Travailler en Suisse

What Travailler en Suisse is

Travailler en Suisse (Working in Switzerland) is a guide and services site run by David Talerman, an employment specialist in Swiss labor markets and expatriation. The site's core mission is straightforward: help expatriates and border commuters navigate the practical details of arriving, working, and settling in Switzerland. The firm has been operating for nearly fifteen years, and Talerman has published his knowledge in a book called Travailler et vivre en Suisse (Working and Living in Switzerland), now in its seventh edition since 2007. The site functions as an accessible online companion to that book, organized into major life categories rather than a linear narrative.

What it covers

The site addresses the five domains anyone relocating needs: getting a job, handling permits and bureaucracy, managing money, finding housing, and sorting out family life. Each section goes deeper than a general overview.

On employment, the site is most developed. It covers job search strategy specific to the Swiss market, CV writing and cover letters in the Swiss style, salary research (the site publishes cost-of-living figures so you can calibrate your expectations), and how to manage the Swiss interview and hiring culture. The site offers model CVs and online training modules from employment professionals. LinkedIn profiles and networking strategy are included, acknowledging that many Swiss roles stay off job boards. Talerman also offers a paid CV writing service for those who prefer professional help.

For border commuters and cross-border workers, the site breaks out dedicated guides covering work permits, health insurance for French residents working in Switzerland (the CMU and comparable programs), and how French and Swiss employers treat the cross-border arrangement differently on taxes and benefits. This is granular enough to be useful if your specific situation is commuting from France rather than relocating entirely.

The financial sections address banking (account opening, currency management, mortgages), insurance (health for border commuters and residents separately, home, liability, vehicle), and taxes. The site explicitly separates tax guidance for residents and border commuters because Swiss resident taxation and French frontier-worker taxation follow completely different rules. It also covers utilities, budgeting, and cost-of-living context so you can compare affordability against your expectations.

On housing, the site provides guides to the rental and purchase markets, listings of rental properties on the French side for cross-border commuters, and what the relocation logistics actually involve (packing, timing, utilities setup). It covers the cost of living so you understand whether a given apartment price reflects the market or is an outlier.

Family and education appear separately: school systems, language immersion issues for children, and what to expect if your kids are mid-education when you arrive. Utilities and telecom setup have their own guides, because getting internet and electricity working is a practical first hurdle.

The specifics

The site operates in French and English, reflecting both markets it serves. Content is organized by user type as well as by topic. If you are an expatriate, sections address your specific arrival steps. If you are a border commuter, the site flags commuter-specific details like tax treatment and insurance options. If you are a resident, it addresses the longer-term integration challenges.

The book itself is 500 pages and treats the same material more systematically than the site allows. The site describes it as "recognized and acclaimed by the national and international press," though it does not quote specific reviews or name publications. The fact that it has reached a seventh edition since 2007 suggests sustained uptake, though the site does not publish numbers.

Talerman is positioned as the authoritative voice, and the site makes this explicit: "receive the advice of specialists" and notably "the advice of David Talerman, author of 'Working and Living in Switzerland' and a recognized specialist in employment and expatriation in Switzerland." This is a one-person operation with some supporting professionals contributing to specific training and service areas. The site does not name the trainers or other contributors, so the scope of that supporting team is unclear.

What the site does not settle

Pricing for the paid services (CV writing, consulting) is not published on the accessible pages. The site mentions these services exist but does not state what they cost or how they are structured. You would need to contact directly to learn whether you can buy a single service (like CV review) or whether packages are required.

The online training modules are mentioned, but the site does not list all available topics, does not state how long they take, or explain the pricing. It is clear that some training is freely available (as overviews) and some is paid, but the line between them is not specified.

For the book, the site does not include a full table of contents, sample chapters, or clear description of what changed between the sixth and seventh editions. If you are considering buying it, you would be doing so based on Talerman's reputation and the subject matter alone.

The site does not name specific employers or hiring patterns, does not list job boards it recommends, and does not explain what jobs in Switzerland typically pay (though the cost-of-living section provides context). For someone starting a job search, the site gives framework and strategy but not a job market snapshot.

Notably, the site does not publish contact information directly on most pages. To get started, you would navigate to a Services page or click an inquiry form, but the mechanism for reaching out is not immediately obvious.

Who this suits

Travailler en Suisse is most useful if you are either relocating from France into Switzerland or commuting across the border, because much of the content specifically addresses that transition and the French-Swiss legal and tax differences. An English-language reader gets useful content on employment strategy and broader expatriation, but the site's depth is greatest for the France-Switzerland pairing.

It is most valuable in the preparation and early arrival phase, when you are handling permits, opening a bank account, finding housing, and starting a job search. Once you are settled, the periodic reference use (tax questions, relocating within Switzerland) keeps it useful, but the heaviest content is arrival-focused.

The service is not a broker or recruiter; Talerman does not place people into jobs or handle visa applications. It is a guide and advisory service, so it suits someone who prefers to make their own decisions given good information, rather than outsourcing the process to an intermediary. The book-as-anchor model suggests this is someone who prefers depth over rapid-turnaround consulting.

For a spouse managing a partner's relocation, this is a companion resource covering the practical household and family angles, alongside any employer support or professional relocation services already in place.