For an Indian information technology professional with nine years of work experience in the United States, it wasn't easy to get the job he wanted back home.
Shibashis Sen, who returned to Bengaluru in 2005, says he could not afford to be choosy when it came to the compensation package because it was the only offer on the table. It took him around a year to land that offer from a technology start up, where he is now a part of an incubation team.
The 43-year-old tech professional, who is an only child, wanted to be near his parents, and with better job prospects than in other Indian cities, choosing Bengaluru was an easy decision. He had also worked there earlier.
While being closer to family and raising children in native countries are among the motivations to return to home country, for many there are professional reasons. With years of overseas experience with challenging assignments, and backed by good education, many get back to occupy senior management roles in both Indian and multinational companies. Some with niche skills are motivated to share it with companies back home.
"Getting the ‘right talent' is the key driver in hiring decision," says Sanjay Modi, managing director of India, Middle East and Southeast Asia of Monster.com, a global online recruitment agency.
Though companies in home countries are open to hiring from any location, their preference will be still be the local market unless they are do not find a suitable candidate, he says.
Foreign exposure
Foreign exposure does not necessarily matter in IT, Sen says, but recalls that one recruiter said his green card and US exposure would make a "good fit" for a business development role.
But as Indian businesses are becoming more global, experience of international market is always considered of value, Modi says.
Irrespective of one's motivation to return, personal or professional, finding a professionally satisfying job in the preferable location requires planning.
Many professionals go back on their thoughts of returning home and tell themselves that "one more year and then I will return." This is known among non-resident Indians as "n+1 syndrome" and that should be avoided, Sen says. The planning process should start once a firm decision has been made about moving back, he advises, because it takes time to land a job. "It's always a good idea to begin a rigorous job hunting exercise before leaving your job abroad," Modi says. "It would be important if you are an experienced professional — minimum 10 years or possess a niche skill to evaluate the opportunities existing in the market."
A journalist who spent more than 10 years in the UAE, Arun Ghosh's decision to return home was sudden and so there was not much room to plan ahead. He spent almost a month assessing job opportunities in his home town of Thiruvananthapuram. But that did not yield the desired result, and he decided to look for a job in other cities.
"I sent my resume to a few prospective employers and Financial Chronicle was quick to respond and my experience was an important factor," says Ghosh. "I was offered the job after my first interview, which came in less than a month."
On his return, Ghosh floated his resume in one or two job portals but the response did not match his requirements. He did not look for ads online or in any other media. He focused on networking with friends and the response was encouraging. He came to know about Financial Chronicle through a friend.
Looking for a job could begin by networking among friends and alumni groups, putting up resumes on job portals, contacting headhunters, and then selecting from the positions available, and contacting the companies. "I didn't have to do LinkedIn or Facebook, but I am positive these would help," Sen says.
Often the candidates and prospective employers start by conducting the first and second interviews on phone or by video conferencing. "Most of the companies may have a US presence, UK or European presence and some have a Gulf presence. So it is not that you have to come to India to get interviewed. You can also go to their respective offices and get interviewed," says V. Suresh, executive vice-president and national sales head of InfoEdge India, the parent company of naukri.com, one of India's largest job search portals.
But, as Sen says, "many companies doubt your commitment when you appear for phone interviews as many candidates use this avenue to ‘test their India market value.'"
As many of those considering moving back to India have a preference for locations over the job, it may not always be easy to get a position you are looking for, Suresh says. For some applicants money is not the most critical criteria, he says.
On the issue of negotiating salary, it is preferable to go through a headhunter or placement agency, who could help the candidates with the market trend, says Suresh. Many online job portals have free salary benchmarking tools .
Online support sites are available where candidates could find their salary threshold with specific education and experience background. It also helps talking to acquaintances back home, especially who have returned in recent years.
"India is a booming market and for people with adequate experience opportunities abound," says Ghosh.
"Pay packages are comparable to or better than the ones offered to Indians in the Gulf and are given to people with the right profile."
Managing expectations
The whole process is a matter of managing expectations in the new job market. "One should be extremely realistic of what you want from your job," Suresh says. "There is a dissonance between what people have got used to in their job in the US or for that matter any country for many years and coming back and expecting that things will be your way in the new job."
Many returnees face a lot of inter-cultural issues in their work environment, according to Suresh. In technology jobs, many of professionals are more at home with individually orientated jobs in the US, Europe, or Gulf; whereas it is a team job in Indian companies.
"After 8-10 years either you will be heading a team or be a part of a large team in some senior capacity and I found a lot of people not able to adjust to this," he says.
They must also be sensitive to the difference in culture and language, and in terms of capabilities of people and learning curves. Standards of professionalism differ, too, and comparisons with other countries are best avoided, according to Suresh.
"It's not a 9 [am] to 5 [pm] kind of an environment any more, people really work hard, they care less about a life-work balance," he says. "After office hours you will see people still in office or people carrying work back home."
Specifically in technology sectors, performance appraisal — its objectives and the way it is done — is different in India from most other countries. Rewards and recognition are more group-based and project-based, Suresh says.
Expression of dissent is a tricky issue in India. "In many western countries there's an option to be frank and one says what one wants," Suresh says. "In an Indian scenario, people have to be more diplomatic. They have to understand the emotions of the other person, the value of culture, value of people support."
That said the Indian job market and workers have developed increasingly global perspectives and lifestyles, and both have vastly changed over the last decade.
"‘Don't come here with any pre-conceived notions about the country and the people and take what you get," Modi says. Ghosh echoes Modi's sentiments. "Come with an open mind and be ready to face the rough and tumble of a free job market. Focus on skills and specialisation. Target prospective employers who will benefit from such experience and convince them how you can make the difference."
Jobs with global experience
Some of the industry sectors that are looking at talent from outside the country include technology-driven, such as IT, where talent is available in the Gulf , oil and gas, a few domains in telecom, chemicals, health care, energy, retail, aviation, hospitality and certain skills in banking and insurance sectors, according to Sanjay Modi, managing director of India, Middle East and Southeast Asia, Monster.com and V. Suresh, executive vice-president and national sales head of InfoEdge.
Is there a right age to return?
That depends on professional and family and social needs. There is no right age to move back, Modi says. "India is a fast growing economy which requires young and experienced talent to move forward," Modi says. "It is venturing into new industry sectors and technologies where experienced professionals are more in demand to bring in the knowledge."
Sometime between 40 and 45 is fine, says Suresh. "If you want to come back at 45 you still have some 20 years left before you finally retire. For senior positions like CEO requiring a global experience, age is not a barrier."
"Irrespective of your age, what is important is that one should possess the right skill, experience, and education required for a particular job," Modi says.
