Here i go to Singapore!!!

I came back to India on 28th Feb 2009 after spending my beautiful, luxurious and exciting 2 years and 8 months in US. This was the first time i met my nephew, Aryan just 1 month old. When i first hold him in my both hands i forgot all my US stories and thought i should have come 1 month back. I was on a vacation for two weeks before joining my TCS office in Pune, India. These two weeks went so fast playing with Aryan, eating Aloo paranthas prepared by my mom. Also after such a long time i celebrated a festival, Holi with my family. These two weeks were like a dream vacation for me with my family. And finally the day came when i have to fly for Pune.

I joined TCS Pune, India on 12th March 2009. This was a big TCS office near Magarpatta City, the best residential town in Pune. It took one day to get all my access to enter the office and one week to get access of my machine so that i can start my work. My plan at that time was to provide training to my backup resource, Sakshi and get release from my current assignment and join a new assignment in NCR (National Capital Region) , Delhi India. I wanted to stay one year in India and spend some time with my family before i accept any onsite assignment. I convinced my managers for one month training plan and i put all my efforts to provide all the training as per the plan. Everything was going as per plan until one day somebosy told me that Singapore is a good market for my technology.

I thought quiet a bit on that day and finally came to conclusion that whats the harm in checking the market. So i checked some job sites and applied for some jobs in Singapore and this started the journey. I started receiving calls from recruitment companies next day. At that time due to recession all the big indian companies were firing people every day. So to be on safe side i gave one interview on 14th April 2009 and soon after the interview they selected me and even accepted my salary demand. I was moving to Delhi the next day and i still haven't received any proper assignment in NCR, Delhi. Now the big question for me was to accept offer or continue TCS?

This was a great recession time and leaving a permanent job and joining a new company could be a big risk. I discussed everything with my family and friends and thought that if i continue in TCS this is for sure that i will not get any salary hike and promotion in next 2 years while if i move to my new company i am getting a good package and it could be a good chance to explore singapore market. To get some time before i make my decision i planned not to report TCS, Delhi office and asked my Singapore employer to get my EP (Employment Pass) approved before i resign here. This way i got a week time to make my decision. The day my EP got approved i reported to TCS office and i was surprised by the fact that nobody was aware that who should be my concerned HR here. These facts made my decision stronger and i decided to join Singapore company.

After talking with TCS HR and my singapore employer i came up with a date of 5th May 2009 as my joining date in Singapore. I would really appreciate that TCS HR helped me in my clearance process and tried to make it simpler. So here i am in Singapore working for HP as techno functional consultant.