What is it like to work for an Indian company?

OP, I don't think this is an unusual question at all. I have worked for a Japanese company for years, and there is certainly a unique corporate culture that is very different to US-run companies. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with India-based companies though.

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02/24/2014 07:32

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

What field are you in OP?

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02/24/2014 16:36

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

expect micromanagement and colleagues with poor social skills.

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02/24/2014 16:37

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

micromanagement!

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02/24/2014 17:50

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:What field are you in OP?

OP here. Finance. Company based in India, US office here.

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02/24/2014 19:23

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What field are you in OP?

OP here. Finance. Company based in India, US office here.

Have you visited the office? Mostly Americans, mostly Indians, of half/half? The predominant culture in management (Americans or Indians) will set the tone for the office.

You don't have to go into a lot of detail, but will you be managing accounts or in a role that you could discover fraudulent transactions? I ask because, in India, there is a real issue with business ethics and should you discover such transactions it could put you in a very difficult position.

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02/24/2014 19:37

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

I work for an Indian company and, like any company, there are pros and cons.

As a US-born white male, it's been an interesting and educational cultural experience to be an ethnic minority at a company. There are some common American expressions that can get you in serious trouble with the Indians (e.g., saying that someone was "monkeying around" can be very offensive)

The people here (onshore) and the people back in India (offshore) have a culture that involves working long hours, and those who are onshore are frequently on the phone with offshore into the wee hours of the morning.

Indian companies tend to be fairly centralized and hierarchical, and things frequently have to get escalated fairly high to get approvals.

From a corporate perspective, because there are so many people in India competing for jobs, the corporate culture tends to be one of "you're lucky we're employing you," rather than one that really values employees, because in India they tend to be pretty fungible - especially at the lower levels.

Look carefully at the benefits. It your company is one that follows a model of having people here in the US and then going back to India, there are likely issues for the company's 401(k) plans.

Getting used to the accents takes a while, and since the names aren't natural for me, it's sometimes hard to keep track of who's who, even after dealing with it for a while.

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02/24/2014 23:02

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

I had a terrible experience - Collabera. First job where I had to pay for my own drug test & credit check!

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02/25/2014 15:39

Subject: What is it like to work for an Indian company?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:I work for an Indian company and, like any company, there are pros and cons.

As a US-born white male, it's been an interesting and educational cultural experience to be an ethnic minority at a company. There are some common American expressions that can get you in serious trouble with the Indians (e.g., saying that someone was "monkeying around" can be very offensive)

The people here (onshore) and the people back in India (offshore) have a culture that involves working long hours, and those who are onshore are frequently on the phone with offshore into the wee hours of the morning.

Indian companies tend to be fairly centralized and hierarchical, and things frequently have to get escalated fairly high to get approvals.

From a corporate perspective, because there are so many people in India competing for jobs, the corporate culture tends to be one of "you're lucky we're employing you," rather than one that really values employees, because in India they tend to be pretty fungible - especially at the lower levels.

Look carefully at the benefits. It your company is one that follows a model of having people here in the US and then going back to India, there are likely issues for the company's 401(k) plans.

Getting used to the accents takes a while, and since the names aren't natural for me, it's sometimes hard to keep track of who's who, even after dealing with it for a while.