Finding an Occupation in Vietnam
Latest Update: November 8, 2021

This is relevant for:  Foreigners looking for jobs in Vietnam

Vietnam is becoming an increasingly attractive location for foreigners to live, work and contribute to the country`s development. However, as can be seen below it is not easy to land a well-paid job or self-employment here.


🛬 Landing a Job

🔭 Opportunities
For most foreigners, international investors will offer the highest potential of finding employment. While there are a lot of foreign companies invested in Vietnam, the overwhelming majority of their teams are Vietnamese. Most know-how nowadays can be found locally and some functions, such as local sales or accounting will have to be filled with locals due lingual, technical and cultural barriers. Jobs for foreigners are mostly reserved for top management, experts in certain niches as well as potentially international sales. In many instances these positions will be filled with internal personnel of the investors send to Vietnam from other locations abroad. Hence, getting into a job as an outsider can be quite difficult.

Lists of companies from certain countries in Vietnam can be obtained from the members lists of the bilateral chambers of commerce, e.g. iCham for Italy or BritCham for the UK. For Germany, info can be found here:
👉 Overview of German investors in Vietnam, click here
👉 German Business Association Vietnam, click here

It can also be worth looking into opportunities in local companies. These may offer interesting chances for inter-cultural experiences. However, the ways local companies are run are vastly different from Europe. Flexibility - e.g. in terms of payment, formalities and leadership - may be required from prospective foreign employees.


👩‍💻 Job Plattforms
Finding a job in Vietnam is similar to other countries. Most people consult online job platforms for openings and apply on them. Following, a selection of job platforms can be found. They also offer jobs in English to foreigners:
👉 Vietnamworks, the largest job platform in Vietnam, click here
👉 jobstreet.vn, another big platform, click here
👉 adecco, subsidary of the European company, click here
👉 ITViec, for IT jobs, click here

Our homepage as well as LinkedIn Jobs may also have some interesting positions in store.


🛂 Work Permits/Visas
Info on work permits and visas can be found here on page 8 onwards: 


🤠 Self-Employment

It is also possible for foreigners to establish companies in Vietnam. For future investors, we highly recommend to consider their USPs in Vietnam. Foreigners will have a very hard time meddling with "Vietnamese business". For example, sales functions are likely not a strong point of foreigners who neither understanding business culture nor language fully. However, sourcing or import jobs where contacts to customers abroad and certain know-how are necessary might carry potential.

Further info:
👉 FAQ - Establishing a company in Vietnam, click here
👉 FAQ - Operating a company in Vietnam, click here


Good Luck! 🙌


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