Jobs For Expats In Vietnam

Vietnam is not only a famous tourist attraction but also a great place for expats to live with a potential market of well-paid jobs for foreigners, especially in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang,etc.

As Vietnam’s economy becomes one of the fastest growing and largest in SE Asia, many travelers are finding opportunities to stay and work and expand their careers. In this article, we go over where to look for employment online in Vietnam and offer some advice on the country's hiring practices.

As a foreigner, Vietnam is not necessarily easy to find work, but it is certainly much more doable than other Asian countries. For example, Vietnam is very different from China, which bars foreigners from working normal jobs outside of ESL, spies on foreigners incessantly, and recently destroyed the private English-tutoring industry that was one of the only ways to live legally in China as a foreigner.

If you want to experience the real Vietnam, earn enough money to live and travel around the whole nation, this article will provide you some necessary information about jobs for expats in Vietnam.

Here is a list of the top 5 well-paying jobs for expats in Vietnam which are most frequently applied for

I. Popular Jobs For Expats In Vietnam

1. English teacher

When the country is growing and developing, education is highly valued in Vietnam, and the best employment for expatriates is teaching English because there is a growing demand for ESL instructors to meet Vietnamese demand. In parent’s thought, education is the key to success and English is the incapable part of this process because of the integration with the global economy to promote the country’s development.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of foreign language centers such as ILA, VUS, and ACET. Take a walk down the street, you can easily meet an English center whether you are in any district. Additionally, English teachers hold classes in their homes. The more crowded the better the teacher and the more well-known they are.

You can apply at the following places to work as an English teacher:

- 51 Nguyen Cu Trinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City: ILA Vietnam 

- 189 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City: VUS

- 187 Vo Thi Sau, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City: ACET

Or if you have a business background, you can apply as a lecturer in international colleges in Ho Chi Minh city. However, you must pass several interviews and prove to have enough skills and knowledge for teaching to be accepted. 

The salary for English teachers is not too high in comparison with Western countries, but compared with the low living cost in Vietnam, expats can get a comfortable life.

Chinese, Japanese, French, German teachers are also a good career for expats since most schools have at least one of these classes.

2. Food & Beverage providers

In Vietnam, it is quite easy to start a café, bakery, or restaurant, and foreigners are welcome to establish and run these enterprises. You don’t have to be famous or have a well-known brand to attract customers to your diner.

A foreign restaurant not only attracts expats because of their homesickness but also locals to experience foreign food and culture. Due to its distinctiveness, a restaurant with an unusual design will draw guests, and a restaurant with excellent food will gain a solid reputation.

If you are planning to open a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh city, I suggest you should figure out your strengths that could attract customers first before taking the next steps.

3. Tour guide

Every year, Vietnam welcomes millions of tourists all over the world. The need for a good tour guide is very high in order to satisfy even the hardest guest.

A foreign tour guide is a great job for expats since you not only earn a high salary but also have the chance to explore Vietnam without any cost. The reason is simple: many tourists want to experience Vietnam in the same way as those who have lived there for a long time did.

Why not sign up for a tour guide right away if you have a hunger for adventure.

4. Content writer

Nowadays, whether a company wants to surpass its competitors, unique content that attracts viewers is one of the greatest tools for the job. With the rise of the Internet, the needs for digital marketing and content writers are growing.

In Vietnam, these occupations are very new and mostly apply in big companies or start-up companies. Hence, many expats choose this job as full-time writers or content makers, launching their own blogs or websites to cooperate with local companies for online marketing campaigns.

5. IT

This era is led by technology, so IT is one of the hottest jobs in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. Web developers, programmers, and software developers will have a lot of chances as the Internet, mobile devices, and online games develop. Having a strong technical background and knowledge about programming languages such as C, C++, SQL, … is the key for getting a well-paid job.

Vietnam is still a developing country and its technology is still limited. Due to these issues, foreigner’s skills and knowledge are highly sought-after to bridge the gap between Vietnam and the world.

IT jobs are becoming more important in this information era, especially for developing countries like Vietnam with a quick growth and great potential of technology.

