Hello folks! Mani here. The guy who jumped back into Indian professional life after 12 years in America. Talk about culture shock! I returned in 2017. My professional skills were frozen in 2005 India. I still thought “Orkut” was a thing when I landed. My resume got more rejections than my high school crush gave…

Hello folks! Mani here. The guy who applied to the same five tech companies for two months straight. Then discovered an entire universe of other employers specifically seeking NRI talent. I returned in 2017 with tunnel vision. Applied exclusively to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and a couple of Indian tech giants. Created application echo chamber. Achieved…

Hello folks! Mani here. The guy who returned to India thinking 10 years of Silicon Valley experience would have companies fighting over me. Boy was I wrong. I landed in 2017 with an impressive resume. Got rejected for being “overqualified” seven times in my first month. Overqualified. The rejection that sounds like a compliment but…

Hello folks! Mani here. The guy who thought Silicon Valley experience would automatically translate to premium job offers in India. Like expecting everyone to immediately recognize your designer watch that’s actually only famous in another country. I returned in 2017 with impressive US tech experience. Assumed employers would roll out red carpet. They did not.…

I still remember my panic. Three months before our flight back to India. No job lined up. No clear plan. Just faith that things would work out. My wife wasn’t impressed. “Mani, you’re moving us across the world without a job?” She had a point. But here’s the thing. I did it all wrong. You…

Hey folks! Mani here. Remember me? The guy who thought his Silicon Valley salary would directly translate to India. Big mistake. I returned in 2017. Asked for 80% of my US salary. The recruiter laughed. Not chuckled. Laughed. Loudly. I’ve learned a lot since that humiliating moment. Let me save you from salary negotiation disasters.…

Hello folks! Mani here. The guy who returned to India and applied exclusively to IT jobs because “that’s where the money is.” Found out quickly that other industries were actually more eager for my international experience. I came back in 2017 focused entirely on tech. Ignored finance, healthcare, education, manufacturing. Limited my options by 80%.…

Hello folks! Mani here. Remember me? The guy who moved back to India thinking work hours would be the same as Silicon Valley. I was so wrong. My first week back in 2017, I packed up my laptop at 5 pm. Everyone stared at me like I had committed a crime. My manager asked if…

Hello folks! Mani here. I returned in 2017. Updated my LinkedIn location to Bangalore. Then waited. And waited. Created world record in professional patience. Achieved precisely zero results. Let me save you from my LinkedIn mistakes. LinkedIn Profile Optimization: The Foundation 🏗️ Your profile needs complete transformation. I made minor tweaks. Created profile that screamed…