NRI Career question: Is it tough to get a job in India after returning back from abroad with international work experience?

This was a recent question that came to me from an online forum. My response follows

Yes, I won’t sugarcoat it. It is certainly tough if you are job-hunting after returning from abroad with “international work experience.” I say this from my experience after returning back to India (link to another post).

Here’s why it may be “tough” to get a job after returning back, and what you could do

• Sheer population in urban-India with lot more educated and experienced workers looking for better opportunities, and intense competition for high-end (high paying) positions.
• You might over-value your “International work experience,” but recruiters don’t. A lot of Indians, especially in Info-tech sectors have such international experience and you will find it hard to stand out just on that account.
• If you have spent an extended period abroad, you may not have a network of peers in the local market who can make introductions or give referrals to openings
• Ageism - In the west, many professionals continue to be ‘hands on’ even as they gain experience in a field. This is true for hi-tech workers too. However, in India, hi-tech workers get ‘promoted’ to management positions early in their career and those skills are as valued in experienced professionals. If you happen to be a 40-something IT programmer, you will certainly find it hard to find an IT-programming job in India.
• Lot of ‘returning NRIs’ move back as they are unable to accept changes back in India. Employers may be hesitant to hire such NRIs if they are not likely to stick around.

So, what do you do?

• Focus your job search at organizations where you think your specific skills and experience are going to be in demand 
• Revive your network. Use social-media tools like LinkedIn to re-connect with old friends and peers and seek their help in getting you referrals and opportunities
• Don’t downplay your “international experience” but show how this, along with your current skills can help prospective employers 
• If you plan a long-term tenure in India, you should demonstrate such commitment to prospective employers.

You may also check out an earlier blog of mine - Is LinkedIn a useful platform for Job hunting ?

Career question: Is LinkedIn a useful platform for Job hunting ?

I came across an interesting Question online "Is LinkedIn a useless job hunting platform for non-sales people?". My response follows 

I don’t agree with the premise of the question that LinkedIn is for ‘sales people’. I am not a salesman, and I am quite active on digital platforms like Quora and Linkedin, and use the latter to network professionally.

Here is my little story.

A little more than a year ago, I moved back to India to be around for my aging parents (ref: What were your experiences moving back to India after getting US citizenship? What are the best ways to make this move?).

I applied for an FMLA from my (then) employer and decided to job-search in Bengaluru where I was going to be based. As an Indian American, most of my old professional network in India had scattered in the years since I had migrated.

I was clear about the kind of role I was looking for. I was looking for a non-sales role in technology management, Enterprise Architecture or solution design. LinkedIn stood out as an ideal platform to network and to revive my old network. A few ways I began leveraging the platform

• I activated Linkedin Premium . It is money well spent, and allows candidates to get more analytics about advertised jobs, and to reach out to recruiters and others
• Began actively contributing to the forums on Linkedin - Liking and Commenting on interesting articles, responding to queries and posts in groups that I was interested in.
• I increased the frequency of my Likedin Pulse (blog) posts on a variety of topics
• Continued to apply for interesting roles being advertised in job section

In a matter of weeks, LinkedIn analytics indicated that my profile was beginning to stand out among peers.

• Many in my network began ‘looking’ at updates on my profile and reached out with a ‘hi, how are things’
• I began to receive queries from head-hunters
• I began to receive responses to my job application and had some good interviews and discussions with hiring managers

Yes, I got a couple of interesting job offers and finally took up my current role.