FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

This platform originates from the social science master thesis "Optimal Board Composition in Swiss SMEs", written by the founder Dominic Lüthi, at Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Zurich. The central question was: "Does a transparent, stringent process exist in Swiss SMEs to replace or extend the existing VR? From the recommendations for action that became apparent, the first digital mediation platform for boards of directors and advisory boards (f/m) in Switzerland was created in 2012.

For more information follow us on:

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Using digital technology, we aim to help small and medium-sized companies find and recruit board members with proven skills and experience, for functions such as the board of directors or the advisory board. The heart of our vision is to offer small and medium-sized companies an easy way to optimally and diversely assemble their board of directors, in order to create real impact in the SME world. Ultimately, we seek to improve our economy: make it more sustainable, fairer, more ethical, efficient and effective.

We provide an online “matchmaking” platform, where supply and demand can be matched anonymously. We do not actively mediate between candidates and potential employers. SMEs and start-ups can search for potential candidates themselves in our database and then contact suitable candidates directly.

How it works is shown in this short video [1:49] (German only).

We value your commitment to working with us. You can enlist yourself as a candidate in our database. As a company, you can supplement your board of directors or advisory board by finding suitable external candidates. What you should also do: Talk about the importance of this service. Is there a vacancy on your board of directors? Please recommend this platform! You can also take part in the various discussions on the topic of the optimal board of directors. For example on social media:

LinkedIn   /   Facebook   /   Twitter   /   Xing

We are not able to assess your individual chances of securing a placement. The number of both candidates available and companies seeking is constantly changing. Currently we have over 2'500 profiles in the database and on average there are always some SMEs and startups looking for profiles.

It would help if you have your resume or social media profile to hand. However we do not allow automatic uploading of your data directly from other platforms, nor even from your resume.

We have deliberately disabled the option to upload your existing resume. This means that you will need to add your key profile attributes yourself in our database. As a result, all profiles are presented equally by the system for easy searching. In addition, all profiles are listed anonymously in order to focus primarily on skills and experience. If you are subsequently contacted by a company, you can and should submit your full resume at that point.

Experience has shown that searching companies always look for complete profiles. Important tip:

Try to fill out 100% of the fields.

When logged in, you can see how your profile is presented to searching companies under "Profile view".

The counter fields indicate that your profile has been displayed "X" times in searches and "Y" times in detail. "X" corresponds to a search query from a company (comparable to a "hit" in a search engine). "Y" Corresponds to an actual click and thus a specific viewing of your profile. You may find that you have more profile views than searches, as searching companies are able to click through candidate profiles without first making a search query.

The performance statistics are activated automatically 🔑 as soon as you have an active membership as a candidate and your profile has been in our database for at least 3 months for reasons of measurability. The figures are compared with other candidate profiles in our database that have been in the database for a similar length of time. We have set the “similar length of time” factor at +/- 10% of your membership time. Example: If your profile has been in the database for 10 months, your performance figures will be compared with all other active candidate profiles (of any gender, age, sector, etc.) that have been in the database for between 9 and 11 months.

We leave it up to you whether to include a photo in your profile. If you choose to include a photo, be sure to upload a recent example having true likeness.

Keep it short and sweet! Outline how you believe you would enrich a board of directors of an SME or start-up. What doors could you open for a company? This text field will be visible, so do not mention actual names, e-mail or www addresses or other sensitive information here.

VRMandat.com / Boardplacement.com uses the NOGA classification for industry sectors for collating candidate data and for searches: NOGA is a useful tool to provide structured statistical information. It makes it possible to classify "companies" and "workplaces" based on actual business activity and to group them into clear and uniform sectors. It allows the “visible universe” to be represented realistically, completely and in sufficient detail for various powerful search functions. In addition, NOGA complies with both European and Swiss norms.

The complete NOGA classification is extremely comprehensive, which is why we have decided to use only the top two hierarchical levels.

More Informations: General Classification of Economic Activities (NOGA)

PDF with all NOGA Numbers: NOGA (PDF)

Online search tool for finding your NOGA Number: (KUBB)

Moderate salary expectations are viewed favorably by smaller companies and start-ups. Provide detailed justifications along with your salary expectations in order to be fully understood.

We have created the following tables: Diploma / Matura / Fachausweis / Höhere Fachprüfung / Höhere Fachschule / Bachelor / Master / PhD. Please select the most appropriate / equivalent level of education.

Only companies can search for and contact candidates. For reasons of discretion, companies search the database anonymously until they choose to contact a candidate.

If a company is interested in your profile, you will be contacted directly (to both e-mail addresses stored in your profile). You are then free to contact the company directly, or decline the introduction (e.g. in the event of a conflict of interest).

As soon as contact is established, first name and surname as well as the e-mail address will be exchanged between the two parties (to ensure direct contact). Your profile photograph will also be made visible.

Once you have made contact, we recommend that you speak directly to the person responsible. Usually a resume with full credentials is submitted promptly as a first step. Be sure to let us know if you receive positive or negative feedback!

You can edit/change your e-mail address while logged in under "Edit profile" "Personal information".

You can change your password when you are logged in. Go to "Settings" and "Further settings" and "Change password".

Use the function: "Forgot your password? A new password will be sent to your main e-mail address.”

Some tips to upload your picture successfully:

a) Is your picture too large? Only photographs less than 4MB should be uploaded.

b) Is your photo in a format other than .jpg? Please convert before uploading.

You can set your profile to invisible (and back again) yourself at any time. Just go to "Settings" and "More settings" and "Change visibility".

You can delete your profile at any time. Note that this action is irrevocable. Go to "Settings" and "Further settings" and "Submit a deletion request".

You have not received a confirmation e-mail?

1. check your e-mail inbox again.

2. be patient - sometimes there can be delays in delivery.

3. check your spam folder; maybe our email has landed there.

We provide different payment options:

a) via PayPal. Your aaccount will be activated immediately following payment.

b) by credit card - Visa, Master, American Express. Your account will be activated immediately following payment.

c) with e-banking. Simply transfer the relevant amount to: Zürcher Kantonalbank, Bahnhofstrasse 3, 8001 Zurich, IBAN: CH6200700110004343834, with a note of your e-mail address. Your account will be activated one day after receipt of payment at the latest.

d) with cryptocurrencies. We offer you to pay with the following three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC) and Nimiq (NIM). Payment is made directly from your wallet to ours without any intermediary.

If you have a voucher for price reduction, it can be applied only once in the payment process inside. Cumulation or money back is not allowed.

We do not renew memberships for a fee. Participation is to be 100% voluntary. When the term of your membership ends, you will need to renew the membership yourself to get in touch with a potential prospect.

No, you do not need to cancel with us! We also do not renew memberships for a fee. Participation should be 100% voluntary. When the term of your membership ends, you will need to renew the membership yourself to get in touch with a potential prospect.

Board fees can vary considerably on the market as they depend on various factors. In order to give our clients a realistic insight into current remuneration for board and foundation board mandates, we have developed a beta version of a fee comparison. You can take part if you have an active candidate profile on VRMandat.com and currently hold or have held at least one board of directors or foundation board mandate in the past. Participation is possible when logged in via “My profile” and has been optimized for use on desktop devices. As a thank you, we will extend your active membership of VRMandat.com by two years - free of charge and automatically.