A few people have asked me recently how I was able to find a job in India while living in New York.  I’ll share my experiences and give some tips which will hopefully be relevant for anyone looking for a job.

One day I woke up and decided I wanted to move to abroad.  It didn’t really matter where, on a whim I picked India because it sounded cool and Hong Kong since my parents had lived there and I had some contacts.  The first thing I did was the traditional job board seek and apply.

Lesson #1: It’s tough to evaluate and seriously consider a candidate from half a world away: The response rates I got from the job boards sucked.  I probably applied to 100 jobs and maybe heard back from 1.  Not very encouraging.  I realized that this wasn’t going to work, I either needed connections or to pack up my bags and move and try to apply for jobs locally.  I wasn’t quite ready for drastic measures quite yet (but I was getting close).

Lesson #2: Use your network, but don’t force it: Next I started reaching out to trusted people in my network (family and friends) and asked if they had any recommendations.  I was put in touch with some interesting people, but nothing was a great fit.  50% of the people I spoke with seemed like they were doing me (or my connect) a favor by talking to me, and the other 50% I felt like I was talking to just because I had no other alternative (and didn’t want to offend my hook-up).  The best conditions for getting a job is when you have an “in” and you are suitably qualified and passionate about the job.  In my case I only had two out of the three.  I spent a few days thinking about it and decided on another approach.

Lesson #3: Forget a job profile, find a great company: Rather then looking for a particular job, I started trying to figure out which companies I would love to work for.   I did some research and came up with a list that included interactive agencies (based on my most recent work experience), web startups (including a local search company and an advertising network), VCs and various agile software companies.   I came across Deloitte’s list of Fastest 500 growing companies divided into region and investigated every company.  Finally I contacted the owners of special interest groups (like The Agile Softare Community of India run by Naresh Jain), asking for any advice.

Lesson #4: Go straight to the top: I did as much research about these companies as possible put together a list of the top 50 companies I wanted to work for, and rather then apply for jobs through the traditional channels, I found the name of their CEO and emailed them directly.  Emailing a CEO is a good idea: first off it shows some “chutzpa,” second if you are good, they can create a job for you, third when a CEO emails a hiring manager and says check out this candidate, they listen.  Luckily, CEO’s of companies are usually pretty easy to find, though their email addresses aren’t always.  The old “guess the email address” trick usually did the job.  Either find contact info for someone at the company and copy their email address format (first.last@company, first.last initial@company, etc…), or just guess a popular format.  I was able to hit the CEO for pretty much every company I found.  Response rates (especially for smaller companies) jumped dramatically.

Lesson #5: Land one interview: This is the hardest step.  In my case I got lucky, an agile software consultancy who I really admired (let’s call them ThoughSmirks), had offices in NY and were hiring in India.  Wow’d ‘em in NYC and they agreed to setup an interview with me in India.  Boom, just like that I had one concrete, legitimate interview lined up with a company I liked.  I setup a tentative itinerary and bought some plane tickets (on my own dime).  Now with travel dates in hand it was a easy to lock up other interviews.  Through the people I was in talks with and the CEO’s of companies I was emailing, I had a bunch of phone interviews and setup 7 in-person interviews for a 9 day trip to Mumbai, Goa and Bangalore.  The companies varied in terms of size, culture, vertical and location, and just like college I had some “safeties” and some “long-shots.”

Lesson #6: Get the offer – think later: When I got here and started talking to people my views totally changed. The company I was most excited about ended up being a little boring, something didn’t resonate well.  During the interview I started questioning if this was the right move for me.  The interview is not the place to think about this stuff: you’re an actor – smile, laugh, be smart, get the offer – do whatever it takes.  You’ll have plenty of time to think about this later.

Lesson #7: Money isn’t the most important thing: I was lucky and was able to get multiple offers.  This really allowed me to evaluate what was important.  Despite liking one company in Bangalore, I hated the city (you’re tellin’ me bars close at 11 and there’s no live music?).  Goa was awesome and the advertising agency I got an offer from was cool, but as my Dad said, even in Darfur they pay you more (Money isn’t everything but hey a man’s gotta eat).  In the end I really liked Mumbai and was really impressed by all the people I met at Directi although my role wasn’t exactly defined at the time of joining, 7 months later I’m extremely happy with my decision.

Lesson #8: Enjoy: In the end moving abroad has been a really great experience for me.  I’ve been challenged professionally and personally and feel like I have grown tremendously as a result.  I have many friends who have taken the plunge  (from teaching english in China, Vietnam, Peru, South Korea to selling ice cream in Thaland to peace corps in West Africa), and not a single person I know regrets it.  It isn’t for everyone, but those of you feeling pangs of restlessness, what are you waiting for, the time is now…

Related posts:

1. 3 Month Recap
2. why im moving to india
3. Rolling Stone

Although Goa is a great time, we don’t really get the “Indian experience”. The areas we visited could easily be any beach town in the world (northeast Brazil, Ibiza, Phillipines, Mexico, etc…), in the sense that it’s beautiful but it caters to a sort of generic, globe-trotting, hippy, crowd. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome, it’s just not culturally authentic.

