Overseas Vietnamese talents find fulfillment back home

Travelling around the world to find our way back home

"We travel overseas to find our way back home," said Nguyen Le Tung.

The 37-year-old market development manager at Boston Scientific, a leading manufacturer of medical devices with offices across 100 countries, studied and worked abroad for many years. 

He got his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from Webster University, Thailand, and got a scholarship from Arizona State University, the U.S., where he got a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering. He spent eight years in the U.S. 

After returning to Vietnam, he moved to Singapore to work for four years. He gained valuable insights into different working environments and cultures, and this experience has helped excel no matter where he goes. 

But, "each time I returned, I deeply felt that I was miles away from where I originally started. Since 2009, Vietnam has gone through significant changes in working environment and quality of life, which definitely offers more favourable conditions for talented people to return and develop."

"Each time I returned, I deeply felt that I was miles away from where I originally started", said Tung Nguyen.

Another reason for returning to Vietnam, he said, is that he has young children. "My wish for them is to be fluent in Vietnamese and English. They should understand their roots better."

Sharing and contributing 

Some may say that returning home to share his experiences is a pretentious rationale, but Huy Nguyen's (born 1982) story says otherwise. 

He is currently Creative Director at Infinity Blockchain Labs, a pioneer in blockchain R&D in Vietnam. This field is still rather new, and local professionals are yet to gain new information and acquire new skills. Finding professional developers with high skill levels is a demanding task, many firms and headhunters have said.

Huy Nguyen is currently Creative Director at Infinity Blockchain Labs, a pioneer in blockchain R&D in Vietnam.

With more than 10 years of work experience in Graphic, UX and UI design in Singapore, Huy Nguyen's decision to return was based on the growth potential of blockchain in Vietnam, and the motivation of sharing his experience and knowledge with the next generation of developers. 

"I don't mind organizing training workshops at least once a month for my colleagues. I find satisfaction in knowing that I'm helping my country from simple and small acts like that."

Millennials finding themselves

Lace Nguyen, 24, studied Comparative Literature at Washington University and graduated with a high GPA of 3.82, but her passion was fashion. After interning with big fashion houses including Armani, Bottega and Veneta, she began working as fashion copywriter in New York for luxury retailer Bloomingdale's.

With these kinds of horizon widening experiences, settling in the “promised land" has been the dream for many Vietnamese students. However, getting the post-study visa and getting a job in America is a challenging task for international students. 

Lace Nguyen chose not to pursue the “dream”. She returned home, determined to put her writing skills to use. Working closely with Robert Walters with the "Come Home Phở Good" campaign, Lace has found a dream job as a copywriter at Anduin Transactions within a short period of time. 

Lace Nguyen returned home, determined to put her writing skills to use.

The company is a start-up with headquarters in San Francisco and a broad network across Asia. Working in a dynamic environment, and being surrounded with passionate colleagues, Lace feels happy and satisfied with her decision to come home. 

"To find your passion, you need to find what you're good at and what makes you feel fulfilled. The energy from my colleagues and their trust, together with open career opportunities have been worth it," said Lace Nguyen.

The stories of Lace Nguyen, Tung Nguyen or Huy Nguyen are a few examples of many Vietnamese returning home from around the world through the “Come Home Phở Good” campaign launched by Robert Walters Vietnam. 

With a global network across 28 countries and a dedicated customer relationship management system, Robert Walters Vietnam works very closely with its offices across the world to connect with Vietnamese professionals living abroad.

Since the campaign was launched two years ago, Come Home Phở Good has reached out to more than 5,000 Vietnamese talents. At least 1,200 of them have shared their desire to return home and find a suitable job.

"To meet the rising demand for local talent, we reach out via various channels such as newsletters, market updates, job alerts, a microsite, media coverage and networking events. 

“We invite overseas Vietnamese professionals to meet with Robert Walters consultants in our office to discuss opportunities back home in Vietnam," said Tra Tran - International Candidate Manager for Robert Walters Vietnam.

This return of human capital is important for the mid to senior level labour market and for the Vietnamese economy as a whole.

"We aim to be the first touch point for overseas Vietnamese professionals who are looking to establish a career in Vietnam and match their skills and experience to the roles that our clients are looking for in a market short of candidates,” she added.