Job search in India

[goober71]

Hi all,
I'm planning to R2I in Summer 2011 (family reasons) with wife and 2 kids. I will have my parent's house to settle in, so no mortgage.
I will not be able to move with job, so will have to look for a new job in India (Pune). I'm in IT management, with over 10 years experience in database development.
Should I be looking for a job from here? Any good resources for that? Or should I look after I get to India?
Any help/information will be appreciated.
Thanks.

G

[rajbulland]

You should try looking out for a job while in USA. First try with your current employer if he can offer you working off-site. Second try your network in India to get a job. Third, in case you do not get a job and you still want to r2i then you can always try getting a job here through head hunters, job sites, networks. If you are open in choice of job then you should face no problems.

[graju80]

Hi goober71, I am in the same situation as you are. I am thinking about the same thing, but I have convinced myself that finding a job here and going is the calculated risk that I want to take. Although all my friends and well wishers are telling me that its not a big deal to find a job in India. But one cannot be too careful. This is family we are talking about.
Put your profile on Naukri.com and Monster India.

[vapasi1]

Hi goober71, I am in the same situation as you are. I am thinking about the same thing, but I have convinced myself that finding a job here and going is the calculated risk that I want to take. Although all my friends and well wishers are telling me that its not a big deal to find a job in India. But one cannot be too careful. This is family we are talking about.
Put your profile on Naukri.com and Monster India.

It is true that the big IT services companies are hiring, mostly through internal referrals. So having a good network with people in these companies might be more promising than just posting on Naukri or Monster. Having flexibility of location is another big plus with these companies.

[KirKS]

I'm planning to R2I in Summer 2011 (family reasons) with wife and 2 kids. I will have my parent's house to settle in, so no mortgage.
I will not be able to move with job, so will have to look for a new job in India (Pune). I'm in IT management, with over 10 years experience in database development.

Pune is surely a hot & happening place in 2010. Lots of opportunities, particularly in product development companies.
I had talked to a couple in late 2009 and the salary levels were much higher than Hyderabad comparatively.

Looking for a job after landing in India is better because -
> You can get to face-to-face interviews with a short notice
> You don't have to convince that you 'may' return (in their views)
> In person interviews, sometimes up to 7 levels need lots of coordination by usually disorganized HR juniors. So spending a whole day at the location or making 2 visits when they want to 'reevaluate' is done easily.
> You can join with a short notice as opposed to long break if you get the job from US. You would have already gone through relocation & initial settling pain.
> If the initial searches fail to land an offer, you can do lots of in person meeting to build your network. Local mobile number, same time zone, ability to meet in a coffee bar or restaurant is huge compared to some middle of the night phone/video attempts from abroad
> Very rarely now-a-days big firms (read as better paying jobs) recruit without an in-person interview. The usual, I will fly in from US for 3 weeks, with a short notice won't work. First of all you are at disadvantage to 1000s of local candidates who know the game well on the ground, so why would you disadvantage yourself more by wasting precious attempts with a severe handicap (like staying abroad)?
> You have a better chance of getting a decent salary negotiating in-person (with US pay slips etc., even with 2-3 months of break) than trying over phone. Remember, in India, offers can evaporate 'just like that' when you had the greatest feeling after 6 rounds of interview & 2 rounds of pay negotiation. There's no concept of 'getting back to you' even for senior positions as people just understand that you are out, when you don't hear in a reasonable time.

If you had asked the same question in 2005 or 2006, you would have seen a vastly different response. I have personally tried for India jobs, from both abroad & within India. I surely understand the risk that one takes by giving up a job in US, by risking jobless situation for 3 - 6 months (worst case) in India, potential stress that it builds up after a major inter-country relocation etc. Also, most companies have matured in their recruitment of overseas experienced candidates, so a well defined range exists with most within which they negotiate. Sitting in US with a $120K salary won't make a huge difference if you show the same payslip 3 months later in India during salary negotiation. Maybe 2 to 3 lakhs of difference in CTC in the worst case, but that's my best educated guess. But the chances are much better (I would say 10 to 15 times) getting a final interview when you are on the ground. So weigh in your risks, based on your niche USPs.

