10 Best Headhunting Agencies in Vietnam [2026]

TL;DR: Navigos Search, which calls itself Vietnam's first executive search firm, leads ten firms worth a call for senior hiring. Vietnamese headhunters charge 15% to 30% of annual gross salary, often on a 13-month base.

Since 1 July 2026, anyone can open a headhunting firm in Vietnam without a licence or a deposit. Resolution 66.18 replaced the five-year permit and its VND 300 million deposit with a notice. The licence numbers some firms still print no longer screen anyone out.

Quick comparison

Retained and contingency search are different products, not two prices for one service. Settle which one the role needs before you call anyone.

The 10 best headhunting agencies in Vietnam

1. Navigos Search

Navigos Search is the first call for a multinational or Japanese-owned company hiring a director in Vietnam. It opened in Ho Chi Minh City in 2003 and describes itself as the country's first executive search firm. Japan's en Inc. invested in 2013, and the group is now fully Japanese-owned. VietnamWorks, the country's best-known job board, is its sister company.

The executive search team names eight consultants covering banking, FMCG, IT, telecoms, manufacturing and logistics. Around it sit mid-level recruitment, recruitment process outsourcing and a Japan Desk for Japanese investors. The teams work from the e.town Central building in Ho Chi Minh City and the V Building on Ba Trieu Street in Hanoi.

Each January it publishes the Talent Guide, a salary and hiring report. The 2026 edition surveyed more than 250 businesses and 1,600 candidates, and found 30.66% of employees would consider quitting over insufficient pay. That is the number to have in hand before you set a salary band.

Its footer still carries employment service licence 3882/2024/14/SLĐTBXH-VLATLĐ, first issued in December 2015. That number records the firm's history, but since July the law no longer requires one.

• Best for: manager and director roles at multinationals, especially Japanese ones.
• Watch out: it publishes no fee, guarantee or engagement terms, so ask for them in writing.
• Model: retained search for senior roles, recruitment and RPO below that.

2. Second Talent

We are on our own list, so read this entry with that in mind. Second Talent suits a company hiring engineers, data specialists or AI talent in Vietnam that wants the person employed, not only introduced. We are not a retained search house, and we do not run board or C-suite searches.

Senior Vietnamese engineers cost $3,000 to $6,500 a month through us, a flat rate rather than a share of salary. That is 50% to 70% below a comparable US salary. The vetting happens before you brief us, which is how the shortlist arrives inside 24 hours, and we test AI-tool fluency rather than assume it from a CV.

There is no placement fee. We can hold the contract through our employer of record in Vietnam, which covers payroll, social insurance and the 13th-month salary, so you skip incorporation. Across more than 200 client companies we hold a 92% talent retention rate.

• Best for: engineering, data and AI hires where you want one monthly cost and no entity.
• Watch out: our non-technical bench is limited to design, sales development, data annotation and operations.
• Model: flat monthly rate per engineer, all-in, with no percentage fee.

3. Talentnet

Talentnet fits a company that wants its search partner to hold real pay data. The firm began in 2007 as the human resources services unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam and has partnered with Mercer since 2008. Together they run the Talentnet-Mercer Total Remuneration Survey. Its 2025 report covered 678 companies and put voluntary turnover at 6.6% for multinationals against 9.8% for local firms.

The executive search practice covers middle management to C-suite in consumer goods, professional services, manufacturing, ICT and banking. It sells both models: contingency, where "clients only pay for results", and retained executive search.

The firm claims more than 1,000 clients, consultants with 10+ years' experience on average, and a pool of 200,000+ managerial candidates. It works from the Star Building on Mac Dinh Chi Street in Ho Chi Minh City, with a presence in Hanoi, Da Nang and Can Tho. Founder and CEO Tiêu Yến Trinh still runs the firm, which opened in Cambodia and Singapore in 2024.

• Best for: leadership hires where you also want the salary benchmark behind the offer.
• Watch out: search is one line among payroll, PEO and outsourcing, so confirm who staffs your mandate.
• Model: contingency or retained, chosen per role.

4. HR2B

HR2B is for buyers who want a local search firm with international reach. It opened in July 2003 with two staff hiring general directors and directors, the same year as Navigos. In 2010 it bought Mekong International Services. In March 2013 it became the Vietnam office of Kestria, a search network of more than 70 offices in 35 countries.

HR2B publishes more hard numbers than any other firm here. Its executive search page claims more than 15,500 candidate search projects and over 10,000 specialists and senior managers placed for 650 companies. It says it interviews more than 1,000 senior candidates a month and holds a database of 110,000+. The firm names IT, banking and FMCG as its strongest sectors, and works from the Thien Son Building on Nguyen Gia Thieu Street in Ho Chi Minh City.

That Kestria link matters when a Vietnam role reports into Europe or the US. A partner office can check the candidate against the parent company's expectations before the offer goes out.

