Finding a job in India

This Hub has mainly been designed for NRIs. But it is also my attempt at getting an Indian audience to my Hubs so there is a lot of relevant material for job seekers looking for that dream job mid-career or who just graduated from college. It is a great read for anyone wanting to educate themselves about how to best position themselves for a good job in India and where the Indian economy stands right now.

India and China are the biggest economies among the emerging markets and they also the most hyped. In the United States with the political instability and unemployment, many of my colleagues and friends have suggested looking for opportunites in a rapidly growing economy like India which is also very dynamic. As much as I love the United States and will always believe in it as the land of opportunity, I was keen to find out more about India and jobs there. It's always a good idea to diversify and be a global candidate in this global economy.

No job search is going to be perfect no matter how much we plan and do things right. There are, however, five things that job seekers in India will need to remember.

India can be a hard place to live in especially if you've lived in countries like the United States. But this really depends and sometimes having family near you can help you cope with stress better and demanding situations that will arise in your career. When you want to do great things, you will often fail greatly and it is the family that is very supportive during these trying times more than any boss or clients as much as I value the latter.

Let people know you're looking for a job

This is invariably the first step. There have been quite a few criticisms of no responses, but putting your resume up on Naukri.com, Monsterindia.com, Shine.com and TimesJobs.com and aiming to steadily improving your profile on these job sites is one of the most important things to do.

It helps if you knew a Ramanujan or a C.V. Raman in your field too. The point is networking is how most jobs are found as it brings that all important face to the otherwise sea of names. Be prepared to go to those career fairs and other events (parties, functions, etc) where it will be possible to connect with prospective employers or network with people in the industry.

One of the best tips I can give you here is to continue to work with recruitment agencies and temp agencies to land you the career of your choice. It always helps to have someone vested in finding you a job although it may not be on par with what you expect in terms of the job itself and the salary that is paid.

Salary Expectations

Don't worry, these days Indian firms offer salaries that will ensure that you have a similar lifestyle as if you were in the United States. Salaries in corporate India have skyrocketed and this has really taken effect in the last few years.

The Global Economy

One thing is for sure, employers even in India are expecting more and more employees to get a worldly education. This is not something just for the elites even though the example that I am about to use is from investment banking (very elitist even in India; one could so especially so).

It is a given these days to know about hot stocks like Google and Apple and what makes them tick even if your trading stocks in Chennai or Bangalore. Moreover, there will be a lot of investment in public and private markets around the globe so expect to deal with major forex pairs and trading indices - S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite, DAX, Hang Seng, etc. This is from the finance perspective.

A programmer would look to the Stanford curriculum or the Cambridge University one to guide him in being a top candidate in the highly competitive but well paid computer science industry in India.

I hope to give you the low down on investment banking and finance jobs in India in a future hub. Stay tuned for that!