II. Best Sources for Expat Employment in Vietnam

1. VietnamWorks - The Best Online Job Board for Vietnam (in English)

The greatest website for posting jobs in Vietnam, across all sectors, pay scales, and regions, is VietnamWorks. Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang are the cities with the most employment opportunities for foreigners.

There are many jobs available that are in English. Whether it be Vietnamese, English, Korean, etc., the website does a wonderful job of clearly stating the linguistic requirements for each job. Additionally, the job postings provide detailed information about perks and salary, so there is little doubt about the position, where it is located, how much it pays, etc. Some employment opportunities appear to be phony or to be a marketing gimmick ("Look how quickly our business is expanding—we're recruiting foreigners!”).

One beneficial aspect of VietnamWorks is that it enables you to create an online resume and walks you through the requirements for CVs and cover letters in Vietnam. Pay attention to the following distinctions, etc., as Vietnamese resumes differ from resumes in the USA or Canada.

2. The Hub for Expat Jobs in Vietnam is Facebook Groups

In Vietnam, Facebook is quite well-liked. And, unlike in the West, the Vietnamese utilize Facebook quite well for a larger range of economic activities, such as jobs and business relationships, in addition to social chit-chat and baby videos.

You should sign up for several Vietnamese "Facebook Groups" in the city where you intend to live as a job seeker. In Vietnam, Facebook groups are highly popular, and there are many that are particularly expat-friendly or that focus on jobs for expats (i.e. the posts are mostly in English). The majority of Facebook groups are "private groups" that require approval to join (be sure to beef up your profile on Facebook before applying), but others function like a Wild West Craigslist and some are imitations of imitations. Others combine job postings with apartment postings and other things, while some are solely dedicated to teaching ESL in Vietnam.

3. LinkedIn – Follow Vietnamese Companies for Jobs

For larger organizations who actively maintain a competent HR/marketing department, LinkedIn can be used to find opportunities in Vietnam.

Additionally, you should keep an eye on the big multinational companies developing in Vietnam, such as Citibank (USA), Proctor & Gamble (USA), Siemens (Germany), Arep (French), and even Pizza Hut (USA). These businesses are most likely to have bilingual offices there and are open to employing foreign workers. Such offices are without a doubt the nicest, most enjoyable, and meaningful places for expats to work in Vietnam, according to those of us who have worked there directly.

All you need to do to utilize LinkedIn to locate employment in Vietnam is submit an application for the relevant country-filter.

The greatest place to look for new economic and digital jobs in Vietnam, including marketing, machine learning, and engineering, is LinkedIn. Although there are ESL and teaching positions available, they are less useful.

4. CareerLink.vn – Find Jobs in Vietnam

A good website for finding jobs in Vietnam is CareerLink.vn, which features many of the major Vietnamese companies and has a clean layout and in-depth job descriptions.

However, it also appears to be the depository for temporary staffing firms disguising themselves as real job advertisements. Additionally, it has fewer occupations for foreigners and is better suited to native Vietnamese speakers. Additionally, the job descriptions don't indicate the language requirements specifically.

Therefore, if you're an expat looking for work in Vietnam, it's a good idea to keep an eye on CareerLink.vn, but only after exploring all other possibilities.

Vietnamese resume and cover letter hints:

- A photo must be included. Unless you work in an extremely creative area like performing, you should have a great classic haircut and wear appropriate clothing (such as a suit and tie). Since many Vietnamese rivals are using beautifying filters to enhance their profile photos, using them will give you an advantage.

- Extended resumes are preferable. In contrast to the USA/Canada, where anything longer than one page is pretentious unless you're a CEO, this is a 180-degree turn.

- Private information is preferred. Your age, birthplace, date of birth, and marital status are all factors that, if utilized to make hiring decisions in the West, would be viewed as discriminatory. However, in Vietnam, these factors might occasionally be crucial. For instance, in Vietnam, a person's prestige and power are intrinsically linked to their age.

I'm hoping this information will be useful to you as you choose your ideal apartment in Ho Chi Minh City. Please get in touch with us if you need any assistance from a local professional with free searching services (landlords are the only ones who must pay).