How to write a motivation letter for a job in Switzerland

A motivation letter should explain why the work interests you, show that you can do it and connect your evidence to this employer. Follow the employer’s requested format. For a conventional uploaded letter, one focused page is a sound Swiss baseline.

Check whether a letter is wanted

Start with the advert and application form. If they request a cover letter, motivation letter or application letter, provide one. If the form asks separate motivation questions, answer those rather than attaching a duplicate essay. If it asks only for a CV and provides no place for a letter, do not force one into an unrelated field.

The University of Zurich’s career service distinguishes between a formal uploaded letter, text entered into a form and a short motivation pitch. It advises applicants to adapt the format to the process. Read the UZH motivation-letter guidance.

Find the argument before writing

Make a three-column note:

Employer or role evidence	Your evidence	Connection
The role coordinates training for three clinics	You scheduled induction for 60 care workers	You have handled comparable coordination with clinical teams
The employer is replacing paper processes	You helped move course records into one system	You understand the adoption work around a process change
French and German are used	You work in both at a stated level	You can support the named teams without overstating fluency

Use employer facts from the advert, the employer’s site or another credible current source. A homepage slogan is not evidence of company culture. Do not build your motivation around a claim you cannot verify.

Use four short parts

This outline is editable. Remove labels before sending.

[Your contact details]
[Employer and contact person, if requested]
[Place and date]

Application for [exact role title and reference, if any]

Dear [name / hiring team],

1. ROLE AND EMPLOYER
Name the specific work that interests you and the evidence that prompted
your interest. Avoid praise that could describe any employer.

2. RELEVANT EVIDENCE
Choose one or two requirements. Give a short example showing what you did,
the context and the result. Add facts; do not repeat your whole CV.

3. CONNECTION
Explain how that evidence could help with the work named in the advert.
State a gap or learning goal honestly if it matters.

4. CLOSE
Confirm practical information the employer requested and close directly.

Kind regards,
[Name]

UZH recommends a specific letter that connects motivation, qualifications and contribution without copying the CV. It gives one page as the standard limit for a conventional letter. See its structure and format advice. Switzerland’s public employment service lists the usual formal elements; the advert still determines what to send. See the federal guidance.

Annotated example: clinical training coordinator

Everything below is fictional. The candidate has not worked for Panta and the letter has no claimed hiring result.

Application for Clinical Training Coordinator

Dear Ms Rossi,

Your plan to introduce one induction programme across the Basel and Liestal clinics is the part of this role that interests me most. In my current post at a residential-care group, I coordinate mandatory training for 60 care workers across four sites and maintain the completion record used by site managers.

Last year, I moved our course schedule and attendance records from separate spreadsheets into the organisation’s learning system. I gathered requirements from nursing leads, tested the new workflow with one site and wrote the two-page guide used for the wider rollout. All four sites now use the same record. I did not select or configure the system, but I handled the coordination and adoption work around it.

That experience fits the practical part of your role: aligning clinical teams, keeping records usable and helping colleagues adopt a common process. I work professionally in German and French and can run training in either language. I would want to learn more about how responsibilities are divided between the clinic leads and the central education team.

I am available from 1 December and would welcome a conversation about the rollout and the first priorities for the role.

Kind regards, Nora Frei

Why each paragraph is there

1. The opening names a real task from the fictional advert and links it to comparable experience.
2. The example shows scope, action and result. The candidate also draws a boundary around what she did not do.
3. The connection is explicit. Language ability is stated as working evidence, not a vague strength.
4. The close supplies requested availability and identifies a useful interview topic.

Replace claims with evidence

Generic sentence:

I am a highly motivated team player with excellent organisational skills.

Evidence-led version:

I coordinate a monthly training schedule for four sites and resolve changes with nursing leads before the timetable is released.

The second sentence gives the employer evidence to discuss. It may still need a result or more context, but it does not rely on a self-rating.

Choose the application language carefully

Follow an explicit language instruction. If none is given, use the advert and working context as clues. An English advert does not prove that local-language ability is unnecessary. If the choice matters and remains unclear, ask the named contact person.

Do not translate your letter into a language you cannot use in the interview without making that limitation clear. A polished machine translation can create the wrong expectation.

Common mistakes

• Opening with a formula that says only that you are applying.
• Retelling the CV in paragraphs.
• Copying the employer’s marketing language as proof of interest.
• Addressing every requirement and proving none of them.
• Adding a result, tool or responsibility you did not have.
• Sending a full letter when the form asks for three short answers.
• Ignoring the requested language, file type or character limit.
• Letting an AI tool flatten your voice or invent convenient detail.

Final motivation-letter check

• ✓The format matches the advert and application form
• ✓The opening names specific work or employer evidence
• ✓One or two relevant claims are supported by concrete examples
• ✓The letter adds context rather than repeating the CV
• ✓Every employer fact and candidate fact can be verified
• ✓The tone sounds like the applicant, not a template
• ✓Names, role title, reference number and availability are correct
• ✓The final file has been proofread and opened after export

Keep the advert and submitted documents. If you get an interview, use them with the interview preparation worksheet.