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When is The Best Time to Hire Employees in Vietnam?

Mar 11, 2019

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The three-month period following the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Tet up to April is the best time to hire employees in Vietnam.

Recruiters in Vietnam call it “The Golden Period of Recruitment” as the local labor market will receive a fresh pool of job-seekers who are eager to look for a new job after they have received their yearly bonus before the Tet holidays.

However, despite the abundance of candidates and the dynamic nature of the job market during this period, many companies in Vietnam struggle with finding and retaining qualified employees.

In this article, you will find essential tips for recruiting employees in Vietnam.

How to attract young talents in Vietnam?

Around 1 million fresh graduates enter the Vietnamese job market each year which means that there are plenty of motivated young people who are ready to take action.

However, it is important to note that many talented graduates may skip the process of adding their resume to job portals altogether and apply directly to selected companies. Therefore, it is a wise move to get direct contact with them already at the university.

An excellent opportunity for reaching prospective talents is career events held at universities. There are many universities in Vietnam fostering talents in areas including:

Business and social sciences
Engineering
Science and technology

Some of the most notable ones being:

University	Location
Vietnam National University	Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology	Ho Chi Minh City
University of Da Nang	Da Nang, Central Vietnam
Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST)	Hanoi
Ton Duc Thang University	Ho Chi Minh City
Can Tho University	Can Tho, Mekong Delta region
University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City	Ho Chi Minh City

However, networking at universities takes quite a fair amount of time and managers do not generally have much extra time at their disposal.

Let Emerhub know what kind of skills your company needs, and we will find the talents on your behalf.

Headhunting senior level employees in Vietnam

“A company is only as good as its people. ” – Kathryn Minshew

While job search portals and universities are good starting points for finding candidates for entry-level positions, it is not as easy to recruit qualified and experienced professionals who, generally, are not actively looking for new jobs online.

As experienced executives may not even be interested in changing jobs at first, the key to winning over senior-level talents is to make the position attractive by approaching them at the right angle.

If you need executives, the most strategic way is to use a professional headhunter who has the right skill set and the necessary experience to sell the position.

Among others, the key benefits of incorporating a professional headhunter when you want to hire employees in Vietnam is that it allows you to:

Access a bigger pool of talents
Find candidates that fit your company better
Save time and money
Focus on your core business

Emerhub is here to help you navigate the Vietnamese labor market – from junior staff to executive level professionals.

Book a free consultation at [email protected].

Key things to consider when hiring employees in Vietnam

Before starting any new employment relationships in Vietnam, there are a few cornerstones that you must keep in mind.

Agree on salary composition and benefits

In 2019, the minimum salary in Ho Chi Minh City and most urban areas in Vietnam is VND 4,180,000 (~US$ 180). Working overtime must be compensated by 150-300%, and you can consider offering allowances to your employees, such as:

fuel and transportation
parking
meal allowances

You should also agree on whether or not you pay the 13th salary to your employee. The 13th salary, also known as the annual bonus, is generally paid out before the Tet holidays.

By law, companies in Vietnam are not required to pay the 13th salary. However, it is a market practice to do so, and it will also strengthen your company’s employee retention.

In fact, according to a survey by Vietnam Works, 27% of the respondents would consider changing jobs when they’d be dissatisfied with their Tet bonuses.

Prepare employment contract

Employment contracts in Vietnam can be for a definite or indefinite period. Contracts for a fixed period can be renewed one time before it becomes an indefinite contract. If employment lasts less than three months, the contract does not have to be in a written form.

Employment contracts should:

state the employee’s salary
include reference to the company’s internal policy
state that insurance payments and payments to a trade union (not including PIT) will not be paid during the probation period

Probation period in Vietnam for positions requiring high technical skill (for example, higher education) is 60 days and 30 days for jobs that don’t require particular skills.

Register your employees and sign up for social insurance

There is no need to pay social insurance for your employee during their probation period. However, once the probation period ends, it is compulsory to register your employees and sign them up for social insurance.

We have further explained the paid and unpaid leaves, employment taxes, and 2019 minimum wages in our article on payroll management in Vietnam.

To take no chances and prevent any inconveniences from arising in the future, consult with a professional before you hire employees in Vietnam to ensure that you comply with all the relevant regulations stated in the Labor Code.

Emerhub can assist you with drafting or localizing employment contracts for your company in Vietnam as well as with optimizing your employees’ taxes. Contact us at [email protected].

How to hire employees in Vietnam with Emerhub

Employee turnover costs you time and money. With all the extra tasks accompanying recruitment and the replacement of employees, many companies let professional recruiters handle the whole process. In turn, careful selection of employees helps them reduce employee turnover.

Emerhub offers a full service for employee recruitment in Vietnam. All you need to do is describe what kind of positions you are looking to fill – what are the main tasks, requirements and what kind of benefits you offer – and we will handle the rest:

best time to hire employees in Vietnam