Living abroad and want to return to India? 5 tips to find the right job back home

There is a beautiful song in the movie “Swades” where the call of the country brings a scientist back to his roots.

Many Indians who have shifted to other countries for work sometimes want to relocate back to the country, for varied reasons. This feeling is more common among people who have reached their mid-career stage.

But it is not always easy to find commensurate work or compensation to return.


Reaching out on job boards or to job consultants may not always work well, unless the person has very specific skills that match a required job exactly.

Here are a few things that can help:
1) Smart networking: While it may sound old fashioned in today’s digital age, the truth is that a lot of new opportunities can arise through the power of the network, especially if the roles are not always available on public job forums. LinkedIn itself is a great tool to follow the right people in similar roles in India, look at areas of work and interest and then find possible opportunities. However, it does take time and rarely does a first conversation turn out to be a move towards an offer.

2) Opportunities in global capability centers: Global capability centers (GCC) of large companies are growing in India. If the company of the mid-career professional is looking to shift to India, has such a capability center in India or plans to open one shortly, the transition can be easier through this route.

Lalit Ahuja, CEO ANSR, a tech leader in enabling companies to set up, manage and scale up global teams, says demand is growing in this areas.

“GCCs’ talent demand has grown by 12-15% in the last three years, double that of IT services firms. Despite the hiring slowdown globally, GCCs continue to hire for roles including cloud, data engineering, AI, AR/VR, Web3, info security, RPA, blockchain, among others. The typical skill sets in a typical retail GCC include 50% tech, 10% analytics and 40% business functions – marketing, supply chain, merchandising, etc.”

Matching the existing skill sets with upcoming GCC requirements could help the professional.

3) Understand key government policies and enabling shifts: India has been making rapid progress in terms of digitisation across sectors. Be it in fintech, ecommerce or in other areas, the changes are going to define a lot of work in the upcoming decade. Some of these shifts require qualified professionals at the mid-career/senior stages. Following these market shifts can help a returning mid-career professional have a more targeted approach in search and selection.

4) Freelancing and fractional CXOs: It might seem daunting to return back to the country without a confirmed job offer. But as we have been tracking at ET Careers, there is an increasing trend of qualified professionals who are choosing freelancing/fractional CXO work. With specialised experience, this might be an option to consider for some returning mid-career professionals. This can be a great way to understand the company culture, ways of work and also decide the right way for the long-term career options once in the country.

5) Personal branding: While this is not directly related to the search for jobs, it connects with the first point on networking. Today, there are many forums to share one’s specialised expertise and knowledge. Choosing to do so consistently will also deepen the network and allow people to reach out to the professional. And the power of an inbound connection is often immensely targeted and actionable.

As we continue to make strides as a nation, we hope more people who choose to return to the country at mid-career levels can find the right opportunities and the means to do so.