Some of my friends have asked me about my experiences during job search. It has been quite a while, let me try to think about what I learnt -
- Companies don't understand that somebody can leave a job and take some time off. They don't understand the somebody is willing to move back to India. Only people who understood what I am doing were those who have spent considerable time in US. So be prepared to explain.
- Be patient - things in India still move slowly, especially if you are talking to a big company.
- If you post your resume on any job website in India, be prepared to be inundated with calls from headhunters. Most companies don't look at these sites, consultant do. And most jobs are filled through these consultants.
- If you have considerable experience without any people management experience, get ready for some problem. In India after 7-8 years of experience you are supposed to be managing people. If you are not doing that, then getting a job which fits your experience level becomes tougher.
- Companies are now willing to pay higher salaries for pure techies. Now this and my previous points may look contradictory, but the number of pure techie jobs are not that many, at least in telecom. Moreover in India, system architects are also supposed to code in many companies.
- Be patient - if you want a good job and then you might have to decline some jobs.
- Salaries vary considerable from company to company and city to city. So don't keep a single figure in your mind. Be flexible in your expectation based on company, job profile and city.
- If you are not living in Bangalore, be prepared for lots of early morning flights. Moreover any flight which is not the first flight of the airline in the morning will be delayed. So be prepared for flight delays.
- If you have an option to come back to India office of your company, explore that. But remember the salary at which you join your Indian outfit will affect salary in your next company. So move to India office only if getting proper salary and position.
- Be clear what kind of job you want, but that is true for all job searches :)
If you want to take a vacation before starting your job search, be prepared for lot of explaining. People in India can't accept a jobless guy going on vacation. I had a lot of trouble with relatives, neighbors etc. People think either you have gone mad or you must be in some problem in US.