Reading the offer letter properly
An offer letter is a contract. Read every page before signing, and read it when you are calm rather than in the first ten minutes of receiving it. Most Kerala IT offers are fair, but the terms vary more than candidates assume, and the differences only become visible when you want to leave or when a bonus is due.
Check that the basics match what was discussed verbally: job title, reporting manager or function, work location including campus and phase, start date, and the full compensation breakdown. If the recruiter promised something in a call — a joining bonus, an early review, a specific team — confirm it appears in the document. A verbal promise from a recruiter who leaves the company three months later is not enforceable in practice.
Then read the clauses candidates usually skip: probation length and confirmation conditions, notice period during and after probation, any training bond and its penalty amount, non-compete or non-solicitation language, intellectual property assignment, and the conditions attached to any variable pay.
Probation and confirmation
Probation in Indian IT companies commonly runs three to six months. During this period the notice period is usually much shorter on both sides, which cuts both ways — you can leave quickly, and the company can also end the arrangement with limited notice.
Ask what confirmation depends on. In well-run companies it is a documented review against defined expectations. In less organised ones it is informal, which creates ambiguity you should be aware of. Also confirm whether any benefits, such as full insurance coverage or eligibility for the appraisal cycle, begin only after confirmation.
Understanding training bonds
Some companies, particularly those investing in extended fresher training, include a service agreement requiring you to stay for a defined period or pay a penalty. These are common and not automatically unreasonable, but the terms matter enormously.
Look at three things: the duration, the penalty amount, and whether the company holds any original documents. A bond of a year or so with a modest penalty tied to genuine training cost is a normal commercial arrangement. A multi-year bond with a large penalty attached to an entry-level role with minimal training is not, and it will restrict your options at exactly the stage when your market value is growing fastest.
Never surrender original educational certificates as security. Reputable employers do not require this. If a company insists, treat it as a serious warning sign and read Verify jobs before you apply.
How notice periods really work
Notice periods in Indian IT typically range from thirty to ninety days, and longer periods are more common in larger organisations and client-facing delivery roles. The written notice period is only part of the picture. The practical questions are whether the company allows a buyout, whether unused leave can offset part of the notice, and whether early release is negotiable in practice.
Ask about all three before you resign, because they determine your realistic joining date for the next role. A new employer expecting you in thirty days while your current employer enforces ninety creates a problem that is much easier to solve before you accept than after.
If a buyout is permitted, establish who pays. Some employers reimburse notice buyout for candidates they want urgently. This is a reasonable thing to raise during negotiation, as covered in our salary guide.
Resigning professionally
Tell your manager before you send the formal email. A resignation that reaches your manager through HR or, worse, through office gossip damages a relationship you may need for a reference later. Have the conversation directly, then send a short, neutral resignation letter stating your last working day per the notice period.
Keep the letter free of grievances. Whatever your reasons for leaving, the written record should be brief and professional. Kerala's IT sector is small enough that people who worked together in one Infopark company routinely meet again in another.
Expect a counter-offer if you are valued. Think about it in advance. Counter-offers solve compensation but rarely solve the underlying reason people leave, which is usually growth, management, or the nature of the work. If pay was genuinely the only issue, a counter-offer can be reasonable. If it was not, accepting one often postpones the same decision by six months.
Serving the notice period well
How you spend your final weeks shapes your reference and your reputation. Document what you own, hand over properly, and complete what you reasonably can. Prepare a written handover covering your responsibilities, systems access, pending items, and who to contact for what.
Collect your documents before your last day: relieving letter, experience certificate, final payslips, Form 16, and PF details. Chasing these after you have left is considerably harder. Confirm the process for transferring or withdrawing your provident fund, and make sure your contact details on record are current.
What background verification actually checks
Most established IT companies run background verification either before or shortly after joining, usually through a third-party agency. Typical checks cover employment history including dates and titles, educational qualifications, address verification, and sometimes a criminal record check. Some client-facing roles add client-mandated checks.
Verification failures are almost never caused by imperfect careers. They are caused by discrepancies. Adjusted employment dates to hide a gap, an inflated job title, a salary figure that does not match payslips, or a degree year that differs from records — these are what cause offers to be withdrawn, sometimes after you have already resigned elsewhere.
The protection is straightforward: state everything accurately from the first application. A three-month gap honestly declared is a non-issue. The same gap concealed and then discovered is a serious one. Keep your own copies of offer letters, relieving letters, payslips, and certificates in one organised folder so you can respond quickly when the agency asks.
The gap between offer and joining
Stay in periodic contact with your new employer's HR during the notice period. Confirm the joining date, the reporting location and building, documents to bring, and the onboarding schedule a week or two in advance.
Offers are occasionally revoked before joining due to project changes or hiring freezes. It is uncommon but it happens. Reduce your exposure by not making irreversible commitments — a long lease, a relocation, a large purchase — until you have a confirmed joining date and, ideally, have completed background verification.
For what comes next, our guide on working in Infopark Kochi covers commute, housing, and campus practicalities for your first month.
Offer-stage checklist
- Title, location, campus, start date, and reporting line all match the discussion.
- Full compensation breakdown with fixed and variable separated.
- Probation length and confirmation criteria understood.
- Notice period, buyout policy, and leave adjustment clarified.
- Any bond duration, penalty, and document requirement reviewed carefully.
- Every verbal promise reflected in writing.
- All previous employment and education details declared accurately.
- Relieving letter and documents secured from your current employer.