Dear all, I have now been seeing a lot of posts about RAV, a lot of crap also, and a lot of myths, so, as a person that actually has been to RAV 3x in my career and whose sister actually works with RAV. I am also going to say some serious important info below that you have rights for, that often nobody, not even RAV coaches will tell you, and is mostly hidden and only found under their search engines, so to make it as hard as possible for you to find, because it is something that you are entitled to, and costs them money!!!
First of all, what is RAV? RAV, is an insurance company or at least, unofficially it is. I am sure, most of you are shocked at this statement, so, let me explain. RAV is not there to help you, RAV is there, to find out procedures you have not properly followed, to reduce the help that you are entitled to. This, is exactly what an insurance company is. Most people on this planet still have no idea how an insurance company works, they think, you pay them so they have your back, and they forget, before they have your back, they will do all possible to find mistakes and fineprints that you did not follow, to ultimately pay the least amount of help as possible, so treat RAV as this.
Second of all, inconsistencies with RAV-Personal Berater (your RAV"coach"). First of all, if you are not good at ass kissing, learn to be. Do what they say, to the letter. Do not ask why, thank them, be honest, and do not yell or shout around or make a scene, if you do that, you lost. It is ok to cry of emotions but not to rant around emotionally. Every RAV Berater has some playroom, meaning, yes, they can and will do things different from another, which I personally believe is a disaster, for instance:
In CH, most RAVs today say, you must write 10-12 job applications per month. This means the following, you will write 12 job applications per month (ideally more as you need a job!). If you write, 10 or 11, you are already a target. "Why did you not write 12?" they ask, then it all starts going downhill from there, I will not even get into it, just write 12, period! If they say in the future 10-18 applications per month, write 18, you get the point. To whoever was also in RAV and only wrote 10 and tells me I am full of crap, good for you, you had either the lazy or overworked coach, which most of them are not! Just write the two extra applications and you are golden.
Now, here comes the suck part. Some RAV coaches look into one CV and Motivation Letter, other coaches look at all of them, some coaches do not care if you write standard text on all letters and just change 1-2 lines and save yourself time, others do care! So I extremely highly recommend, for the first meeting, write golden CVs and especially motivational letters, because if you write the same lines on all and just changed the address, that is already an excuse to find reasons to DEDUCT from those 70 or 80%, it already starts there. What also annoys me, is that some RAV coaches do not tell you in advance, that you need to space those Applications, so, if you write 12 Applications in the first 1-2 days of the month and then go to relax, you can also get sanctioned for that!!!!!! Ask your coach "how do you recommend I space the applications"or, do not ask and just do at least 3 per each week of the month. Again, some coaches do not care at all, others do, this is where Switzerland is extremely weird, because in the normal Switzerland world, all is black and white, but with RAV, Social department and IV, it is a banana republic.
IMPORTANT!!! KEEP AND SAVE ALL THE JOB APPLICATION CONFIRMATION EMAILS: "Thank you for applying to bla bla bla…..due to a high load of applications bla bla bla….." KEEP THIS EMAIL, MAKE A FILE, many RAV people ask for it.
ALSO KEEP ALL "Thank you for your impressing application, unfortunately, it just was not impressive enough….."same deal, keep these, put them in a file, RAV may or may not ask for them.
What 90% of RAV does not tell you is your rights in terms of courses or the "INDIVIDUAL COURSES" (memorize this) and also memorize "DIFFICULT TO EMPLOY"so this means the following. Let’s say, you work as HR and have HR experience but never really studied HR and have no Diploma for it, perhaps you worked in a family office, who cares, you get the point, so you tell them this and in this way:
"I would kindly ask you, based on my recent previous experience as an HR-Assistant (or whatever), about INDIVIDUELLE KURSE because currently I have HR experience but no real Diploma there, thus I fall under "DIFFICULT TO EMPLOY"but if RAV could help me to do such a course, it is a course specific for something I already work with".
Your chances are now extremely high they paying sometimes amounts as 20K CHF and even more (rare but can happen), so you can do a course, while getting PAID your 70-80%!! DO NOT START ANY COURSES BEFORE AND SEND THEM THE BILL!!!!!!!!! You have no idea my sister told me how many do this !!!! RAV must sign you up for such a course.
