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Ask HN: Have you ever hired an Indian Fresher for your start-up?
I am a graduating student from IIT Delhi who have built stuff and worked in a startup and now looking for an opportunity at Valley. My experience (http://gist.github.com/sravfeyn/13534c67812183235a2c)
I am interested if any of you who is running a start-up in Valley (or US) had experience hiring or rejecting any Indian and can share the experience?
I am asking this because, out of ten companies I applied in Valley around 6 were ready to talk to me. Five companies abandoned me after knowing that I need a visa (now I am trying to apply at those that offer Visa Sponsorship)
Until now I have talked to only one start-up in Valley. He (the founder) liked my profile, but I blew up on Skype call. He listened to my project descriptions and asked couple of questions to which I responded. But he kindly advised me at the end that it's very difficult for 'relaxed SF folks' to infer my strong Indian accent. I had spoken very actively without letting him talk much, mostly because I was nervous.
So, is it actually the case in US? How had your experience with Indian startup folks been?
And can you offer any advise for folks like me, new grads looking start-up opportunity in SF/US.
- shanelja 14y agoIn all honesty, most companies aren't willing to work through the Visa process, they are either too small and have never done it before or know how difficult it can be. Larger companies tend to be less averse, but even then it comes down to the candidate, hiring you has to be worth the expense and trouble they would have to go to to find a suitable local equivalent. https://gist.github.com/sravfeyn/13534c67812183235a2c https://gist.github.com/sravfeyn/13534c67812183235a2c Clickable, since he screwed up :c
- sravfeyn 14y agoYeah I observed the visa problem and I am now trying to apply for the ones who explicitly mention "Visa sponsorship". Otherwise how had your experience been with Indian folks?
- shanelja 14y agoI've only ever worked on a professional agency level with two Indians and they were outsourced to, and to be honest it's mixed, they always delivered projects on time, but the code they provided was less than fantastic and reading it - and as a superset, integrating it - was a pain. Not that this is a mark on all Indian developers, Suchi Sendrahali is someone I've worked with in the past and he was fantastic.
- sravfeyn 14y agoThanks for sharing your experience :)
- logn 14y agoAs far as the accent barrier, if you have a heavy accent, speak slightly slower (makes it easier to understand and easier to interrupt). Also if you're on a phone line or especially a speaker phone, ask if you're speaking loud enough. Your interviewer's comments about laid back SF folk is odd I think, but sometimes the language barrier can make you seem more stern and unapproachable than you actually are. Maybe learn some conversational idioms to diffuse tensions... "no worries", "I get what you're saying, but", "if I understand you correctly, then", "yeah we're in agreement there, but", "just to clarify,", "sounds good" ... stuff like that Also, don't let it get in your head that Americans' stereotypes or past experiences with engineers are going to significantly impact you. Most people will take a fresh and honest look at you, and most everyone no matter where they're from carries some baggage with them (devs from mega corps, devs from no-name schools, devs who have been unemployed, devs from yet another failed startup, devs working in some language that's too hip or not hip enough, etc etc).
- ashray 14y agoVisa issues in the US can be very hard for companies to deal with. Established companies normally have good protocols and departments for overseas hires. However, startups barely have departments, let alone a dedicated department for overseas hires. Normally, the best path for an Indian to get to the US is to study a degree in the US, gain some work experience in that year you are allowed H1-B work after your degree and then hope that the company you worked for wants to retain you (they usually do..). Plenty of people I know have followed this path. May I ask though why you are restricting your search to the US ? There are many startup hubs around the world and interesting companies in Europe (Berlin, Amsterdam, etc.) or even South America (Santiago, Chile). Also, there's a vibrant startup community in India as well. So what's wrong with India ?
- sravfeyn 14y agoYeah, I realized visa is a major problem and started looking at those that can offer Visa sponsorship. Start-up community in India is vibrant. I agree. But right now it's in age of infancy. Most of them are too much carried away by 'titles'. The products being built are mostly mashup of existing APIs. Most founders lack long-term vision, lot of people do it as a cool thing. There are few companies with real innovative products. Mostly the tech-culture that you find in here is nowhere near to that in Valley. All experiences are personal. I have worked in a very good start-up in Bangalore, attended couple of speed-dating sessions with startups where I interacted with around 20 startup founders. And I attend meetups in New Delhi often. I am really not so much aware of startup hubs in Europe. Do you know which of them are visa friendly :)
- ashray 14y agoNone of them are visa friendly per se. It's difficult to find a startup job with international hires for the same reasons that it's difficult to find them in the US. Tech culture is very subjective. Most valley companies are in the business of making money, just like most other places. There are a few cutting edge products being built but those shops will hire highly specialized people with a lot of experience, why would such a shop want a person with relatively less experience ? (btw, your instamovie thing doesn't work properly on Firefox) Start-up community in India is vibrant. I agree. But right now it's in age of infancy. Most of them are too much carried away by 'titles'. The products being built are mostly mashup of existing APIs. Most founders lack long-term vision, lot of people do it as a cool thing. There are few companies with real innovative products. The valley has this problem too. Anyway, send me an email (address in profile), you seem like an interesting person to talk to while I'm in New Delhi.