• Best for: C-level and niche roles in IT, banking and consumer goods.
• Watch out: it also runs payroll and staffing, and publishes no fee or guarantee.
• Model: executive search, with terms agreed per mandate.

5. Horton International Vietnam

Horton suits a company that wants a partner running the search in person, not a junior consultant. It has worked in Vietnam since 2005 and says it was the first international executive search firm to open here. The practice specialises in retained search, run from the VITIC Building in District 1 and an office in Tay Ho, Hanoi.

Partner and country manager Matthew McKay leads the Vietnam team. Managing partner Gary Woollacott covers Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. That span lets one relationship run a regional mandate, such as a Vietnam plant director and a Thai finance head for the same group.

Horton appears on our Philippine headhunter list for the same reason.

It also publishes research on the Vietnamese workforce, including a piece on the country's ageing population. That is the kind of context a board wants before it approves a country head.

• Best for: country heads, CFOs and searches spanning several Southeast Asian markets.
• Watch out: no published figures on placements, fees or timelines.
• Model: retained search, partner-led.

6. Headhunt Vietnam

Headhunt Vietnam is the local boutique for a buyer who wants retained search and a timeline in writing. Founded in 2012 by CEO Nam Hoang, it works "exclusively on retained mandates". No other firm on this list states that it refuses contingency work.

It also commits to a process on its homepage, which few firms do. It quotes six to ten weeks for an average search. It reports to the client every two weeks and follows up for 90 days after the hire starts. It offers a replacement guarantee, though it does not publish the period.

The firm claims more than 500 corporate clients, 90% of them multinationals, and over 1,000 placements. It also lists a database of 200,000 passive candidates. Testimonials come from the HR leads at Masan Consumer and Premier Oil Vietnam. It works from one office on Dien Bien Phu in Ho Chi Minh City, with a contact point in Frankfurt for European clients.

• Best for: director and head-of roles at multinationals that want a fixed process.
• Watch out: a single-office boutique, and the guarantee window is unpublished.
• Model: retained only.

7. Page Executive Vietnam

Page Executive is the pick for a global group that already buys from PageGroup elsewhere. It is the executive search brand of the company behind Michael Page. It handles board and non-executive director appointments and C-suite functions, with more than 350 principals and partners across 34 countries.

In Vietnam it works from the 20th floor of The Hallmark Tower on Tran Bach Dang Street in Ho Chi Minh City. The Michael Page team in the same office runs mid-level recruitment and publishes an annual Vietnam salary guide.

The network is the product. A multinational moving a finance director between Singapore, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City can run all three under one master agreement. It can also draw on candidates the Singapore office already knows.

• Best for: board seats and C-suite roles in groups with a global preferred-supplier list.
• Watch out: it publishes little that is specific to Vietnam, such as the local team's size or track record.
• Model: executive search, on PageGroup's global terms.

8. HR1Vietnam

HR1Vietnam serves foreign-invested factories. Much of its book is roles like a chief accountant who speaks Chinese or a production manager for a new plant in the north. With close to 200 recruitment consultants, it is one of the larger teams on this list.

The firm registered in 2012 and works from Pasteur Street in Ho Chi Minh City, with a Hanoi branch on Hoang Cau Street. It runs executive search alongside mass recruitment, HR consulting and two AI job platforms, HR1JOBs and HR1TECH. It also publishes an Industrial Workforce Demand Report for 2026. Its footer prints employment service licence 5884/2022/07/SLĐTBXH-VLATLĐ, issued in February 2022.

That factory focus matches where Vietnam's investment is going. Manufacturing took 82.6% of the foreign direct investment disbursed in the first eight months of 2026. A firm that fills line roles for the same plants often already knows the managers you want.

• Best for: Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean manufacturers staffing plant leadership.
• Watch out: senior search shares a floor with volume hiring, so ask who owns your role.
• Model: executive search plus mass recruitment.

9. PERSOL Vietnam

PERSOL Vietnam is the firm many hiring managers still call First Alliances. It opened more than 20 years ago as one of the country's first recruitment firms. In 2021 the PERSOLKELLY group folded First Alliances, Kelly and Capita into one business. PERSOL took 97.5% control in 2022, and the brand became PERSOL in 2025.

Its Vietnam business has offices in the Sonatus building in Ho Chi Minh City and Lotte Center in Hanoi.

Its About page describes more than 130 consultants in nine specialist teams, and executive search is one of its practice areas. The site carries a separate Japanese-language section for Japanese employers and job seekers. The firm also publishes a salary guide.

The rebrand is worth knowing about before you search for references. Placements made before 2025 sit under the First Alliances name.

• Best for: Japanese companies that want search and staffing from one supplier.
• Watch out: it is now mainly a staffing brand, and its homepage and About page give different team sizes.
• Model: executive search alongside permanent and contract staffing.

