R2I Job Search - FAQ

One of the big-ticket items in R2I checklist is finding a job in India. Getting a job before your R2I is extremely important, especially when you don't have the luxury to take a short break or if you are the bread winner of the family.

This blog post is aimed at addressing the questions that you may have in finding your R2I job. I've developed it in FAQ format for easier reading (& for easier writing too ;-))

Is it really possible for me to find a job in India, when staying in US?

Yes

How many days before the R2I, should I look for a job in India?

You should start the R2I job search process at least 3 months before your R2I. A rough timeline is given below:

    - Preparing/polishing resume (1 week)
    - Shortlisting the companies and identifying the right contacts to circulate the resume (1 week)
    - Circulating the resume & the resume reaching hiring managers (1 or 2 weeks)
    - Scheduling/Conducting job interviews (2 - 3 weeks)
    - Announcing results and salary negotiation (1 week)

How do I start to look for a job in India, from US?

Read  How to search for R2I jobs?

Should I have to go to India for the interviews?

Most likely, NO (especially, if you are going through known contacts). 

However, if you happen to be in India (on a business/personal trip), a few months before your planned R2I - see if you can attend some interviews. It will make the whole process simpler and easier.

If the company you are interviewing for has a US division (or if it is headquartered in US), you'll be asked to fly/meet the people in US. Indian service companies do have lots of onsite co-ordinators in US. You can meet them, if you happen to be interviewing at Indian service companies. (Note: These things will happen in addition to the phone interviews you may have with folks in India)

Will people recruit me just by doing phone interviews?

Yes (especially, if you are going through known contacts). People give some credibility to your US work experience. For example, if you are with Cisco Systems for 4 years or so, people understand that Cisco might have done the due deligence before selecting you for the job. If the Indian firm is hiring for the same/similar work, they'll trust your skillls. Also, the person who referred you to the company/job (i.e., your reference) will have some weightage. 

What are some tips for resume preparation for R2I jobs?

When writing a resume, you need to take several things into consideration including whether you are sending your resume to the folks in US or to the folks in India. The type/format of the resume greatly varies based on your seniority, work experience, and the job/position to which you are applying for. You may even end-up having resumes in 2 or 3 different formats, for the different roles that you are applying for. In India, your technical knowledge/exposure goes a very long way. Most of the folks in India who are above 4 or 5 years of experience, jump into management roles. Hence, it is very hard to find technology experts. Having been in US for quite sometime, you'll definitely have a lead over such folks. Your resume should highlight your technology exposure AND leadership skills (even though you are looking for just managerial jobs in India).

How do I find the right contact/reference for R2I jobs?

LinkedIn will help you to find the right contact in companies for which you want to apply. You may not be directly connected to someone within the company. Get your direct contact to refer you to your higher level contacts until you reach the person who works for "that" company. (Also read: How to search for R2I jobs)

(I'll continue to update this list - as and when I get new questions)

Also read:

R2I - List of MNCs in Chennai
Work environment in India - Then & Now 
10 tips for R2I salary negotiation
Chennai Freshers Jobs

How to search and find R2I jobs?

Are you planning to R2I and looking for a job in India? Have you tried posting your resume to all the job boards and haven't gotten a response, yet? Are you worried that you may have to return to India without a job?

R2I job searches typically take a longer time and hence it is recommended to start your job search at least 3 months before your R2I.
Here are some tips for you to do your R2I job hunt.

(Also read: R2I Job Search - FAQ)

• If your employer has an offshore division, check with your employer if they can do an internal transfer. Internal transfers typically get you an attractive pay package.

• Post your resume in Job boards such as Monsters/Hotjobs/Dice. Normally, R2I jobs are not 'advertised'. So, if you are looking for R2I jobs in job boards, you wouldn't be finding them. But, it is highly recommended to post your resume in all the job boards - just in case, if someone is looking for an R2I person in the job boards.

• Talk to your friends whose employer has an 'offshore' division. Several IT companies such as Cisco, Juniper, Microsoft, eBay and Alcatel have offshore divisions. Your friends may be able to help you identify units in India that are aggressively hiring. If somebody is trying to 'aggressively' fill positions in India, they'll definitely be willing to hire you from US. (Also read: R2I - List of MNCs in Chennai)

• Talk to your friends who work for Indian firms (such as HCL, Wipro, and Infosys). There are some Indian firms that look for 'technology experts' with good US experience - mostly when they are trying to form/build a new team for a US client. Such companies will be more willing to hire a person from US, directly.

• Look for startups in US that have an Indian arm. Start-ups typically go out of the way to hire/retain talent. So, if there is a relevance/match of your skills with what they expect, you'll be hired. 

• Circulate your resume to all your friends & acquaintances (i.e., alumni and buddy mailing lists).

• Drop a note in R2IClubForums and find out if any company has open R2I jobs.

• Make use of the social network. Update your Facebook/LinkedIn/Orkut/Twitter/Skype status and let your contacts know that you are planning to R2I and you are looking for a job. Someone may pop-up and say, "Hey! We are looking for an R2I person. Will you be interested?".

At the end, do not leave any door unopened. Remember, "If you don't ask, the answer is always NO".