We then headed down to the south east of India to Kerala. We first went to Periyar which is a big animal reserve. We got to see some elephants and monkeys which I was really excited about but unfortunately no tigers. Periyar was aight, but my expectations were too high – I was expecting to see some lion king shit and instead got a glorified zoo (the elephants were chained up). On a positive note – we stumbled into a martial arts show, which was surprisingly cool and involved rings of fire.

Next we headed to Allepy to cruise around the backwaters on a houseboat. Before going I was a bit nervous about this, what are we gonna do for two days on boat? We’re a group of young, slightly aggressive, attention deficient Americans, there’s no way we’ll enjoy this. In reality it was incredible, what’d we do? Nothing – played a lot of cards, drank a bunch of beer, ate gigantic tiger prawns, and observed life on the backwater. It was pretty surreal (one of those “I can’t believe I actually live in India” moments), and was the most relaxed I think I’ve ever been. It was a really beautiful place and I think almost anyone would enjoy it.

After my friends left, my good friend Aju invited me to his wedding. We took a 20 hour train ride (AC 3rd class) to Raipur. The ride out there was pretty intense. Everyone says traveling by Indian trains is something you have to do, though I’m not sure – it was a mess. The numberings for the seats were all wrong and there were people with unconfirmed seats also in our compartment. It was cramped and uncomfortable – I’m glad I did it, but it’s unlikely I’d do it again (unless you bump me up a class or two). The wedding itself was great though, I had no idea what was going on. I was told I needed to wear a kurta (traditional Indian garb), and bought one before I left Bombay. I changed into my clothes and went downstairs and everyone else was wearing slacks and shirts, I felt pretty ridiculous until my friends came wearing native garb as well. We also all got turbans… which was awesome. The wedding started with everyone on the groom’s side dance-marching to the wedding (20 min away) in a procession with a band, people carrying 70′s style colored lights and stopping every three minutes to light fireworks. Did I mention Aju was riding a horse? People kept trying to steal his shoes, and I think a little girl tried to bribe me. It was a really cool experience.

Tonight is the second part of his wedding in Bombay, more pictures to come soon…

Related posts:

1. Recent Travels (pics from Israel and Vietnam)
2. 3 Month Recap
3. First Impressions

• I haven’t been downtown since, but everyone’s saying the streets are empty.  This is inconceivable in a city of over 15 million people.  Even up here the roads are not car to car with traffic, for the first time since I’ve been here.
• People are complaining about the slow response time of the Indian government. I’m not sure why this ordeal took over 3 days, maybe it had to do with fear for the hostages or the inexperience of the local police rushing in.  What I’m wondering though is how is it that the anti-terrorism squad chief and commissioner of police were killed within the first few hours of the operation?  While I don’t know anything about them, and I’m sure they are hero’s and extremely brave, if you are in a position of command, isn’t it your job to lead your forces and not rush into battle?  Could the poor response have something to do with confusion over who was giving orders?  This is total speculation.
• This is a really great article describing the importance of the Taj to Mumbai and it’s people.
• It’s awesome to hear about the bravery of the hotel staff.
• With India’s general elections coming up in May, the recent attacks throughout India have set off speculation that national security will be the campaign focus and shift the political landscape.  I don’t know anything about local politics, but I just hope that people here do not elect hawkish leaders, who are jumping at the opportunity to go to war with Pakistan.
• My brothers in Israel tried to convince me to come to there for a few days till things blow over.  I never thought that I would consider going to Israel to escape terrorism.
• Lastly, it’s amazing the power the new media outlets (Twitter, Wikipedia, Blogs) have at disseminating information.  I was following the Mumbai Twitter channel before any of the major news outlets caught wind of the situation.  There is something hypnotic about reading first hand accounts mixed in with people’s reactions of the traditional media news accounts.  While this is definitely great and a step in the right direction towards empowering the masses, it is also extremely dangerous.  People were tweeting information that blatantly wasn’t true and had potential to cause panic (not that this is any different from the incorrect accounts reported by the sensationalist, traditional news outlets).  I was also shocked at how quickly the wikipedia page for the event was put it up and how well researched and referenced it was (sourced from over 130 accounts).

My friend Mary is currently living abroad in Thailand (and experiencing a coup first-hand).  In a recent post, she asks, “What is going on in the world? Or am I just seeing it with wider-open eyes by virtue of my location outside of my home country? Tragedies are occurring around the world with alarming frequency, but perhaps we don’t pay attention unless our loved ones are affected? Is this part of what we seek when we travel and live abroad – an expanded perspective that can only be obtained as an eyewitness to such occurrences?”  While I’ve only been in Mumbai a month, consider my perspective expanded.  Over the last few days family, friends, colleagues in India around the world have all shown extreme concern and support.  Often overcoming difficult situations leads to a renewed appreciation of what you have.  Thank you all for your kind words over the last few days, please continue to stay in touch.