Lastly, since you have 1 year still, carefully read through the job descriptions & tune your skills to the best match. Take training courses, get certifications (huge in India), build a big list of top level contacts on LinkedIn, showcase your strength in forums within Linkedin or tech sites, that your prospective employer may be looking around, rewrite the resume a few times to make it 'India compliant' among other things. You having a home in your destination city is a huge bonus. If you can manage an offer from US, nothing like that. But right now, if you want to throw a coin up for toss, I would bet on looking from within India.

What's the worst thing that would happen? You lose 2 to 5000 $ during the transition period as additional cost plus loss of US pay? Be prepared for that considering the likelihood of nice savings from all these years. If you personally think that break & loss of income is a big amount, seriously rethink R2I itself. Again, this is not a discouragement, so please take it as a reality check.

Good luck,
Kiran

[goober71]

Thanks guys, that's the response i was hoping for. will definitely be trying for a job from here, but nice to know that the worst case scenario is not too bad either. :-)

[jan_tuttu]

Hi goober71

You have not mentioned the age of your kids. That may be also something to see because you will need admissions in schools there. if you plan to be there in summer make sure that is taken care of before you come in.

[makepaisar2i]

Thank you Kiran - I like you analytical approach.

I am also in the same boat, just waiting for the year end.

SeattleDude

[goober71]

kids will be 8 and 5 next year. will start looking at school admissions end of this year, so hopefully those will be finalized by the time we move.

[autoengr]

Well said Kirks...you are the best..

Pune is surely a hot & happening place in 2010. Lots of opportunities, particularly in product development companies.
I had talked to a couple in late 2009 and the salary levels were much higher than Hyderabad comparatively.

Looking for a job after landing in India is better because -
> You can get to face-to-face interviews with a short notice
> You don't have to convince that you 'may' return (in their views)
> In person interviews, sometimes up to 7 levels need lots of coordination by usually disorganized HR juniors. So spending a whole day at the location or making 2 visits when they want to 'reevaluate' is done easily.
> You can join with a short notice as opposed to long break if you get the job from US. You would have already gone through relocation & initial settling pain.
> If the initial searches fail to land an offer, you can do lots of in person meeting to build your network. Local mobile number, same time zone, ability to meet in a coffee bar or restaurant is huge compared to some middle of the night phone/video attempts from abroad
> Very rarely now-a-days big firms (read as better paying jobs) recruit without an in-person interview. The usual, I will fly in from US for 3 weeks, with a short notice won't work. First of all you are at disadvantage to 1000s of local candidates who know the game well on the ground, so why would you disadvantage yourself more by wasting precious attempts with a severe handicap (like staying abroad)?
> You have a better chance of getting a decent salary negotiating in-person (with US pay slips etc., even with 2-3 months of break) than trying over phone. Remember, in India, offers can evaporate 'just like that' when you had the greatest feeling after 6 rounds of interview & 2 rounds of pay negotiation. There's no concept of 'getting back to you' even for senior positions as people just understand that you are out, when you don't hear in a reasonable time.

If you had asked the same question in 2005 or 2006, you would have seen a vastly different response. I have personally tried for India jobs, from both abroad & within India. I surely understand the risk that one takes by giving up a job in US, by risking jobless situation for 3 - 6 months (worst case) in India, potential stress that it builds up after a major inter-country relocation etc. Also, most companies have matured in their recruitment of overseas experienced candidates, so a well defined range exists with most within which they negotiate. Sitting in US with a $120K salary won't make a huge difference if you show the same payslip 3 months later in India during salary negotiation. Maybe 2 to 3 lakhs of difference in CTC in the worst case, but that's my best educated guess. But the chances are much better (I would say 10 to 15 times) getting a final interview when you are on the ground. So weigh in your risks, based on your niche USPs.

Lastly, since you have 1 year still, carefully read through the job descriptions & tune your skills to the best match. Take training courses, get certifications (huge in India), build a big list of top level contacts on LinkedIn, showcase your strength in forums within Linkedin or tech sites, that your prospective employer may be looking around, rewrite the resume a few times to make it 'India compliant' among other things. You having a home in your destination city is a huge bonus. If you can manage an offer from US, nothing like that. But right now, if you want to throw a coin up for toss, I would bet on looking from within India.

What's the worst thing that would happen? You lose 2 to 5000 $ during the transition period as additional cost plus loss of US pay? Be prepared for that considering the likelihood of nice savings from all these years. If you personally think that break & loss of income is a big amount, seriously rethink R2I itself. Again, this is not a discouragement, so please take it as a reality check.

Good luck,
Kiran