30 September 2006

A hot job market

India is the next destination for the world. And, it’s not just in tourism or business process outsourcing or in finding consumers for foreign brands, although India has plenty to offer in all these areas as well. The thing is, India is opening up as a huge job market for global talent. Gone are the days when Indians moved overseas for jobs as doctors, engineers, teachers and software professionals. Indian companies, particularly the technology firms, are now hiring foreign nationals at various levels in their organisations.

It started not too long ago, with the Indian IT sector opening up offices globally and hiring local talent to address local needs. It made perfect sense, but, for India, that meant foreign talent on foreign land. With phenomenal growths in software consulting and business process outsourcing in India, and consequent job losses in their own countries, many foreigners turned to India as prospective employees, along with many Indians returning home with a similar hope. After all, India was hiring in large numbers. It made sense to translocate to India, even if it was for a couple of years.

Today, the picture looks brighter. Opportunities have opened up not only in Indian companies, but also in foreign companies moving jobs to India. This includes jobs in the technology sector, financial services, management consulting, healthcare services and media. Apart from offering low-talent electronic back-office jobs in BPOs, India is looking for high-skilled high-profile talent from the world. The good news is that India promises to pay well (well, not exactly at par perhaps, but…) and, thanks to Indian companies becoming global, offer business and management environments comparable to the best in the world.

So what if the heat and hygiene are serious issues, and the food too spicy for the palate, if you have talent and can speak/write in English, you’re likely to find your next job in India.

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