In Kt. Zurich, this is the page you want regarding this:
RAV will NOT pay you for another course (Quereinsteiger, Uni-Degrees etc), only for something that falls within your work experience that improves your chances afterwards.
So, if you have experience with HR but want to go the IT path now, RAV will not help you there.
Important: If you have lost your job, with the 3 months notice, you must immediately start with those minimum applications "Preliminary efforts"so if you were fired today, start tomorrow with the following. Go to the RAV website and no, you do not need to sign up yet, wait and let me finish, you go and find their Vorbemühungen document, like this one in the following link under part 2 (there is a PDF download):
You can sign up already with them, but if you do, you will get amassed with additional info very early, even contacted to make appointments, where me personally, I rather just focus about finding a new job first while following the step I mentioned just above. They recommend you immediately sign-up but this they will NOT hold against you, and if they ask why you waited to the end you tell them "It was a very bad time for me, emotionally and physically I was devastated, I still had to work, while still searching for new employment, I simply was at that point not able to do anything else except try and hold myself together in this horrible time" because horrible times my friend, is when you are unemployed in Switzerland in today’s days….
We have a huge unemployment rate, Switzerland "hides" the official numbers behind the "Paid out"meaning, you are only officially Unemployed in Switzerland within those two years you have the right for RAV "help"if you still got no job then, well, you are not unemployed anymore in an official capacity, so if you want to believe Switzerland only has 3% unemployed, well, keep thinking that 🙂
Good luck to all of you
RAV Switzerland – Let's clear up some myths
byu/Super_Plantain7159 inSwitzerland
Posted by Super_Plantain7159
27 Comments
Honestly it sounds like you have a beef with RAV. I don’t see any “myths” being cleared up.
Thank you, very helpful and informative post, and I appreciate you took the time to write it.
Great information.
I would also add that the RAV can fine you substantial amounts of money should you not do as you are told. Do what they say, regardless of how unfair it sounds, or you could face fines of thousands of francs.
Very good overview! Even I knew most of it, but could you expand about the courses. Is there a list of courses or list of companies/schools which courses could be taken?
On my 6th month of chômage here in Romandie, slightly panicking.
Everything above is correct.
* Start immediately when you know your contract will end
* Space out the applications
* The OCE/ORP won’t help you, just sanction you, they are not monsters but they simply do not care about you, they don’t care if you find a job or finish your allowed rights and just go live under a bridge, they care if you don’t do the (10 here) applications as they want them.
* It’s hard out here
Some of what you wrote is true, but some parts are either exaggerated or simply inaccurate.
When it comes to individual courses (“Individuelle Kurse”), the budget is managed at the cantonal level, so there are real differences depending on where you live. These measures are almost never approved as a first step. They usually require several levels of approval t’s not just up to the advisor. A CHF 20,000 course is, in most cantons and in most situations, unrealistic. That’s a very high amount, and funding that level of training is not the core mission of unemployment insurance.
The number of required job applications isn’t fixed in a vacuum. It depends on the sector, the person’s experience, and how employable they are considered to be. You won’t expect the same from a farrier who is unemployed for the first time as from a construction painter who registers every year. The context matters.
Yes, there are differences between advisors in experience, personality, and professional judgment but that’s true in any job. It doesn’t mean the system itself is dysfunctional.
The same goes for CVs and cover letters. In some professions they are highly standardized and closely scrutinized; in others, much less so. The expectations for someone in HR are not the same as for a mason. Different profiles, different standards.
The idea that advisors are mainly there to find ways not to pay and to play with the rules is simply not accurate. While practices vary slightly from canton to canton, the overall direction is toward more individualized support. Advisors don’t receive incentives to be punitive neither positive nor negative. If anything, the system encourages reintegration, not sanctions for the sake of it.
There is also some confusion between RAV and unemployment funds. The funds must apply the law in a very strict and standardized way. Advisors, on the other hand, operate within a framework but still have room for professional judgment.
And no, it’s not a “banana republic.” There are rules, but also human situations. Cases differ a lot, and it wouldn’t make sense to apply exactly the same rigid approach to everyone. There’s a structure, but also flexibility within it.
Thank you very much for the post at time spent on it.
