Product Development in a Flat World

The Simpsons episode above where Homer gets a job in India after losing his job to outsourcing was aired quite sometime back and you might have seen it many times by now. Interestingly an article by Nandini Lakshman on BusinessWeek today talks about the booming job market in India for foreigners.

The article talks about how Indian firms with global aspirations are seeking senior level talent from other countries to help drive their growth with couple of examples of westerners working in India.

…(Carol) Borghesi, 50, decided to leave a lucrative managing director role at BT to run Airtel’s customer service business. “It’s a deliberate choice to be in India at this time—it’s a booming economy, and I wanted to be part of the action,” says Borghesi, a Canadian native, who since October, 2006, has lived in a plush apartment in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi, with her husband and 11-year-old daughter.

With India’s growth rate it might very well be smart to look at opportunities in India. Here are some of the good things to think about:

• If you are a senior level candidate with good experience, you are likely to get a much better job in India versus your current in US or Europe.
• With comparable salaries and perks you are likely to save more of your salary while at the same time afford a better lifestyle since the living costs are much lower in comparison
• Even though you can still invest in India from US or other countries, you are likely to identify better investment opportunities if you are in India to capitalize on the growth. With US slowing down, certainly the investment growth opportunities are multi-fold in India at this time.
• And while you are there you get to experience a new country, travel around neighbouring countries and have some good fun
• Language is not as much of barrier for you in comparison to working in China, Korea or Japan since many of the locals you encounter are likely to speak in English in your normal course of the day

Though not everyone can deal with:

• The infratructure in India is weak even though there is a lot being done to improve.
• Most of the major cities you have to deal with traffic, pollution and the heat
• You will have part with your friends and family for a while

Business life can also throw up unusual problems. U.S. native Rudy Vercelli, 47, chief operating officer of Mumbai International Airport, is often mistaken for a tourist at the airport he is helping modernize. He also has to contend with the 80,000 squatters that occupy 60% of the airport’s land. “We have 960 acres of airport land, but what we need is 4,000 acres. There is no room except on top,” he says. Still, Vercelli, formerly a vice-president at Bechtel, has no regrets. “I will stay in India until they kick me out. My family looks upon every move as an adventure,” he says.

Consider the Cisco’s move to setup its second global headquarter’s in India and move some of their key senior management there. Many other global firms (GE, Microsoft, Oracle, Nortel to name a few) are establishing a key presence in India primarily to capitalize on the growth not only in India but Asia and Middle East. The job market is hot as it can be in India and if you are in a mood for some adventure then this might just be what you might be looking for.

Another interesting trend to note: Indian companies are hiring more and more locals in US.

The Indians are recruiting a combination of fresh college grads and experienced vets who have worked at American companies. They’re especially active at campus job fairs, and unlike a few years ago students know who these companies are and respect them. In fact, the Indian connection has become an attraction. “I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity, especially because they send you abroad for training,” says Brian Oswald, a 23-year-old Rutgers University graduate with a 2006 degree in industrial engineering who joined TCS in February.

In a flattening world, we are beginning to see the effects of outsourcing coming a full circle. Will there ever be a day when anyone anywhere in the world has equal opportunities?

If you found the video funny, check another one where Simpsons goes to Bollywood.