Employers seek out hands-on digital leaders; candidates prioritise job stability in 2024

Reflecting on the past year, Emmanuel L’Henoret, Manager at Robert Walters Vietnam, states that 2023 brought significant challenges for the tech and digital hiring market.

“Hiring activities were impacted across the board, from commercial profiles such as sales and marketing positions for tech companies through to roles in the digital and e-commerce divisions in non-tech industries like fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail and healthcare,” he explains.

Over the past year, the tech industry was impacted by the international financial market. This compelled many public companies in the sector to redirect their attention towards profitability amidst declining share prices. Non-public tech companies struggled with raising capital, with some C-level executives or directors leaving to alleviate their start-ups’ salary burdens and to maintain cashflow until the next funding round. Some start-ups even shuttered, while others faced delays in securing funding.

The global decline in venture capital (VC) investment also fell by 34% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. These industry dynamics underscore the complexities and uncertainties faced by the Digital sector in Vietnam during the year.

Read on to find out more about Emmanuel’s expectations for Vietnam’s labour market and hiring trends for Digital professionals in 2024.

Stability a plus point in uncertain times

More employees have resumed their daily commutes as their companies want them back in the office, a trend Emmanuel expects to continue going into 2024. “The prevailing model now is a flexible work arrangement, with employees being able to work from home a day or two in the week,” he adds.

Candidates are also going to be more prudent about the financial health of the company they are applying for, with Emmanuel sharing that more candidates are also expressing a preference for profitable, multinational corporation (MNCs) instead of tech companies.

Therefore, it is likely that more companies will begin highlighting their financial strength and stability during the hiring process to attract candidates.

In 2024, companies will seek out data-driven skillsets and basic technical skills, such as proficiency in Python, to differentiate between candidates – especially at the director level. There will also be a growing focus on whether the candidate is able to leverage AI tools to increase productivity (individual input of any employee from staff level to C-Level).

“Whatever the role, individual contribution is one of the top factors in mind for hiring teams in this unpredictable economic climate,” says Emmanuel.

“Candidates who can prove that they can raise their personal productivity to justify their role in the organisation will have an advantage.”

Now that productivity is a key focus point for the business, management teams are keeping a close eye on the hands-on effort and contribution that each employee brings to the table, no matter their seniority. As such, candidates who focus on only their management skills are less prized, and employers will also expect their senior level candidates to pitch in more as individual contributors.

The most sought-after roles in 2024 will be sales positions in software, cloud, enterprise resource planning and advertising, as well as positions in social commerce, such as experts in TikTok Shop.

Wide range of sales and marketing roles in demand

In 2024, FMCG companies are set to ramp up usage of data analytics to understand consumer behaviour, optimise marketing strategies and improve overall business performance. This means they will actively seek out professionals skilled in data analysis and interpretation. Professionals with experience in e-commerce strategies, digital marketing, and online retail management will also have a competitive advantage as these skills are highly valued for improving and maintaining online sales channels.

The top roles in FMCG include general managers, as well as positions in sales, key account management, and marketing and brand management.

Meanwhile, in the industrial sector, companies are proceeding carefully with hiring, despite signs of a gradual market recovery. However, positions in sales, business development, key account management and technical sales will continue to be in high demand. Country managers are also on companies’ radar.

Emerging businesses in consumer healthcare and vaccines are expected to attract talent from other industries, such as FMCG. In the pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors, hiring demand is expected to rise as companies become more optimistic about business performance when the economy recovers. This demand will be most pronounced for roles in sales, business development, marketing and technical healthcare.

Specific roles in healthcare that are most highly sought after are product or brand managers, key account managers and country managers.

Talent attraction and retention in 2024

“While candidates used to look for short-term salary increments, they are now more intentional about finding stable, long-term career opportunities moving forward,” shares Emmanuel. “They will continue to carefully assess the financial health of any companies they decide to try for.”

As such, Emmanuel recommends that companies focus on sharing long-term business prospects and internal career development opportunities to attract and retain candidates in the year ahead.

Salaries remain stable

In 2024, salaries will stay at present rates with no specific increments. Emmanuel points out that candidates who had their salaries inflated during the tech boom in previous years may be impacted.

Find out more

Request access to our 2024 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in Vietnam.