Struggling to find a SWE job in Zürich after 200+ applications — need honest advice
Hey everyone,
I've been job hunting in Zürich for over two months now and I'm starting to lose hope. I've sent out more than 200 applications and only landed 3 interviews — none of which made it past the first round. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, or if the market is just that brutal right now.
A bit about my background: I'm an EU citizen, C1 in both English and German, graduated with a CS degree in 2023. I started out in mobile development but honestly that field feels like it's been gutted — AI has made it way too easy to replace mobile devs. So I pivoted to full-stack, and I now have close to 2 years of experience with React and NestJS. I don't feel junior anymore, but landing even a mid-level role feels impossible.
Since getting LinkedIn Premium I've been able to see applicant counts on job postings — and it's kind of terrifying. Roles I applied to had anywhere from 100 to 900 other applicants. It really kills any optimism you might have going in.
On top of all this, I've been out of work long enough that I'm genuinely starting to feel my technical skills getting rusty, which only adds to the anxiety.
So I guess my questions are:
- Is the Zürich/Swiss market really this competitive right now, or am I doing something fundamentally wrong?
- Should I take any job in the meantime just to stay sane and pay bills?
- Is IT in Switzerland being hit hard by offshoring?
- Should I completely change direction — either within tech (AI/ML?) or even outside of it?
- Do you believe of applying to a Master Degree would help me getting higher chances of landing a job?
- Do you believe that not having a work permit influences the recruiters in not offering me a contract?
I'd appreciate any honest takes, even if they're not what I want to hear. Thanks.