Toughest job in town

After a month in town, I have figured out what the most difficult job in corporate Bangalore is. If you enjoy high stress, long work hours, constant rejection, intense competition and sustained pressure, you don’t have to aim for that CEO or Operations VP or Global Delivery Center head job. Simply join the Human Resources department as a recruiter.

Recruiting and retaining talented employees is the biggest challenge faced by companies in town. Young talented professionals (even fresh out of college) have several opportunities ahead of them and can take their pick. People are continuously job shopping and the good ones are being offered twice their current compensation to lure them away from their jobs.

Compensation is the leading driver for young professionals in the early career stage (less than 3 years). These folks will select a job or change a job for a 20% difference in offered salary. Besides compensation, the other critical drivers (in order of importance) are company brand/recognition, being part of a global workforce, the job profile and location. As these professionals gain more experience (greater than 5 years), compensation becomes a little less of a differentiator and job profile and professional growth take on a greater importance in job selection.