Personal experience to add to it: first meeting i had with the RAV coach i brought my scrumm board with “application sent” “application answered” “first interview” “second interview” “technical challenge” “hr interview” “offered” “rejected”
This saved me a lot of headaches as i brought it a list of applications (with proofs) and they let me do my thing.
I stayed in RAV for 3 months, i consider myself very lucky to: A. Found a job before the job market collapsed B. Have found a coach that did not do anything because, and I quote: “I read your history and CV, but i don’t understand what you do. I’m sure you’ll find a job soon otherwise we can talk about curses”.
Again, thanks for the Infos.
RAV is not an insurance and not a company. ALV is the insurance, the RAV is indeed there to help you find a new job.
Didn’t read any further as this is obviously an uneducated shitpost.
Your first fact is already wrong. RAV is not the insurance, that‘s ALV. The V in RAV does not stand for insurance in German but for „Vermittlungsbehörde“. RAV is the liasion between you (unemployed) and a) job openings and b) the actual unemployment insurance.
Thanks for the insights
[deleted]
no wonder sozialhilfe is a banan republic when people working there are usually just as*holes that oftentimes have to deal with other as*holes
I’ve been twice and never actually wrote more than 2-3 applications a month. I just wrote down i applied at so and so and always got full payment. I liked being unemployed for a month or 2 and just relax. They never asked for confirmations or so. Once i actually wanted a job i applied properly got an interview and went to work again. The second time he tried to send me to a cv writing course after only one month. I hated it the first day so i agreed to an interview I’d have otherwise cancelled (krank) and got the job. Those courses are an absolute waste of time for most.
Not unemployed but this was the best post I’ve seen in this sub, thanks for taking the time to write this.
Thanks for such an honest, down to earth view on how RAV/URC (latter is for Ticino not sure how they call them in Romandie) actually do work.
I have been through the process twice in my life, back in 2011 just one year after arriving in Switzerland and last year (to date). Back then it was much easier, I work in IT, nowadays it is a really tight market and other external factors (divorce, depression, cptsd) do not help at all.
Can I ask something?
My job came to an end, limited contract, and now I’m going to use this opportunity to travel for 8 months. Will this stop my ability to collect RAV when I’m back?
It’s important to realise that RAV is geared towards jobs like hospitality and construction workers.
In many occupations it’s simply not possible to write 10 serious applications per month were you have the needed skillset and experience. Switzerland is a small place with limited jobs after all.
If you have a degree, be prepared to apply to quite a few jobs were you already know you’ll get declined. But it still counts for your quota. They only value quantity, not quality.
Also the training offers they have readily available from the catalogue are at a really low level, unfortunately. Apparently seems to be different for custom training/education, which is good to hear.
On the positive side, definitely register for and use their job platform, not sure what it’s called anymore. Recruiters actually use it and might contact you through it.
Thank you this is very helpful
Appreciate how comprehensive the breakdown is. Good luck to everybody out there looking for employment.
Don’t let them harass you. If they do, you can escalate through the instances: local RAV officials, the unemployment insurance fund, the responsible ombudsman, the anti-bullying center, the canton Office for economic affairs.
If everything fails, file a complaint against unknown for coercion, abuse of office or favoritism depending on the situation.
In reference cases, this fixed the situation.
Great information, thanks! I hate the 10-12 applications thing, such a dumb principle, you cant provide a range as a requirement, thats redundant lol, the requirement is the lower amount then.
I think the courses part is a bit exaggerated or at could give wrongly placed hope. I was at RAV looking for IT jobs long enough that they were considering a course for me. But all the possible courses were evaluated and turned down. And 20k is very propably highly overestimated. So yes, its a possibility, but there needs to be a really big need for such a course that they’ll pay for it.
Nice article!
Could you also advice and answer the question that also come out quite a lot:
Can I travel the world while RAV pays me?
Can I go live with my parents back in Italy?
Can I just do nothing and still get paid?
Thank you for your post but some things remain unclear imho as a labour law and social insurance specialist.
There seems to be some confusion in this thread about the role and function of the Regionales Arbeitsvermittlungszentrum (RAV) within the Swiss unemployment insurance system.
RAV is not an insurance company, nor does it independently decide whether unemployment benefits are paid.
