Working in India as an expatriate

India is a hot destination.  Tourists, pilgrims and executives are arriving in ever-increasing numbers to ride the wave of good times and good business prospects. For those expatriates seeking a professional position in India, there are interesting opportunities and challenges.  

Challenges Facing Expatriate Job Seekers in India

A study of the labor market in India reveals numerous challenges facing expatriates wishing to work on the local economy, including: 
 

• Offshore Employment Placement Practices:  Most expatriates working in India have secured their jobs prior to moving to India. 
  
• Compensation Rates:   Even when a person has a job offer, the salary rates are exceedingly low.  A “good” local salary is approximately 25% - 30% of what professionals would earn in the United States or Europe.   Many positions pay far less.
  
• Work Week and Vacation Days:  Indian firms normally work 5 ½ - 6 days per week and grant fewer paid vacation days than offered by most U.S. and European companies. 
  
• Working Conditions:  Although most companies have air-conditioned offices with good office infrastructure, some do not.
  
• Culture of Work:  While some new businesses have moved away from life-long employment and stable work forces, most Indian firms have no tradition of hiring consultants or employing individuals who know that they will live in India for just 2-5 years.  In addition, although English is often the official language of the workplace, it is not the informal language; workers without knowledge of Hindi can feel somewhat isolated in their daily work.
  
• Licensing Issues:  Some fields, including medicine and law, are not easily open to expatriates due to specific constraints and licensing issues.
  
• Geographic Issues:  New Delhi is a very large city, spread over many kilometers with minimal transportation infrastructure. Moreover, the growth areas of the city are located 10-20 kilometers from residential areas where most expatriates live, adding as much as a two hour commute per day for some workers.
  
• Competition:  India’s emerging middle class labor market is well educated, and many workers with excellent skills are willing to work for current pay rates that are much lower than an expatriate worker prefers to consider.  
  
• Dearth of Volunteer Opportunities for “Professional” Volunteer Roles:  Although opportunities exist for traditional roles, it is difficult to find challenging volunteer roles since charitable organizations have little or no experience supporting creative volunteers working in their programs.  This situation limits opportunities.
  
• High Touch in a High Tech Environment:  In spite of the technology boom, networking and personal connections are still necessary to locate a satisfactory job. 
  

  
Opportunities for Expatriate Job Seekers

On the positive side, India is “booming” and there are real job opportunities:
 

• English is the language of business in India.  Although not used in all aspects of work, most growth industries require that their employees use it daily. There seems to be a demand for accomplished native English speakers and writers.
  
• Work Permits:  The U.S. and India have an agreement that enables their diplomatic spouses to work in each other’s countries.    
  
• Indian Firms Offer Key Opportunities:  There are some Indian firms developing new lines of work and contemporary business practices.  They are open to hiring qualified expatriates for full-time work or in consulting roles.  Although the salaries offered are less than optimal, many of these organizations offer roles of significance that are appealing to expatriates. 
  
• Expatriates Work in Interesting Roles:  Expatriates can locate interesting, challenging roles, often with daily access to chief executive officers and policy-makers. 
  
• International Businesses and Nonprofit Organizations:  An ever-increasing number of international firms and nonprofit organization are conducting business in India.  Although they hire most of their staff members locally, many retain a small number of expatriate staff and intermittent consultants.   These organizations are often willing to hire qualified expatriates living in India instead of recruiting talent offshore.  Salaries are usually competitive with international standards.
  
• Buying Power of the Indian Rupee:  A comparison of the relative purchasing power of India and the United States reveals that India’s per capita GDP of $523 provides $2,686 in purchasing power.  In the US, a GDP of $35,000 purchases $37,000 worth of goods and services. Therefore, a rupee-denominated salary purchases many more local goods and services in India than the dollar equivalent salary buys goods and services in the US.  
  
• Relatively High Value Placed on Qualified Expatriate Workers:  Highly trained, experienced professionals from any country are valued by organizations based in India. If an expatriate has the necessary skills and expertise, a number of firms are willing to tailor their offers to meet the applicant’s needs.  However, few organizations are willing to pay a premium to hire an expatriate instead of an Indian worker.
  
• Self-Employment Options:  The large expatriate community and a growing Indian middle class create a demand for a number of goods and services that can be provided by self-employed individuals who target those individuals in their marketing plans.  
  
• Meaningful Volunteer Opportunities:   Although there is no significant tradition in India of nonprofit organizations using highly skilled volunteers in their programs, a few of these organizations are open to the possibility of talented, dedicated volunteers with specific skills.      
  

 
 
Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities  

Overcoming the challenges and networking oneself into taking advantage of the opportunities is the task facing job hunters around the world.  Like many other things in India, locating a job is the same as in most other countries … only more so!