Hirers in Vietnam have posted the largest expansion trend in Southeast Asia, with 68 per cent of companies planning to increase their headcount in 2017, according to the Job Outlook Report 2017 from JobStreet.com.

No Vietnamese companies plan to freeze their hiring in 2017, the report found, while 20 per cent of companies in Singapore plan to do so; the highest in Southeast Asia.

Regarding job levels, 37 per cent of Vietnamese employers seeking to hire new staff find filling managerial positions to be the hardest, followed by junior staff, which is the hardest level to fill in Singapore and Thailand.

There is a positive outlook among both Hirers (4.57/10) and Candidates (4.5) regarding job outlook, while the average score in Southeast Asia is much lower, at 3.16 among Hirers and 3.46 among Candidates, which it a touch lower than in the Philippines, the most positive country, with Hirers at 4.87 and Candidates 4.83.  

Hirers from all industries have a positive outlook, with those in manufacturing and processing posting the most positive result. This is because Vietnam is continuing to see a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector, with FDI growth increasing from 9 per cent in 2015 to 9.7 per cent in 2016.

Candidates who are specialists in merchandising and marketing are ranked as having the most positive job outlook in 2017, as local consumption demand leads economic growth.

IT software developers and IT sales are the next highest in outlook ranking, as Vietnam is a growing IT hub and this will drive recruitment for specialists in cloud computing, big data, business intelligence, and information security.

The main drivers for candidates’ outlook is their confidence that job market growth will be driven by the emergence of new types of skills and jobs, as well as the fact that foreign companies will set up business in the country.

Candidates also indicate that it will be easy to find a good job. Those in the health and telecommunications industry rank their industry growth as the most positive and also foresee stiffer competition.

In this booming job market, Vietnamese candidates indicate that they actively monitor job opportunities via online job portals. The preferred job hunting channels are predominantly on the internet, such as job boards, company career websites, and social media, as used by 47 per cent of job seekers.

In response to this positive outlook and job searching trend, Ms. Angie Phang, General Director of JobStreet.com Vietnam, recommends that “with a limited candidate pool and increasing opportunities, a company’s brand image has never been more important. Communicating this positive image is critical and social media and online channels are the fastest, most pervasive tools.”

Also, “hire the right fit. Companies need to think about hiring candidates that are the right fit, both technically and culturally. Utilize personality tests and devise probing interview questions to avoid hiring in desperation.”

Hirers need to decide quickly in a booming job market and need to realize the importance of shortening the hiring time, as many candidates have multiple offers. Don’t lose them to the competition by reacting too slow, Ms. Phang recommends.

Hirers should also be proactive, and one of the winning ways to train and develop the best talent is to hire interns. Companies are able to train them the right way from the beginning and continue to develop and grow their skills. The effort spent on development programs is commonly offset by lower starting wages for workers and greater loyalty.

Last but not least, Ms. Phang said, “Engage and retain. Survey market wage plans and hiring trends to ensure job offers are attractive enough to retain employees.”

VN Economic Times