Interview prep by company size: startup, SME, corporate

Step 1: Find out how big the company really is

Adverts rarely state headcount. Check the About or Team page on the website, the employee range on the LinkedIn company page, and the entry in the Swiss commercial register (Handelsregister), which shows legal form, year of incorporation and who is authorised to sign. A GmbH founded three years ago with two signatories is a different conversation from an AG with a board and offices in several cantons.

The number of open jobs is another clue. A firm with a single advert open hires rarely, and the interview may be run by someone who does not do this every week. In our count that describes almost half of all advertisers. A company advertising twenty or more roles at once almost always has an HR department, an applicant portal and a fixed process.

Watch for group membership too. A branch of twelve people can belong to a large group, in which case hiring runs through group HR even if daily life feels like a small firm.

Step 2: Startup — prepare for speed and range

At a startup a founder often runs the interview, sometimes with the person you would work with most closely. There is usually no HR function yet. Questions are less predictable and get concrete quickly: what would you do in your first two weeks? What have you built, sold or improved without anyone asking you to?

Prepare examples that show impact and initiative, and be honest about how you handle shifting priorities. Expect a small take-home task after the conversation. Ask how long it should take, and do not spend more time on it than agreed. First names and the informal "du" are common; accept them when offered, and stay factual anyway.

Your own questions matter most here: how is the company funded, how long does the money last, who decides what, and what will your role look like in a year? If part of the pay is offered as equity, ask for the terms and get them in writing. Real startups are rarer in Switzerland than the attention they get suggests: the word start-up appears in under 0.5 percent of adverts in our index.

Step 3: SME — show that you are dependable and will stay

At a small or mid-sized firm, often family-owned, a single person frequently decides: the owner or the managing director, sometimes after a short chat with the team. The process is less formal and more personal. Many questions are about whether you fit the business, whether you will pitch in where needed, and whether you will stay. Losing a hire is expensive for a small firm.

Prepare examples where you solved a problem practically and on your own, and show that you take on work outside the job description. Expect your Arbeitszeugnisse (the written Swiss employer references) to be read closely and references to be requested. Local ties help: where you live, your commute and why this particular firm are not side issues at an SME.

Use the formal "Sie" in German-speaking firms, or "vous" in French-speaking ones, even if the atmosphere is relaxed, and wait to be offered first names. Questions that land well: how is the team made up, who will train me, and what further training does the firm support?

Step 4: Corporate — prepare for a structured process

At a corporation you will almost always apply through a portal, and the process has several rounds: a short screening call with HR, often by phone or video, then an interview with the hiring manager and a specialist, and for senior roles sometimes an assessment centre or a case study. After the first round, ask how many more follow and when a decision is expected.

Questions are often structured: every candidate gets the same ones, and each answer is scored against a grid. Competency questions are typical, such as "Tell us about a time you resolved a conflict in your team." Answer in the STAR pattern: situation, task, your action, result. Have one example ready for every competency the advert lists.

On salary, a corporation usually works with pay bands by grade. Give an annual figure in francs, ask whether a 13th-month salary or bonus is included, and ask which grade the role sits in. The interview itself is formal, even if colleagues use first names internally.

Step 5: Tell the same experience three different ways

You do not need new stories for each company size. You tell the same ones with a different emphasis. Take introducing a new workflow in your team as the example.

For a startup, stress speed and impact: you spotted the problem, built a first version without being asked, tested it in two weeks and measured the result. For an SME, stress dependability: you introduced it so that everyone came along, patiently answered questions from longer-serving colleagues and kept the business running meanwhile. For a corporate, stress method: the situation, the brief, who was involved, how you aligned the interfaces with other teams, and which metric changed.

Finally, check that your reason for moving fits the company size. Telling a corporation that processes feel too slow, or telling a startup that you are looking for stability, raises exactly the doubt the interview is meant to settle.

Step 6: Match your questions and the salary conversation

The question you ask at the end shows whether you understood the company. At a startup: how long does the funding last, and what must be achieved by then? At an SME: how is succession planned, and how has the business developed in recent years? At a corporation: what does progression in this role look like, and how does the team fit into the wider organisation?

Everywhere, give an annual figure in Swiss francs and clarify what it includes. A startup may pair a lower base salary with equity; compare the base, not the hope. An SME often has less room on pay but sometimes more on workload percentage, holidays or training. At a corporation you negotiate within a band, so argue about the grade rather than an arbitrary number. If you are comparing against pay abroad, remember that Swiss salaries are quoted gross per year and are often paid in twelve or thirteen instalments.

Step 7: Rehearse in the right register

The best rehearsal is with someone who knows that type of company: a person who has worked at a startup, or a manager at a large employer. Ask them to press you when an answer is vague, and practise out loud, not just in your head.

If nobody has time, the SwissJobs.app interview practice lets you enter your CV and the advert and choose the company size: 1 to 5, 5 to 50, 50 to 200 or over 200 employees. The questions follow from that, from an informal tone at a micro firm to structured, formal competency questions at a corporation. The voice follows up on vague answers and scores each one. It does not know the founder or owner you will actually meet, though, and for a senior role a coach from the industry is the better investment.