Also read:


Work environment in India - Then & Now 
10 tips for R2I salary negotiation 

Advertisement: Visit www.jobsinchennai.co to find jobs in chennai

Cost to Company (CTC) - Peeling the Onion

If you are planning your R2I and looking for a job in India, you need to have a good understanding of Cost-to-Company (CTC). CTC is the total money that company gives you - in some form or the other. If you expect your monthly salary to be (CTC/12 - appropriate tax deductions) you are going to be wrong ! The reality is - your monthly pay check will be way less than that.

Now, what is included in CTC? How do you calculate CTC? Is CTC formula common across all the organizations? You'll find answers to these questions and many more in this blog post.


The following are some of the things that are typically included in your CTC.

•     Basic Pay
•     House Rent Allowance (HRA)
•     Dearness Allowance (DA)
•     Conveyance allowance
•     Medical allowance
•     Leave Travel Allowance or Concession (LTA / LTC)
•     Telephone / Mobile Phone Allowance
•     Incentives or bonuses
•     Special Allowance
•     Company’s contribution to Provident Fund (PF)
•     Reimbursements (Medical Bills, Phone bills, magazine subscriptions)
•     Life Insurance
•     Health insurance

There are various tax exemptions that the government provides for many of these items. For example, you are eligible for tax exemptions for the HRA (if you are renting a home or if you have got a home loan to pay off.  All you need to do is just produce bills/proof.

The concept of CTC is very prevalent in India. However, the components of CTC vary from one company to the other. There is no common formula to calculate CTC. It is typically the SUM of all the promises that your company makes to you in-terms of payments/benefits.

It is perfectly fine to ask the HR person "How much would be my monthly take home salary". The HR person may give you a honest/straight-forward answer or a wishy-washy response. If he/she gives you a 'wishy-washy response', you can probe further to understand your REAL monthly take home salary.

Whenever your employer says that your CTC is "so much" - ask for a split-up. The split-up should give you an idea of how much you would get in your monthly pay check. Don't feel shy to peel the onion. When it comes to understanding your CTC, you'll cry if you don't peel the onion at the right time.

Also read:

10 tips for R2I salary negotiation
How much money is needed to R2I

Work environment in India - Then & Now

Work environment in IT companies, in India, has changed quite significantly in the last decade. There are several catalysts that influenced the changes in our work environment such as Cheaper International Calling Rates, Broadband penetration, Frugality and Growth in Engineering Colleges.

• During those days, calling from India to US or US to India was a big affair. Today, International calling rates have come down tremendously. This has improved the communication between US and India employees. At the same time, it has completely engulfed our 'private' life. Employers expect you to participate in late night or early morning calls, from home. You cannot 'plan' your day and cannot spend 'quality' time with family.
  

• During those days, Working from Home (WFH) concept wasn't very popular in India. Many homes hardly had Internet access. Today, almost all IT engineers have broadband connectivity at home. Companies expect people to work from home. So, your worries do not just stop at your work place. They follow you to your home. Of course, WFH gives you extra flexibility when you decide to work from home for personal reasons.
  

• Several work place benefits are cut under the name of frugality - limited team lunches per year, limited spot awards, no cool drinks at work place, no evening snacks and the list goes on and on.
  

• Almost, all the companies in the IT sector, give medical insurance to their employees, now. This concept wasn't very popular during those days. It is very beneficial to employees - we don't have to shell out big bucks during hospital visits. It is automatically deducted from the Insurance. I heard that hospitals increase their treatment costs if you say that you are paying by Insurance.
  

• Laptops are given to employees, by many companies. Partly because the cost of these toys have come down quite a bit and partly because employers want you to work from home.
  

• The growth in engineering colleges has completely changed the equation, at the work place:

1. There is abundant Engineering graduates in the market. With more supply (& less demand     due to the recession), there is lots of young graduates without jobs. Many of them settle down for BPO/Call Center jobs, for just Rs.6,000 or Rs.7,000 monthly pay. Compare it to Rs.10,000 per month, earned by a construction worker or Rs.6,000 per month earned by a security guard. Not many job openings are available for freshers.
2. Fresher's starting salary hasn't kept up with the inflation. For example, the cost of commodities have nearly doubled or tripled. However, fresher's salary hasn't increased that much. On an average, good companies pay Rs.15,000 - Rs.20,000 per month for freshers.
3. Many folks at work, have below average skills. College students just 'buy' projects from 'vendors' to meet the requirements of their final year academic project. (Also read: How to be a STAR performer?)
4. I still remember the long hours that we used to put during college days to complete our academic projects. I don't see the same determination/commitment with the current generation. 
5. Employees aren't valued as before. If you leave, there is lots of people in the market to fill your position. 
6. During those days, majority of the folks leave work early (at around 6 pm). Very few folks work till 8 pm and only a handful of folks work late in the night. Today, I see many of my classmates/colleagues online, even at mid night. They face increased pressure from their peers.
   

• Employees are expected to work for at least 10 hours per day. Employees' availability is taken for granted. Employers don't care if you are really productive or not. They care whether you are available or not.