- abhinavsingh 14y agoAll the best for your hunt, but here are some bare facts you must consider: 1) A startup hiring a fresher from a foreign country to work on their multi-million dollar vision is going to be a rarity. Imagine, why would someone hire a fresh talent from foreign land while they can very well find one in their local area. What specialty do you have to offer in particular? 2) Instamovie, SSH hacking, Impressive github projects list isn't really going to be a criteria for any startup to hire you. For most companies these points in your portfolio only mean that you are worth a talk. Also early stage startups need talent to come in and start contributing from day 1. They really don't want to hire and invest in nurturing someone. Thus, until unless one of your projects have similarity with what startup is trying to do, they are just some points in your CV. 3) Over the years, I have seen a number of my colleagues who also wanted to work in the valley (for very same reasons as you stated) wasting their energies behind finding a gateway to the valley. It's totally not worth the (dedicated) effort because, even if a startup that is sponsoring Visa hires you, getting through the Visa process can take significant time. Process of H1B Visa starts in April and within 1 month all Visa slots get exhausted. If you are lucky to get your visa processed within this cycle, you will have to wait atleast until October for Visa process to complete. If you are unlucky and your Visa application is not entertained this April, all you can do is wait until next April. Till then you can only work for the company from India (or visit on a B1 visa). B1 visa and working remotely, both again seems like a rarity for a startup. So until everything falls in place by itself, your best bet for a ticket to valley would be: a) Go for MS/Phd and follow the path as someone explained b) Join a company in India, gain significant experience for an year or so, then try your luck again. With real world corporate experience behind, you will stand a better chance of getting hired by a startup abroad. Just my 2 cents. All the best again.
- sravfeyn 14y agoI really appreciate your candid advise. I will try my best and then I will try to find a good-startup in India. I just don't want to compromise without trying. I would just like to add that the projects I have done were not for cv-points, I have started them on my own. Looking that your IITian, I am in those minority at IIT, who really don't care about CV points :).
- biswajitsharma 14y agoIf I may ask, why are you particular about Getting to US? What do you think you'll get in US, which you won't get in India? Here are a few points I have. 1. Understand the business of Startups: Startups are usually ideas to 'fill up a gap'. With Logic, you are more likely to find gaps in a less matured market. 2. Why Emerging markets, are better than Matured markets: It is hard to believe that 1.2 billion people will not contribute to be one of the best economies of the world. It's hard to believe that there wont be enough business opportunities in India. (Same goes for China, which is already on top, and other emerging markets like Africa etc.) 3. Who will be winners of future? I would imagine people who are slogging to get the emerging markets better will be at best position in future. 3. If you think there is some kind of lack of opportunity in India. Well create one. If you think there are ways you think things should happen, well you should work to work those things out. On VISA Issue: With Startup VISA coming, it might make a few things easier, but only time will tell the right story.
- sravfeyn 14y agoI completely agree with you. My goal is not settling in US. My immediate priority is to work with a company which is doing a fundamental product innovation, which are really rare in India. After sufficient experience, I do have plans to do my own thing in India. Being from a lower-middle class background, I have my own problems to settle right now. Starting directly with an idea is not going to be a feasible option for me. Having said that I understand your motivation in telling me to try in India itself. And I will.
- Raspu10 14y agoWould you consider working in Thailand or Singapore? I know Inceva was looking for talent and can sponsor for Visas. Maybe worth a shot.
- sravfeyn 14y agoI would love to talk. Do you have any contact?
- ryanteo 14y agoHi, I'm based in Singapore and we're also open to hiring foreign developers on a fulltime or project basis. You can drop me an email at ryanteo(at)ppc.com.sg if you are interested in security systems and working on hardware. Singapore is also a mini startup hub =] We also have pretty decent Indian food, a largely Asian culture and plenty of exposure to US&EU startups.. =]