Related posts:

1. Finding a Job Abroad
2. 3 Month Recap

• When I miss a shot in basketball people yell out, hard luck! A good shot is lovely!
• I’m often asked, What’s your good name sir?
• When Indians refer to their hometown it’s called their native place
• Older, unrelated people are often referred to as Aunty and Uncle
• Fortnight is used frequently (I still have no idea what this is and refuse to look it up)
• Men are referred to as gents
• We have guys who take care of logistical stuff who are called office boys and peons
• Saw this on a resume I recently checked out: Born on the 17^th day of July, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty
• And my personal favorite: Every Tom, Dick and Harry was at the restaurant.  This one especially doesn’t make sense since wherever it is they are referring to, there is undoubtedly no Tom, Dick or Harry present.

Tomorrow I’m starting Hindi lessons and very excited.  Here’s a short email I got from a tutor I contacted:

Hi Amit
It seems you are an Indian.Why do you want to learn Hindi?Lets know then accordingly we will arrange.
Regards,
Sandhya

Related posts:

1. 3 Month Recap
2. First Impressions
3. Breaking all the rules…

1.  Don’t eat with your hands (unless you are at Medieval Times in which case you are required to mercilessly rip chicken apart and demand more beer from your wench) – Eating with your hands is the norm, very satisfying and way more efficient (except when eating rice).

2.  Don’t call people “Indians” (They’re Native Americans!) – I constantly pause before I refer to people as Indians, in fear that I am going to accidentally offend someone’s cultural heritage.

On a totally unrelated note, they have cricket batting cages here:

Related posts:

1. Every Tom, Dick and Harry…
2. 3 Month Recap
3. Recent Travels (Goa, Kerala, Raipur)

it was crowded. At the station:

It was also crowded (click on the pic above as it was taken with my friends camera – good quality). We went to the government office where they hate spitting:

In the pic to the right, the dunce cap is actually an old school fire extinguisher. No idea how it works but it looks 60 years old.

After a few hours filling out forms in triplicate, they told me to come back in two hours to pick up my documents. So we took a walk around town, here’s Victoria Station:

And a Mosquito Proof Well.

More pics (in better quality and not from my iPhone), coming soon…

Related posts:

1. First Impressions

• India is very hot.  It’s been about 97 during the day, last night was 82 at midnight.  I sweat a lot.
• Mumbai is really big and congested.  The infrastructure is exploding at the seams.  It would take me 2-3 hours on a good day to get all the way downtown.  Generally it’s about a 30-45 minute cab ride to get anywhere (partly because it’s far, mostly because of traffic).
• My apartment is really cool.  2 beds/2 baths/4 balconies, brand new building.  Here’s a pic of my living room and view:

• My neighborhood is kinda out of the way and tough to get to – I’m also more or less surrounded by slums.  There is a grocery store and one respectable restaurant within walking distance, very important.
• Indian people are really nice and have made me feel really welcome.  I met some guys at work who have gone out of there way to help me and take me out been taking me out, I haven’t spent a night home since I’ve been here.  The nightlife is great and I’m relatively close (20 min) to a neighborhood called Bandra which has a lot of fun bars and restaurants.  We went to a club called Blue Frog last weekend that had Afro-Cuban music.
• My neighbors also have been really helpful.  The family next door sees me looking confused all the time (since I have no idea where anything is or how to get there) and have given me a lot of help.  They also bought be some chocolates for Diwali.
• Indian people and I share a common love for fireworks.  Because it was Diwali (and last time I was here it was the Ganesh festival), there has been a ridiculous amount of fireworks at all times of the night.
• People are really curious what I’m doing here, I get asked really personal questions (how much money do you make?).  A group of kids also followed me in the supermarket and kept reciting the name of the fruit in Hindi and asking me what it was in English.  I also get stared at sometimes, but all I can really do is stare back and eventually laugh.
• There are a lot of cows that just wander around my ‘hood.
• Before coming here and after my first trip I thought that everyone spoke English.  This isn’t true.  It seems like the less educated people (including security guards and cabbies) speak almost no english.  Because I live out of the way, and can’t give good instructions, getting home from anywhere involves writing my address down (including the 1 or 2 not famous landmarks nearby) and having a rickshaw driver (who can’t read english) drive for 5 minutes, stop and show someone the piece of paper, drive for 5 more minutes, stop and show the paper until we get home.
• Mumbai is the most expensive city in India, but it’s still very cheap.  A decent meal at a resteraunt costs around $2, a liter of water is 20 cents, a 45-min cab ride is around $2, I bought a ridiculous amount of groceries for like $7.  Though booze can be expensive depending on where you go.  I went to a nice place and accidentally ordered a $20 glass of johnnie black (ouch).
• Although cricket dominates, I found a pretty good basketball game at the YMCA.  I met a guy who plays on their semi-pro club team, he told me when they play and invited me down.  I’m going to check it out next week.  Phase one complete for my secret  “how to make a living playing semi-pro basketball in a foreign country” plan.  Here’s a shot of the YMCA:

Generally I’m happy with where I am and looking forward to starting work tomorrow.  I have an extra bedroom, friends… come visit.

Related posts:

1. Recent Travels (Goa, Kerala, Raipur)