How to apply and FAQ

Roche is a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof have made Roche the leader in personalised healthcare – a strategy that aims to fit the right treatment to each patient in the best way possible.

Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management.

Founded in 1896, Roche continues to search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and make a sustainable contribution to society. The company also aims to improve patient access to medical innovations by working with all relevant stakeholders. More than thirty medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and cancer medicines. Moreover, for the eleventh consecutive year, Roche has been recognised as one of the most sustainable companies in the Pharmaceuticals Industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

Our three main values are the following: Passion, Integrity and Courage. These are core to how we want to behave as individuals, and collectively as an organization. They define fundamental attributes for guiding decisions and actions leading to increased innovation and business performance.

At Roche, individuals are responsible for their own career. We offer you a place where a job title is not considered the final definition of who you are, but the starting point for achievements that help improve people’s lives. We develop career pathways in affiliates and headquarters as well as a variety of site-specific plans and programmes, but career paths are not limited to these. Based on the individual's performance, experience and interest, we offer the opportunity to develop yourself cross-divisional, cross-functional & cross-border.

Roche offers you a wide variety of international opportunities, including short-term and long-term assignments. You can apply directly for a position of your choice abroad unless indicated otherwise in the job advert - See more at our blog.

Our employees have the opportunity to work from home. Of course, this depends on whether this is feasible in your role or not. For employees residing in an EU/EFTA member state who work in Switzerland, the proportion of working time outside Switzerland must not exceed 25% (max. 24.99%) of the total working time for social insurance reasons.

You can find all our vacant positions on our global career website. When opting for the career website you are able to filter by function, job type, location or keyword search. All the open positions which match your criteria will appear.

Search for a position.

All our vacancies for work experience, internships, opportunities for thesis students or postdoctoral opportunities - in addition to our other open positions - are published on our global career website. When searching for these positions select "Entry Level" from the Job Level drop-down.

Search for a position.

Make sure you are using the filters relevant to this position on the Global Job Search. If you have the Job ID, this is the fastest way to find the correct job. Try using the “Location” and browse through the open positions for the location. Try using the exact job name in the Keyword section of the search. If despite all of the above, the position still doesn’t appear on the career site, it may have been un-posted and is no longer receiving applications.

At the end of job ads for positions in Switzerland, you can find the contact details for our Recruiting hotline. You can ask all your questions related to the position of your interest, which have not yet been answered in our Frequently Asked Questions, to our dedicated team there. If no contact is available, unfortunately, no communication is offered for this particular opportunity. Once you’ve applied for a job, your Resume/CV and profile will be reviewed by our Recruitment team and the hiring manager. If you’ve previously applied for a position, you may be contacted at any time by a member of our Recruitment team if your application fits another position.

You need to apply via the job ad. You have the option of applying directly or using your LinkedIn profile. The application should take 5-10 minutes of your time. If it is your first time applying to Roche you will need to create a login. Once you have done so, you will be able to view your application and any communication you receive from Roche. When you start your application you can first upload your CV/Resume and the system will pull the data from your CV/Resume to populate the rest of the application.

Search for a position.

Yes, that is correct. When you click 'Apply with LinkedIn' you will be directed to another page that includes the job ad again, along with the option to 'Apply with LinkedIn'. Once you click the button a second time you will be asked to give LinkedIn access to connect your data.

No. It just creates a bridge between LinkedIn and our system but we do not store any of your LinkedIn data (your login etc).

Yes! All our pages are mobile-ready and the application is just as easy via your iPad or iPhone, as well as Android and Windows devices.

If you did not receive a confirmation email it means your application may not have been submitted. If you log in to your applicant account you will be able to see any draft applications. You can also check your messages/communication to see if you received the confirmation there (but not in your email inbox). If you see your application is still in draft, you just need to submit it.

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Unfortunately, we do not accept unsolicited applications. Keep checking our careers site as we post new opportunity every day. In the "My Career" section you can also make the appropriate settings to be notified about new job openings. To do so, please register and/or log in under "My Career". Then, you have the option of setting up one or more "job alerts". In a job alert, you can define which new jobs you would like to be informed about based on various criteria (job category, locations, job type, full/part-time).

The duration of the job ad posting depends on various factors. Usually, we post a position internally for about 2 weeks and then it will be advertised externally as well as internally for another 4 weeks. This can vary from position to position, but if no date is given and the position meets your expectations and qualifications, we recommend that you apply as soon as possible.

We invite you to take a look at our careers page (blogs and videos). We ask you to compare your experience and qualifications exactly with the job advertisement. There you will find the most important criteria required for the job. If you are convinced that you meet most of the criteria of the job advertisement, then we look forward to your application!

Our Talent Pool is available to you if there is no vacancy listed on the careers page that matches your interests. You can join the Talent Pool on the careers page by creating a profile. You will be asked to provide your personal data and experience. In addition, you have the opportunity to upload your documents, such as your CV or a general cover letter. These data and documents are made available to the Recruiting team so that you can be contacted should a vacancy come up.

Yes, you can apply for more than one position at once, but we recommend narrowing your choices down to a few jobs that really match your skills, experience, and interests.

In order to start an internship with us, your graduation from university or college must be not longer than 12 months back. Otherwise, an application is unfortunately not possible. Our internships last for 3 to 12 months, and the duration should be noted in the job advertisement. You will be remunerated for the duration of the internship. We can apply for a work permit for non-EU citizens, but it will only be granted if an internship is mandatory according to your degree curriculum. Please upload a certificate confirming your compulsory internship together with your application. Following the conclusion of the contract, it takes about two months to obtain a work permit for non-EU citizens. We also offer you the opportunity to write your thesis as part of an internship. If you find an internship position that suits your interests, you are welcome to apply! If you want to know more about how to apply, we invite you to read our FAQ on “What should a good application look like?”.

