Want to come back and work in Sri Lanka? Make your years abroad count!

I always wanted to return to Sri Lanka someday and was always conscious of how the work I did while I was abroad was going to affect my employment potential back in Sri Lanka. In this post I am sharing some things I think you should consider doing to make your self more attractive to potential recruiters if you have plans to return to Sri Lanka in the future. My comments are slightly biased towards the IT industry but should serve as a guide to those in other industries as well.

The fact that you lived and worked in a foreign country for years is just not enough to increase your job potential in Sri Lanka unless you have used that time to increase your marketability. Someone who has worked as a Java Programmer for 10 years in a small-mid sized software house in a foreign country should not expect to come back and land a job at a very senior position just because he has 'worked abroad'. Especially in the IT industry in Sri Lanka, you will be surprised to see the number of young people who have really gone the distance in their careers, even as fresh grads, by participating in globally recognized hackathons, running multiple startups while still at university, google summer camps, publishing papers and speaking at conferences etc. So unless you have gone the extra mile yourself, average experience in a foreign country is only going to get you an average job which is probably far below your potential.

Do work that will be in demand in Sri Lanka a few years from now
Regardless of technological advancements, it takes awhile for latest thinking, techniques, methodologies and technologies to get recognized and instilled in Sri Lanka. This is where some forward thinking would help. Try to look for work that would potentially be in demand in Sri Lanka in a few years time. Having those skills and expertise will help you differentiate your pitch and put you ahead of other candidates since you have the potential to transform how companies work. A good example from a few years back, again in the IT industry, was around the introduction of Agile methodologies. I remember 'Agile' being spoken as THE way of working in the software industry in UK about 8 years ago and there were workshops everywhere and people who had just read about the subject were cashing in by doing trainings for companies who wanted to adopt Agile methodologies. However in Sri Lanka, companies really started exploring Agile in detail only 3-5 years ago and anyone who had been exposed to the Agile way of working at the time would definitely had great potential when it came to securing employment.

Brand yourself
Regardless of your move back decision it is in your interest to promote your work and get recognized for what you do. Use social media to talk about and promote your work and also voice your opinion about things unfolding in the industry around your area of expertise. Most importantly, in the interest of your move back decision, use your work to get linked up with like minded people in Sri Lanka who will have an influence over relevant companies and the industry.

Big brands matter
It is always better to be able to say you worked for a reputed global brand rather than a company that is relatively unheard of, especially in this part of the world. If you are in Telecoms, for example, if you have companies like Vodafone, O2 or T-Mobile on your CV then that would immediately get potential telecoms recruiters interested as they know what these companies have achieved and will expect you to have seen and learnt how they work and be able to bring some of that thinking to their companies. So if you have an idea to come back, try to get at least 1-2 global brands on your CV - it's not easy getting into such companies so will need some hard work!

Keep in touch!
If you had your primary/secondary education in Sri Lanka and had worked here for a few years then you need to make sure you keep in touch with people who were your friends, work colleagues, bosses etc at the time. Several years later you can be sure that most of them will be in senior positions in their respective fields and some may even be heading companies. They will be your social capital when navigating the job market in Sri Lanka. Even if they won't be able to offer you a job they will definitely have contacts who they can introduce you to. Old boy networks and connections go a very long way when it comes to finding work or getting anything done in Sri Lanka so its absolutely essential that you keep in touch with people if you are hoping to come back.

Follow your industry, relevant companies and key personalities
It is important that you know how your industry is changing or has changed over the years in Sri Lanka. New companies may have taken the top place in the industry and some older brands may have conceded to competition or not moved fast enough and succumbed to industry pressures. Know which companies are doing well and have the potential to do so for years to come. These are also the companies that will be most sought out by potential employees. It is also important to know who the key personalities are in your industry and what their vision is. There are many ways to follow all of these via online news papers, linkedin, twitter, facebook etc or even by catching up with friends and colleagues to discuss industry/company gossip! These will also help influence your move back decision and decide on timing, especially if decent employment is a key aspect on your agenda.

Keep track of your earning potential 
A highly accomplished professional who had been away for 10+ years and was thinking of coming back recently asked me if he should pitch in the range of Rs. 150,000 per month. Knowing his experience, achievements and potential, I was sure he can earn well above Rs. 500,000 per month - he was very surprised when I told him this! He hadn't followed the industry and how things had changed and was still in the mind set that 80-100K was a high salary, as it was when he left the country. If you haven't done your research and pitch at a very low or high rate your potential employees are going to take you for a joke and you will loose credibility. At the same time, you need to know your  limits as well. A fresh graduate from a foreign university may not be able to demand a 6 figure salary unless he/she has significant achievements to back it up. On the other extreme, a Rs. 1M+ per month salary is not unheard of now but is not for everyone and is not something you should aim for just because you lived abroad, unless you have the credentials, experience and personal brand to demand it.

Not everyone will have a long term plan of coming back to Sri Lanka and sometimes family circumstance may force people to change course and make a sudden decision to return back. Some of the aspects I have mentioned above are worth doing regardless of your move back decision. Even if you have decided to settle in a foreign country, having these links with Sri Lanka may come in handy some day if you think of establishing a business or returning back for retirement or even want to do some consulting to get away from the cold months! The important thing is to make your years abroad count - as Steve Jobs said, you will be able to connect the dots some day!