Cover letters in Switzerland: structure, tone and local expectations

In many countries you send a CV and a cover letter. In Switzerland, employers usually expect a complete dossier. It typically contains:

• the cover letter, one page;
• the CV, one to two pages;
• copies of reference letters from previous employers;
• copies of the diplomas and certificates that matter for the role.

The reference letter deserves particular attention, because it has no direct equivalent in the UK or the US. Swiss law gives employees the right to ask their employer for a written certificate: article 330a of the Code of Obligations provides for a document covering the nature and duration of the employment, along with the quality of the work and the employee's conduct. Recruiters therefore expect to see these documents, and their absence is noticed.

If you have only worked outside Switzerland and hold no such certificates, say so briefly rather than leaving a gap. A short line explaining that references are available on request is more reassuring than silence.

Adding a photo to the CV remains common practice in Switzerland, with no legal obligation to do so. Some organisations explicitly ask you not to include one: follow whatever the advert says.

The simplest rule is also the most reliable: answer in the language of the advert. A posting written in German calls for a German dossier, even if the company operates across the whole country and even if its working language is English.

English-language adverts are genuinely common in Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Zug, especially in finance, pharmaceuticals, research and technology. When the advert is in English, an English dossier is expected, and you do not need to apologise for not writing in a local language.

• German-speaking Switzerland: structure and concision come first. Claims are expected to arrive with their evidence, without emphasis.
• French-speaking Switzerland: courteous and factual. Very emphatic phrasing often reads as excessive.
• Ticino: Italian, with the same preference for sobriety and precision.

Across all three, restraint is the safe choice. Describing precisely what you did carries more weight than declaring that you are passionate or the ideal candidate.

One page is enough. This order is conventional and easy to read:

• your contact details at the top left;
• the company details, with the department or named contact, on the right;
• the place and the date;
• a short subject line repeating the exact job title and its reference, if there is one;
• the salutation: the person's name when you know it, otherwise "Dear Sir or Madam";
• an opening that says why this role and this company, not why you need a job;
• two or three paragraphs connecting your experience to the requirements in the advert;
• a sober closing proposing an interview, then your sign-off and signature.

Avoid vague subject lines such as « Speculative application » when you are answering a specific posting. Repeat the published job title: that is what the person sorting applications is looking for.

Tailoring is not about changing your story. It is about choosing, among the things you genuinely did, whatever answers the advert. A simple method: pick three requirements from the posting and attach a concrete piece of evidence to each.

Vague« I am rigorous and well organised. »Verifiable« I coordinated the migration of our invoicing system over six months, keeping every monthly close on schedule. »

The second version can be examined in an interview; the first cannot. That is also what separates a letter written for one role from a letter reusable for all of them.

• sending the same letter everywhere, changing only the company name;
• paraphrasing the CV instead of explaining what you bring to the role;
• forgetting to update the job title or the addressee after copying a previous letter;
• going beyond one page;
• claiming a level of language that will not survive an interview held in it;
• leaving out reference letters when the advert asks for a complete dossier;
• listing a work permit status incorrectly: state your situation plainly if you are not a Swiss or EU/EFTA citizen, since employers will ask anyway.

An AI-assisted tool saves time on the mechanical part: reading the advert, extracting its requirements, proposing a first structure and a first draft. It knows neither your real motivation nor the context behind your experience.

Reviewing what it produces is not optional, for two reasons: generated text can contain inaccuracies, and a letter you have not read yourself will put you in difficulty during an interview. No tool, TalentFlowCV included, can guarantee a reply or an interview. See also our guide to CVs and ATS software.