I've compiled this list based on my experience and learning from other folks. These issues are common to all IT companies - service & product oriented, startups and established companies, local & MNC organizations.

(I'll update this post, as & when I hear/learn new things about work place in India)

Also read:

10 tips for R2I salary negotiation
R2I - List of MNCs in Chennai

R2I - List of MNCs in Chennai

Are you planning to R2I and looking for a job in Chennai?  Wondering what are some MNCs/Product companies in Chennai? I've made an attempt to compile the list of MNCs/Product companies in Chennai (includes hardware as well as software companies). Hopefully this will help folks who are planning their R2I to Chennai and looking for a job.

Also read: 10 tips for R2I salary negotiation 

1. Alcatel (AlcaLu)
2. Amazon
3. Adobe (formerly Efficient Frontier - careers section will list Chennai Jobs)
4. Aruba (now, acquired by HP) 
5. Ballys Technologies 
6. Bank of America / BA Continuum (Ascendas Tech Park, Taramani)
7. Cisco/Scientific Atlanta 
8. Cavium Networks 
   
9. eBay/PayPal (No 334 Futura IT Park Block A, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Sholinganallur, Chennai - 600119) +(91)-(44)-66348001 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +(91)-(44)-66348001      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, 66348000)
10. Force10 Networks  (now Dell)
    
11. GigaMon
12. Ericsson
13. Extreme Networks
14. IBM  
15. KLA Tencor
16. Oracle
17. Qualcomm (formerly Atheros)
18. The Fabric Startups (for ex., Velocloud & Pensa Networks)
19. Solar Winds 
20. Symantec 
21. Verizon (Olympia Tech Park, Citius, Block B, 3rd Floor, 1, Sidco Industrial Estate Guindy, Chennai, Ph: 044 43945142) - doing OSS/BSS work
22. ZOHO (formerly AdventNet)
    

The following are some MNCs in the Engineering / Construction domain:

1. Caterpillar
2. DOW Chemicals
3. Petrofac
4. Foster Wheeler (acquired by AMEC)
5. Saipem

Naukri maintains a list of 150 software/IT companies in Chennai. However, most of them are Mom 'n Pop type companies.

(Note: This list is not complete. If you happen to know about other product companies/MNCs, please drop me a note)

Related Posts:

• Work environment in India - Then & Now
  
• How to search for an R2I job?
• Cost to Company (CTC) - Peeling the Onion

Return to India (R2I) Salary Negotiation Tips

How do you know the best salary that you can get when you R2I? Does the R2I salary look like a dark black box to you? Yes! You need to do a lot of homework before you go to the negotiation table. The following information will give you enough ammunition to negotiate your R2I salary :

1) Check with your friends in India who have more or less the same experience like yours. Having worked in USA for sometime, you should've gained more experience and exposure. So, you should be definitely paid 10 - 20% more than your friend who has been working in India, all these days.

2) Your salary should be approximately 1/3rd of what you are earning today in US (include your total compensation such as stocks, bonus etc.,)

3) The salary range significantly varies across companies - service companies vs product companies, established companies vs startups, local companies vs multinationals. The formers pay less, while the latter pay more.

4) There is a significant difference in the salary based on the city/state in which you'll be working. For example, in Bangalore you may get 20 - 30% more than what you can get in Chennai.

5) The salary will also vary depending on whether you find your job from US or after landing in India. When you look for a job in India from US, you'll be among the very few who is trying to move back to India. But, when you look for a job in India after reaching India, you'll be among several thousands who are hunting for jobs. You may not get a special treatment, there.

6) Check for prevailing salaries in India from web sites such as www.glassdoor.com, www.payscale.com etc., However, these sources are less reliable when compared to the actual numbers you may hear from your friends/acquaintances.

7) Your salary is decided by how well you perform in the interviews & how much value you can bring-in to the company. You can negotiate your salary based on your performance during the interviews.

8) At times, companies will be very eager to fill a position with a specialist. If you are a specialist, then you have an upper hand in the salary negotiation.

9) If you are interviewing with companies who are based in US, your chances of getting a good pay is high. So, approach US companies who are trying to fill a position in their India office.

10) India's salary structure is slightly different that of US salary structure. In India, they'll call it as CTC (Cost to Company). It includes the pay, bonus + all the benefits that you receive from the company. You'll have a Basic Pay (which is completely taxable) and there are other allowances such as House Rent Allowance (HRA), Travel allowance (TA) etc., (the allowances are non-taxable, if you produce bills. There is a cap on the amount up to which you can produce bills). All Indian IT companies offer medical insurance these days (will be very useful if you have elderly persons or kids in your family). Some companies give you Sodexho passes (you can use them to buy groceries, to dine out, for shopping etc.,). All companies have a annual bonus component (typically, added to the salary. So, check with your employer before you sign the offer letter). Some companies will also take care of your relocation costs. That will be a sweet deal. There are very few companies that give stock options to employees.

Hopefully, these 10 tips give you enough data points to negotiate your salary. Wishing you good luck !

Related Posts:

Cost to Company (CTC) - Peeling the Onion
10 things to know if you are thinking of Returning to India (R2I)
Work environment in India - Then & Now