r2i forum

r2india2009;215128Suba, Thanks for your frank opinion. And thanks for the wishes. I clearly understand what you said, and believe me, I have gone through that learning process already.

I already have very low expectation. I am definitely not expecting to be at par with my class mates who chose not to leave India and stuck with their Indian employers for all these years - many of them are at VP/Practice Head/DM etc levels.
The position I am targeting is only at 6-10 years experience level. Frankly, I don't believe that a person working in india has a "better knowledge" when technology is concerned, particularly in service industry. They may be better in managing people and "Extracting" work. The exception may be technology companies like yahoo,google,amazon etc.

My value proposition is, my extensive experience in dealing with clients, my passion of technology and my technology architect experience in the true definition of the role. And my complaint is, they didn't even try to assess my strengths.

I am in the same boat as you. I am moving to India and am facing similar issues. The interviewers do not even try to assess my strengths. They do not seem to understand the aspects of cleint facing and handling challenging situations. Their basic questions are related with team size I have handled, P&L management, on-shore/off-shore management etc.

17L is a good pay in TVM. I would say this is equivalent to about 24L in Bangalore.

gabbar007;217362OP,
I relocated to India 2 years back and as a hiring manager am privy to salary figures. I suggest you take TVM out of the equation for now and target either:

- Senior Architect position in Captives OR
- CTO position in small startups

First should fetch you no less than 25 lacs, and second can fetch you as high as 45 lacs.

You have not lost out ANYTHING by being out of India, you just need to find the RIGHT fit for your skills.

Finally, finding a job is a full time job. Dont just do passive job hunting, actively search for jobs, by calling middleman for unrelated jobs by picking up the phone and telling them about your expereince, they will provide you additional leads. Use linkedin, to expand your network - unsolicited - a nice note with your invite is good enough. Send un-solicited e-mails - FOR EXAMPLE...when I was R2Ing, I sent unsolicited e-mails to 20 odd people at director/sr. director level in my targeted company (Very large product MNC company), by just searching them on linkedin and guessing their e-mails. My cover note clearly outlined my strengths and that I was wanting to relocate to Hyderabad. Guess what one of those directors forwarded my resume for an suitable opening and I got hired.

-g

Indian Heart;32376317L is a good pay in TVM. I would say this is equivalent to about 24L in Bangalore.

move2india;323247I am in the same boat as you. I am moving to India and am facing similar issues. The interviewers do not even try to assess my strengths. They do not seem to understand the aspects of cleint facing and handling challenging situations. Their basic questions are related with team size I have handled, P&L management, on-shore/off-shore management etc.

I agree with all 3.. completely. :)

I think 17L is not a great salary for a person with 15 years experience working in the US or elsewhere. However, I do support that you should probably take it up. Here are my reasons:

1. During the time that we were working comfortably in US, working with decent, honest and ethical people. These three adjectives are no longer in the indian dictionary, and is not important for a lot of indians as it works against being "street smart". You can see this from your house maid, the gas agency, the way roads are put over and over, or a host of other examples all the way up the management hierarchy. Indian heritage is great, our background is great, but we are definitely deteriorating...no question about that!
2. There is definitely an anti NRI sentiment, which cannot be overlooked.
3. The arrogance that comes with money/good fortune/investments that cannot be overlooked either. And this same thing shows up its dirty head during interviews.
4. If you recall in the 80s/90s, there has always been umbrage over all the cream of the crop having gone to the US or other places, and all the hoopla over brain drain. Now, if a person really wants to come back out of his own volition or due to circumstances, the treatment that he/she gets after returning back could make them appreciate their adopted countries more.
4. However..that is nothing that we can change. Unless you have a ton of cash to retire and can involve yourself in some community service or something else that interests you, you will have to most probably claw your way back up if you have to return to india and work to eke out a living. That is the reality of the situation....so, maybe you should take up the offer.

r2India2009, I am of similar experience as you - about 16 yrs (13 yrs in the U.S). and TVM is my home town, but settled in Chennai now. I agree that cost of living in TVM is cheap as compared to some of the other metros, but unless you have a case where you dont need to pay rent and any other significant advantages (family wise), you shouldn't settle for anything less than 27-30L. You will get around that kind of money in Chennai with your experience and ofcourse negotiation skills. (talking from experience)

Currently(i.e right now, not one year back, not two years back...right now) the market in chennai is not tip top...I have got offers that are between 1X and 1.3X only in chennai. So, I am speaking from personal experience as well. Experience wise, I have similar background to you too (i.e. have graduated from one of the top universities from india, and done my masters in the US). If you have a great network, i think that may help you land some of the higher salaried positions that you feel you are deserving of.

satish8532;327386Currently(i.e right now, not one year back, not two years back...right now) the market in chennai is not tip top...I have got offers that are between 1X and 1.3X only in chennai. So, I am speaking from personal experience as well. Experience wise, I have similar background to you too (i.e. have graduated from one of the top universities from india, and done my masters in the US). If you have a great network, i think that may help you land some of the higher salaried positions that you feel you are deserving of.

I dont know where you've been trying...I am responsible for staffing several functions within my organization and we are struggling to get good resources (both mid-level and senior), Not enough people available in the market - We are ending up paying premium for several skill set , just to get the right resources. Sorry, Absolutely dont agree with you.
IT firms - Infy, CTS, Capg, CSC, TCS, Wipro are playing tug of war here in Chennai...for the right people

USDESI2009;328090I dont know where you've been trying...I am responsible for staffing several functions within my organization and we are struggling to get good resources (both mid-level and senior), Not enough people available in the market - We are ending up paying premium for several skillsets , just to get the right resources. Sorry, Absolutely dont agree with you.

satish8532;327386Currently(i.e right now, not one year back, not two years back...right now) the market in chennai is not tip top...I have got offers that are between 1X and 1.3X only in chennai. So, I am speaking from personal experience as well. Experience wise, I have similar background to you too (i.e. have graduated from one of the top universities from india, and done my masters in the US). If you have a great network, i think that may help you land some of the higher salaried positions that you feel you are deserving of.

There is a great opportunity to build bridges here.