Jobs in India-Between Euphoria & Gloom

Rupee at 64. Sensex over 30k. Nifty over 9300. It is all happening.

One cannot but reflect .....but where are the jobs in India?

Information technology companies no longer seem the growth engines of the service sector. E-commerce start-ups are seeing big erosion in valuation and investors are marking them down in their portfolios.

The media is going ga-ga with the slightest of speculation, as surveys portray the sentiments being low. There is a surely a wait & watch approach as most companies are not yet sure how the policies, for eg due to US immigration and Brexit, are likely to pan out.

Contrary to what most people think, the Indian startup ecosystem is robust and kicking. Trak.in does a brilliant job of taking inventory of all the deals that are announced, and it is apparent that while month on month, 2017 is perhaps less impressive than 2016, it is significantly better than before!

Mature companies like HUL and Cognizant are shedding skin, while Amazon and CapGemini are investing in the future needs by skilling/re-skilling! Perhaps it is also that part of the year where companies are more conscious of their hiring needs & try to be relevant to the market demands, apart from staying competitive, and leveraging performance appraisals as rewards to retain the dear. ( And let go, those who have not been able to shape up to the stringent demands.)

The market corrections were due anyway. After we are all in the midst of perhaps the most dynamic of times (VUCA is the new normal?). And considering that companies tinker with their recruitment tactics, it is only a matter of time when the healthy growth of companies will drive the economy for the right reasons.

Personally, I see that while most entry-level jobs have vanished (it had got to a point where, well almost all, trespassers in any campus were being hired), the bulk of hiring is now happening in the 3-8yrs level of experience. Interestingly, with not much decline in the mid-senior & senior level hiring. Of course the companies are now more discerning about whom they hire. In a market where most high performing employees get 10-15% annual hikes, those looking for greener pastures elsewhere are being wooed by double the hike, most employers are now willing to pay a premium for those who deserve.

One thing for sure, as a ringside observer, the good days are coming.

My thoughts are validated by a Deutsche Bank report that predicts that  India is set for a flood of new jobs driven by increased Government spending in the next two years as the next General Elections are due in 2019 & appease voters!

By the way, the Michael Page survey report is a good resource that backs the data with some precise salary information in India across functions like Finance, Legal, HR, Procurement % Supply Chain, and Sales & Marketing across some key industries.

Please feel free to reach out privately to [email protected] to understand what are the skills in demand, as companies are mostly hiring for replacement roles by creating new roles, and for those who possess not just local but also international experience.

And yes, should you want a personalised one-one chat, and compare notes, the best way is to schedule an appointment, courtesy a paid session!