10. JAC Recruitment Vietnam

JAC Recruitment is the call when the role needs a second language, most often Japanese. The Japanese group has recruited for about half a century and operates in 12 countries. Its Vietnam business opened in 2013 and has offices in Ho Chi Minh City's Doji Tower on Ham Nghi Street and in Hanoi.

The Vietnam team covers manufacturing, trade, construction and real estate, IT, hospitality, finance, HR and legal roles, plus multilingual professionals. For a Japanese manufacturer that needs a bilingual plant manager or finance lead, that combination is hard to find elsewhere. The Hanoi office means northern plants get a local team rather than a flight from the south.

Its open roles lean to staff and mid-level positions, such as interpreters and sales staff. Treat it as a strong specialist for bilingual hiring rather than a board search firm.

• Best for: Japanese-speaking managers and specialists.
• Watch out: fewer senior mandates than the search houses above.
• Model: recruitment and search, success-based.

Vietnam stopped licensing headhunters on 1 July 2026

Headhunting counts as an "employment service" under the Law on Employment 74/2025/QH15. From January 2026 that meant a licence under Decree 352/2025. Six months later the government withdrew it. As Nhân Dân reported, firms "no longer need to meet the conditions on premises, staffing and deposit, or carry out the licensing procedure".

Two rules survived. Firms set their own prices but must post them publicly, and nothing caps what an employer pays, so ask for the published rate card. The penalty decree also still fines firms that skip the notice.

Staff leasing is a separate regime. A firm that leases workers from its own payroll still needs a VND 2 billion deposit and can only place them in 20 listed jobs for up to 12 months. General software development is not on that list, which is why engineers usually come through an employer of record.

Foreign hires add a timing rule. Under Decree 219/2025, a work permit lasts up to two years, and the employer files it 60 to 10 days before the start date. The employer must advertise the job to Vietnamese workers at least five days before filing. Run that advert while the search is still live, not after the offer.

What headhunting costs in Vietnam

Vietnamese firms quote in two currencies: a percentage of annual salary, or a flat number of months. CNK Consulting's fee page puts the market at 15% to 25% of annual salary, rising to 30% for the scarcest roles.

By level, CNK lists 15% to 18% for admin roles, 20% to 22% for IT and fintech, and 25% to 30% for C-level search. HRchannels charges one to two months of gross salary and lists a fixed VND 49 million package for director roles.

Converting everything to months shows the real gap. A flat two-month fee is cheaper than almost any percentage quote once the 13th-month salary joins the base.

CNK cites 60 to 90 days as the standard replacement guarantee and 180 days for senior management. Before you sign, compare quotes across staffing agency fee structures. Our recruitment agency fee calculator prices the same hire under each model.

Why senior searches in Vietnam run long

The shortlist problem starts with the workforce. The National Statistics Office counted 53.8 million workers in the second quarter of 2026. Only 29.8% held a degree or a vocational certificate.

Foreign investment keeps adding factories that each need a plant director, a finance lead and an HR head.

Government figures show 82.6% of that disbursed money went into manufacturing. In ManpowerGroup's latest survey, about half of the employers said a shortage of suitably skilled candidates is the main reason hiring takes so long.

The state is trying to widen the pool. Decision 1017/QD-TTg sets a target of 50,000 university-trained staff for the semiconductor industry by 2030. Until they arrive, employers fill senior roles by hiring each other's managers, which is the work headhunters charge for.

Bonus timing stretches searches too. Employers announce year-end bonuses in December and January, and Reeracoen describes the weeks after the Lunar New Year as the traditional job-switching period.

Choosing between them

Pick the model first, then the firm. Horton or Headhunt Vietnam should run a retained search for a country head or a CFO. A manager role with a deep local pool suits contingency at Navigos, Talentnet or HR2B. Groups with a global supplier list will go to Page Executive, and bilingual Japanese roles to JAC or PERSOL.

If the role is engineering, data or AI, you may not want an introduction at all. Tell us what you are hiring for and we will send a vetted shortlist inside 24 hours, employed through our Vietnam entity at a flat monthly rate. For the wider market first, see our list of IT recruitment agencies in Vietnam or the full cost to hire in Vietnam.

Frequently asked questions

Does a headhunting firm in Vietnam still need a licence?

No, not since 1 July 2026. A firm now files a notice with the provincial Department of Home Affairs five working days before it starts. Firms that lease staff on their own payroll still need a VND 2 billion deposit.

Do I need a Vietnamese entity to hire through a headhunter?

You need a legal employer, which does not have to be your own entity. A search firm introduces the candidate, but an employer of record can hold the contract and run Vietnamese payroll, insurance and tax.

How long does an executive search take in Vietnam?

Six to ten weeks is a realistic range for a retained search, which is what Headhunt Vietnam quotes. Add time around Tet, when senior candidates often wait for their bonus before resigning.