Using Swiss job adverts to find recruitment clients
A live vacancy gives a recruitment consultant a specific role to investigate. To turn Swiss job adverts into a prospect list, verify the employer behind the advert and whether the work fits your desk. Then check that the role remains open. An advertised vacancy does not establish that the employer wants an agency.
Start with the territory and specialism defined in your recruitment client-acquisition process. A consultant placing finance professionals in Geneva needs a different shortlist from a temporary staffing desk covering industrial employers in Aargau.
Find roles within the territory you can serve
Search employer careers pages and job boards using the titles your candidates actually use. For a bilingual finance desk, "comptable" and "Buchhalter" are useful starting terms, but the duties determine relevance. Read the working language and required experience. Confirm the work location and contract type before retaining the employer.
A headquarters in Zurich can advertise a role based in Lausanne. Assign the prospect to the desk covering the workplace, while retaining the legal entity separately. For remote roles, check the stated employment location and eligible countries; a Swiss company name alone does not establish a Swiss placement.
Separate the advertiser from the employer
On the original advert, look for the employing company and the application destination. A recruitment agency may publish for a named client or an anonymous one. An application hosted by an applicant tracking system can still belong to an employer: follow the link from the employer’s own careers page to establish the connection.
Compare the legal name in the website’s company details with Zefix, the Swiss central business name index described by the Federal Office of Justice. Retain the UID when the match is established. A trading name, subsidiary and group parent may be different entities; a register match helps identify the company but does not identify the hiring decision-maker.
If the agency describes only "our client in the Lausanne area", retain the source as unresolved. Do not assign it to a local company because the sector and wording look familiar. Even an identified client may already have an exclusive supplier arrangement. Check explicit instructions for agencies before approaching the employer.
Keep publication and observation dates separate
Save the original publication date when available, your first observation date and the last date you verified that applications were open. Record an expiry date separately. Google’s job-posting documentation distinguishes the original publication date (datePosted) from expiry (validThrough). These fields are publisher-supplied clues and need checking against the visible page.
A recent date on a job board may accompany a repost. Reopen the employer’s source page before contacting them. An absent or closed advert should move to historical evidence; if the page cannot be reached, mark the role as needing verification. A long-running advert could concern continuing hiring or an outdated page. It does not establish that recruitment has failed.
Count roles without counting every copy
Use the employer and requisition reference as the first duplicate check. Where the reference is absent, compare the location and duties with the contract type. Keep links to all source copies under the same suspected role, and flag uncertain matches for review. Different references can represent genuinely separate vacancies with identical titles.
| Hypothetical Swiss example | Decision |
|---|---|
| An Aargau manufacturer advertises "CNC-Mechaniker" under reference A17 on its website and two job boards. | One role record with three source links. Check shift requirements against your available candidates. |
| A Lausanne agency advertises a financial accountant for an unnamed client. | Employer unresolved. Keep it out of the verified employer prospect list. |
| A Geneva employer publishes French and English versions of a controller role with reference F42. | One role record. Record the languages required in the job description. |
| A Basel employer’s advert is live on a job board but marked closed on its careers page. | Historical role. Seek current evidence before using it as a contact reason. |
Keep a prospect record a colleague can verify
Use one employer record with the legal name and UID where confirmed, workplace, relevant role links, advertiser identity, date history and a short fit note. Add a separate field for agency instructions and the next action. A useful fit note might read: "German-speaking CNC role in Baden; permanent hire; matches our machining desk; shift availability to check".
Review a small batch before adding more companies. Open every retained source and check the employer match. Review suspected duplicates together. Track how many records are ready for a relevant conversation and why others require more research. Advert counts alone give little guidance about the quality of the list.
Combine qualified vacancies with the weekly employer-monitoring workflow. A company entering Switzerland may deserve research if you find a relevant local role. Treat other Swiss company signals as context and verify the link to hiring.
Use the vacancy to ask a precise question
For a verified employer with a relevant live role and no instruction excluding agencies, prepare a short enquiry through an appropriate business contact. Name the role and explain your relevant candidate specialism. Ask how the employer handles external recruitment support before submitting any candidate details. Record the response so another consultant does not repeat the approach.
Frequently asked questions
- How can a recruitment agency find potential clients from job adverts?
- Start with live vacancies in your territory and specialism, then identify the employer behind each advert. Keep one employer record with links to the relevant roles and a dated verification note. A vacancy supports a hiring conversation; the employer still needs to confirm whether external recruitment support is welcome.
- Does a job advert posted by an agency identify the employer?
- An agency advert may name its client or leave the client anonymous. Record the publishing agency separately from the employer, and leave employer identity unresolved when the evidence is insufficient. Similar wording or a town name alone is too weak to assign a vacancy to a company. Prospex provides Swiss company information to support the employer identity check.
- Which date should I use to judge whether a vacancy is fresh?
- Keep the original publication date when available, the date you first found the advert and the date you last checked it. A repost can carry a recent date while describing an older vacancy. Reopen the employer’s careers page before using the role as a reason to contact them.
- Do several job adverts mean an employer has several vacancies?
- Several adverts can refer to the same vacancy, including translations and copies on different job boards. Compare the employer, requisition reference, location and role description before counting. Keep distinct references separate unless the employer confirms that they represent the same opening.
- Does an open vacancy mean a Swiss employer wants an agency?
- An open vacancy establishes that a role is being advertised. It does not establish an external recruitment budget or permission to submit candidates. Check the advert for agency instructions and clarify the employer’s supplier process before proposing support.