We welcome all applications and, as a company, do not set any requirements in terms of residency, nationality or age. However, we are fully subject to national laws and conditions relating to employment and residence. In Switzerland, we always submit an application for a residence and work permit for non-Swiss citizens. Please note that the approval process for non-EU nationals (known as "third-country nationals") takes longer.

We offer holiday jobs for pupils, but certain requirements have to be fulfilled at all sites within Switzerland. The requirements are that one parent must be actively working at Roche, the pupil is aged between 15-19, and speaks German and English according to their school level. At our site in Rotkreuz, pupils can also be registered for a holiday job by their godparents.

If you still haven’t found what you are looking for about jobs in Switzerland, please call +41 61 68 22550.

Once you apply for a position, you will receive an automatic email confirming that your application has been successfully received. In general, a recruitment process takes 1.5-3 months, however this may vary for unforeseeable reasons. You can check your application status at any time in your profile. If you have not received an answer from the recruiter yet, your application is still under consideration.

In any case, your resume/CV will be stored in our database according to the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation. If you would like to be removed from our database please refer to the FAQ “How can I delete all my applications/data from your database?”.

When applying for a position, your contact information and application documents will be made available to our recruiters. They will analyse your skills & experience and will rate them against the requirements for the position which you have applied to (as well as any other open positions). In the meantime, you can also track your application status in your profile. If we believe you match the requirements, we will contact you and, in a first phase, invite you for a telephone interview or personal interview (or video interview); if you make a positive first impression, further interviews will be scheduled. After each personal interview you will receive feedback from the recruiter. If your application is unsuccessful, you will definitely be informed.

A good application should consist of a cover letter, curriculum vitae and – if available - current certificates and job reference letters, and give us an impression of your professional competencies. Give your CV a personal touch: build it around your professional interests and indicate any milestones in your career that may be relevant to the position in question. As a rule of thumb, you should summarise the most important tasks or successes of previous positions in two to three bullet points. We recommend that you always submit your application in the language of the job posting. Since we are an international company, there are also hiring managers who do not speak German and may not fully understand your application otherwise. You do not have to translate job references. Finally, in your cover letter you should explain how your qualifications, background and skills match the position in question. Describe briefly why you are interested in the position and in us as your potential employer. We recommend that you write a separate cover letter for each application. You do not have to address a specific person with your cover letter. If you would like to work part-time, you can mention the preferred percentage of working hours in your cover letter. If there is no start date indicated in the job advertisement, you are welcome to describe the potential or preferred starting date in your cover letter.

Our recruiters review every application personally, but the selection of candidates for a personal interview is the hiring manager’s responsibility. Together with our recruiter, the hiring manager compares the applications to the criteria of the job advertisement and finally decides whom to invite for an interview.

If you still haven’t found what you are looking for about the recruitment process, please call +41 61 68 22550.

Whilst we do use a system to manage all of our applications (as we receive a LOT), our Recruiters and/ or the Managers are the ones who are reviewing the candidates. However due to the volume of emails being sent out from our system, these emails can be delayed and sent out in batches to ensure good system performance. That is why you received the email during the night.

Your username is your email address.

If you have forgotten your password, click on ‘Forgot Password’. Enter your email address and click on ‘Submit’. You will receive instructions by email on how to update your password.

Candidate Home

You can view and apply for a position on a MAC, PC or mobile device. Please note that the supported browsers are:

Internet Browser	Version
Google Chrome	Latest Supported Version
Mozilla Firefox	Latest Supported Version
Microsoft Edge	Latest Supported Version
Apple Safari	Latest Supported Version
Opera Browser	Latest Supported Version
Blackberry Browser	Latest Supported Version
Microsoft Internet Explorer	11.0

If you are using a browser which is not supported please try to apply with another supported browser.

In the "My Career" section you can make the appropriate settings to be notified about new job openings. To do so, please register and/or log in under "My Career". Then, you have the option of setting up one or more "job alerts". In a job alert, you can define which new jobs you would like to be informed about based on various criteria (job category, locations, job type, full/part-time).

To view a list of positions you have applied for, log into your account:

• Click on the Cloud icon in the top right hand corner
• Click on View Profile.

You will see all applications that you have submitted and what the current status is.

Candidate Home

No, once you have submitted your application you are unable to edit it. If you need to make any changes you are encouraged to contact the Recruiter.

If you need to withdraw your application please contact the Recruiter for that role, which should be listed on the job posting. Withdrawing your application just removes your application from that job but does not remove your data completely from our database. If you want to delete your data completely, see the information below.

To delete your application(s) from our database, visit our careers site and on the Contact Information page you can tick the box to Remove your Applications. Once ticked your applications will be removed from our database within 7 days. If you have applied for a position in the United States in the last three years, we are legally obligated to retain your information.

Careers Site

Roche will never extend an offer without a personal interview and will never charge any money for joining our company. All our current job openings are displayed on the Careers section of our website, where you can search for open positions and apply directly.

Find out how to identify fake job advertisements.

Log into your Candidate Home Account via our career site and in the top right hand corner click on your email address.

1. Select Account Settings.
2. Select Change my Email Address.
3. Enter the new email address and click Submit.
4. You will receive an email to your new email address from Global.HRsystem-DoNotReply@roche.com, where you need to click a link to Confirm the change.

If we were not able to answer your question, Contact us!

Please Note: We do not accept applications via our contact form. The form is only for submitting an issue you might be having or to get in touch with us about a question that has not been answered in this section. Thank you.