Benefits are governed by the federal Unemployment Insurance Act (Arbeitslosenversicherungsgesetz, AVIG) and corresponding ordinances (I am quite disappointed that you did not once clarify this, as it is a paramount distinction).
RAV’s role is to implement the legal framework:
it supports reintegration into the labour market, monitors compliance with statutory obligations, and issues administrative decisions where required.
Sanctions (so-called “Einstelltage”) are not arbitrary. They are based on clearly defined legal provisions and apply in cases such as insufficient job search efforts, refusal of suitable employment, failure to attend appointments, or other breaches of duty. The duration of such sanctions follows structured guidelines and can be formally appealed.
The number of required job applications is not random but is determined individually, taking into account professional background, labour market conditions, and regional practice. It is important to meet the agreed number precisely and to document applications carefully. That is not because RAV is “trying to avoid paying,” but because claimants are legally required to demonstrate active efforts to mitigate unemployment.
RAV advisors may vary in style, but institutionally their mandate is not to deny benefits; it is to ensure lawful administration of social insurance and facilitate reintegration. Decisions are subject to legal review, and Switzerland’s system includes clear procedural safeguards.
Constructive advice for anyone entering unemployment remains:
– document job searches
– comply with deadlines
– communicate in writing when necessary
– seek clarification early if expectations are unclear.
The system can feel strict, especially in a vulnerable situation, but it operates within a defined legal structure rather than discretionary or profit-driven motives.
In my experience, this is one of the most important points. RAV is an insurance company and wants to keep damages low. They want you to leave the RAV as quickly as possible (preferably yesterday). Every measure and every consultation with them is designed to make you understand that you need to get your ass back to work, as fast as possible. And yes, if your RAV advisor feels that you are lazy or taking unemployment lightly, then God help you…
Great writing. Thank you
When I was in RAV in early 2025 i got penalized 10+ days because in the 3 months before the end of the contract there was one month where I didn’t apply to any positions.
I appealed saying that in those 3 months I applied to 30+ positions and that in the middle months were I didn’t apply I had 6 Interviews (2 of which were 2nd round) and I still worked 100% + had a 6 months old baby at home but they did not give a fuck and still penalized me.
I even asked them in advance before registering how many applications i need to send and they told me (we can’t give you a number, just apply) but they didn’t mention I needed to apply every month and that interviews don’t count as “effort”.
I also made the mistake of recording vacation in advance because by the time I went on vacation I already found a job so I didn’t have to apply for the last month of RAV. But since I already registered for an unpaid vacation I also got deducted.
Imo RAV was traumatizing, the person following my case was nice but all the rules and penalties just make it extremely worse. I still haven’t recovered financially from the 80% salary + penalities
Ay, so true. Its not there to help you, it is there to make your access to the money hard. Thanks man.
>We have a huge unemployment rate, Switzerland “hides” the official numbers behind the “Ausgezahlten”,
For one, it is ausgesteuert not ausgezahlt, but more importantly, the real number is neither huge nor hidden. [BFS tracks unemployment](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/arbeit-erwerb/erwerbslosigkeit-unterbeschaeftigung/erwerbslose-ilo.html) according to the ILO definition as well. We are currently at 5.1% up from a 15-year low in Q3 2022 at 3.9%. We hit 5% multiple times in the past 20 years. While it is unfortunate that we have hit a new post-Covid high, portraying this as ‘huge unemployment’ is, quite frankly, ridiculous when compared to other OECD countries.
I have the impression that RAV practices are laid out for unqualified laborers and already deteriorate for people with a 2-year EBA. Almost completely useless for people with tertiary education, where a quality application with a potentially well fitting employer is worth more than shotgunning 20 applications because the listing’s required qualifications share like three letters with your title.
Also the absolute worst thing from an employing perspective is a mishire due to either the employer or the candidate not recognizing a poor fit and ending the application, yet the process incentivizes the candidate to misrepresent themselves simply to escape the process, with the intent to leave the employer as soon as a quality opportunity presents itself (or perhaps they burn out first).
The coaches seem to be pretty ignorant of this fact, I’m undecided whether this is due to lack of insight, intentional denial or institutional denial.
Making the coaches’ wage contingent on employee retention would probably help with the overall issue and maybe even decrease overall ALV expenditures.