Why the letter still counts in Switzerland
- 80% of Swiss recruiters read it vs 50-60% in US/UK
- It's the only space where you explain your choice (not just your career)
- It reveals your real language level
- It shows your analytical capacity of the company and role
- It reveals your attention to detail: one typo and it's dead
The ideal structure
One page, never more. Font 11, margins 2.5 cm. 4 paragraphs:
Paragraph 1 — The hook (3-4 lines):
Why this company precisely? Reference to a project, news, recent strategy. Avoid "Following your job ad...". Prefer "Your recent acquisition of [company] and its alignment with your [sector] strategy convinced me...".
Paragraph 2 — You (4-5 lines):
Synthetic pitch: who you are, your main expertise, 1-2 quantified achievements. "Data Engineer with 8 years in banking and fintech, I led the cloud migration at X (30% savings on infra costs) and built a 6-person team at Y."
Paragraph 3 — The fit (4-5 lines):
Why you + this role = match. 2-3 ad requirements with concrete proofs. "Your need in Spark and Kafka matches my last 5 years at X, where I industrialised a platform processing 50 TB/day."
Paragraph 4 — Conclusion (2-3 lines):
- Availability (possible start date)
- Interview request
- Formal closing
The Swiss tone
- Measured: no heavy self-promotion
- Precise: numbers, facts, concrete examples
- Respectful: formal opening "Dear Sir or Madam" unless recipient identified
- Sober: no stylistic effects, no humour
- Direct: short sentences, precise vocabulary
The language
- French Switzerland: impeccable French, not one typo
- German Switzerland: standard German (Hochdeutsch) — avoid Swiss German
- Multinationals: EN preferred if ad in EN
- Ticino: Italian
- Adapt the letter by locale if applying in multiple languages
Use DeepL Pro or Antidote for proofreading, but always have it read by a native if possible.
Personalisation
For each application:
- Read 3 recent articles on the company (press, blog, LinkedIn)
- Identify 3 keywords of the trade (the ad + the site)
- Mention 1 precise detail few candidates would notice
- Adapt vocabulary to the sector (banking ≠ startup ≠ public)
This takes 30-45 min per letter, but multiplies your response rate by 3.
Forbidden phrases
Absolutely avoid:
- "Following your job ad..." → banal
- "I am presenting my application for..." → automatic, no value
- "Being strongly interested in your company" → meaningless
- "Your leading company in its market..." → generic
- "My skills and dynamism..." → cliché
- "Don't hesitate to contact me" → avoid in conclusion (prefer: "I am available for an interview at your convenience")
File format
- Native PDF (never Word, never image)
- File name:
Firstname_Lastname_CL_2026.pdf - Not in ZIP attachment
- Attached with CV as 2 separate PDFs or single one (per recruiter preference)
Structured example
Dear Sir or Madam,
The recent acquisition of [company X] by [target company] and its repositioning toward real-time patient data illustrates a technological ambition that strongly attracts me.
Data Engineer for 8 years, I industrialised at [current employer] a streaming platform processing 50 TB/day for 200 microservices. The Spark, Kafka and Airflow tools you mention have been my daily life for 5 years.
Your need for a profile capable of unifying the data stack on a lakehouse architecture resonates with my latest project: migration from Snowflake to Databricks with 30% savings while accelerating pipelines by 40%.
Available from September 1st, I would be delighted to discuss this opportunity.
Yours sincerely,
First Name Last Name
