Recruitment in Vietnam for foreign companies
CNK Consulting helps companies based outside Vietnam find, approach and screen local talent for management, commercial, operations and market-entry roles — including before a legal entity or an in-country HR function exists.
When do foreign companies need to hire in Vietnam?
The situations we see most often as a business first enters the Vietnamese market.
- Testing the Vietnamese market before incorporating or opening an office.
- Needing a local representative to work with partners, suppliers and customers.
- Building a first local team without an HR function in Vietnam.
- An overseas team that does not know local salary levels or how candidates apply here.
- Job ads that return profiles at the wrong seniority or from the wrong industry.
What makes remote hiring in Vietnam difficult
- Experience is hard to verify through online interviews and written profiles alone.
- Salary and benefits vary widely between industries and between regions.
- Strong professionals are usually settled in their roles and absent from public job boards.
- Time-zone and language gaps stretch the process, and good candidates drop out midway.
- No one on the ground in Vietnam to run background and reference checks before a decision.
Roles CNK supports
We focus on the roles that set the pace of your market entry.
Country representatives and country managers
Business development managers and directors
Sales managers and regional commercial leads
Operations managers and supply chain leads
HR, finance and administration for a first local team
Engineering and production roles for businesses with manufacturing partners in Vietnam
How the process works
01. Clarify context and goals
We discuss the target market, operating model and expectations for your first hire in Vietnam.
02. Benchmark against the market
We share a view on salary levels, talent availability and feasibility before the search opens.
03. Approach relevant candidates
We reach out directly to people with the right industry background, including those not job hunting.
04. Screen and align expectations
First-round interviews test motivation to move and readiness to work with an overseas team.
05. Present a candidate list
Profiles come with our read on strengths, watch-outs and salary expectations.
06. Support through to start date
We coordinate interviews across time zones, support negotiation and stay close until day one.
Map the talent market before you hire
When it is not yet clear whether Vietnam has enough candidates for the role you have in mind, talent mapping gives you the size of the talent pool, prevailing salaries and the level of competition before you commit budget.
How this differs from headhunting for FDI
The two pages serve two different stages of the same journey into Vietnam.
- This page is for companies still based abroad, without a legal entity or HR function in Vietnam.
- The FDI page is for businesses already operating a plant, office or entity in Vietnam.
- If your business is already established here, the FDI page is the closer fit.
Related services
Frequently asked questions
Can CNK help before we have a legal entity in Vietnam?
Yes. Many businesses hire a representative or first commercial person before incorporating. We set that context openly so we approach candidates who accept the arrangement.
Can you advise on the right salary level?
Yes. We provide a view on salary levels by industry, seniority and region so your offer sits correctly against the Vietnamese market.
Our team does not speak Vietnamese — how do interviews work?
We screen language ability in the first round and only present candidates able to work directly with an overseas team.
How long until we see the first candidates?
It depends on how rare the role is. For most management and commercial roles, a first candidate list usually follows two to four weeks after the brief is agreed.
Start hiring in Vietnam
Send us your hiring need and we will discuss the role, the market context and the approach that fits your current stage.