEM reviews it against Swiss-wide criteria and issues the decision, with a fee the employer pays.
4. The canton authorises the visa, which you collect from the representation.
5. You register at your Swiss place of residence within 14 days of entry, and may start work only after that.

Sources and dates

Permit rules change; check the linked SEM page before you apply.

Who this page is not for

• EU and EFTA nationals, who have access under the free movement agreement and do not go through this permit procedure.
• Graduates of Swiss universities, intra-company transferees and au pairs, for whom the SEM lists exceptions to the usual conditions.
• Regulated professions such as medicine, where recognition comes first; it is not covered here.
• Academic posts with publication lists, where the university states its own format.

Next steps and other ways to build it

• arbeit.swiss and its Job-Room platform for vacancies, and the RAV if you already live in Switzerland.
• Cantonal careers offices (BIZ): Obwalden, for example, offers a free application check.
• Templates: Graubünden recommends a Swiss template, not a German one, so that spelling and fields fit.
• CitedCV, if you want the CV written in English or German from facts you confirm. It has no separate Swiss profile, so replace any ß with ss and leave the signature line out yourself.

If you are also looking at Austria, its guide shows how the same Lebenslauf changes there: signed, with Dienstzeugnisse.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. arbeit.swiss, Bewerbungstippswww.arbeit.swiss/de/stellensuchende/bewerbungstipps
2. Kanton Graubünden, BIZ Info: Das Bewerbungsdossier (September 2025)www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/ekud/afb/Dokumente%20AfB/250918-bslb-Das%20Bewerbungsdossier.pdf
3. Kanton Obwalden, Berufs- und Weiterbildungsberatung: Lebenslauf (April 2026)www.ow.ch/_doc/446923
4. ZHAW Career Services, Anleitung Bewerbungsunterlagenwww.zhaw.ch/storage/hochschule/career-services/Dokumente/Anleitung_Bewerbungsunterlagen.pdf
5. SECO, FAQ zu Arbeitszeugniswww.seco.admin.ch/de/faq-arbeitszeugnis
6. ch.ch, Arbeitszeugniswww.ch.ch/de/arbeit/arbeitszeugnis/
7. SEM, Non-EU/EFTA nationalswww.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/nicht-eu_efta-angehoerige.html
8. SEM, Grundlagen zur Arbeitsmarktzulassungwww.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/themen/arbeit/nicht-eu_efta-angehoerige/grundlagen_zur_arbeitsmarktzulassung.html
9. SEM, Procedurewww.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/nicht-eu_efta-angehoerige/verfahrensablauf.html
10. SEM, Application documentswww.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/nicht-eu_efta-angehoerige/verfahrensablauf/gesuchsunterlagen.html
11. Federal Council, Third-country quotas for 2026 unchanged (19 November 2025)www.admin.ch/en/newnsb/7HwBjdg5HpBA
12. Federal Statistical Office, Languageswww.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/population/languages-religions/languages.html
13. About Switzerland (FDFA), Languageswww.aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch/en/language