Employment in India has largely been limited to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. And with limited choices, finding the right talent for the right job has always been tough for organisations. With the economy booming and with the rise of various industries, there are plenty of career choices available for a job aspirant to make. But the shortage of talent still prevails. Hence, in order to overcome this, organisations are now favouring small towns in far flung areas of the country as hunting grounds to find talent and manage this crunch.

Industry pundits believe that a variety of factors have contributed to the sudden focus on the 'small' areas for talent search. The opportunities are rising, the job market in India is on a roll and head hunters are now widening their search by looking for talent in the untapped territories of the North­Eastern (NE) regions of the country.

The hunt begins ...

Traditionally, certain areas have been known to be non­existent; hence, a huge number of people are known to migrate from these small areas to bigger cities for employment. Shiv Agrawal, CEO, ABC Consultants explains the reason for this talent surge Certain areas of the North Eastern regions have been known to be given excise exemptions due to which, many manufacturers flock to these areas. Therefore, it is evident that there is a surge in employment in these areas and organisations are not leaving any stone unturned in tapping it.

However, the question that arises is, are employers and head hunters willing to travel so far to find the right talent? There are two characteristics that companies look for in their future employees- the right attitude and fitment. With increased awareness and seriousness seeping in these regions, people are scoring high on the employability factor. Most companies are known to have branches all across the country and hiring locals from that area helps the organisation to have a better understanding of the region, its diversity and culture.

The highs and lows

It is a known fact that organisations today are setting up regional as well as back office hubs in smaller towns and cities. And instead of hiring people from different metros and then outsourcing them, they are now hiring people from local areas as it helps them reduce costs. Mukherjee believes that this acts in the favour of the organisation as there is a sense of comfort level among the employees, which helps them to settle into the workplace better. Most people always prefer working in an organisation which is closer to home. For smaller companies, the location advantage helps them as people prefer to work in a place closer to their home or state as opposed to roughing it out in a big city.

However, companies do face their own challenges as employers need to make sure that they adapt themselves to the changing corporate culture since they are landlocked from the rest of the nation and have very little experience of the happenings of the corporate world. It is a challenge indeed. There is a tendency of flow of talent to the metros. Due to lack of opportunities, a lot of candidates move to the metros either for education or to find better job opportunities.

Future beckons

Opportunities for people will only go up from here. In the banking and financial sector alone, huge number of jobs were reported and in the sales sector alone, around two lakh jobs will be created in the near future. So, the opportunities are galore and the demand can't be catered by metros alone.

With the changing times, the future is bright in terms of corporate jobs and growth, as new companies and projects are penetrating this untapped market and the positive trend will continue and grow even larger. For the time being, things are looking up for the NE regions. And in the near future, things will start to look up as the place will be booming with the rest of the economy.