Services & Business

Managing Director RGF Executive Search VietnamNga Vuong

Bringing happiness to people from the Vietnamese job market

RGF, more regional coverage than anyone else in Asia*

RGF (Recruit Global Family) is the international brand of Recruit, Japan's largest comprehensive human resources service. With nearly 50 locations, the most of any such service in Asia, RGF's recruitment services　offer support for all industries and levels of experience from new graduates to executives. At RGF Executive Search Vietnam Nga Vuong is the Managing Director leading the local team.

After graduating from university, Nga was involved in UN-affiliated organizations, NGOs, as well as social science, social support, education, and training endeavors in a variety of fields in her hometown of Hanoi. In 2003 she journeyed to The Netherlands, where she provided support to associations inviting over students from Asia. Nga then returned to Vietnam for work before establishing a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh, and has since built a career on connecting Asia and Europe. She has also implemented training programs to help students acquire the communication and interview skills they need to find employment.

Though Nga later obtained a position at an acclaimed executive search firm, she eventually encountered and joined RGF in 2012. She now heads offices in Vietnam's two leading cities, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, as the executive recruitment, Managing Director, handling job searches for executives to middle-level managerial personnel.

*As of January 2016.
*Top ranked in comparison with Japanese agents and global executive search firms.

Issues facing Vietnamese youths searching for jobs

Vietnam is currently a source of interest for many countries as a market with particularly high potential in Asia. The domestic job market in Vietnam is concentrated in two locations, with 70 to 80% in Ho Chi Minh and 20 to 30% in Hanoi. RGF maintains teams in both cities in order to assist the client company's growth through finding the optimal talent in varied industry, function and experiences of the human capital.

"The Vietnamese market in 2016 is largely defined by its concentration on consumer products. Aside from supply chain, logistics, and sourcing, companies involved in fields such as education, hospitality, and healthcare are also seeing growth. The number of investors focusing on manufacturing and factories in Vietnam is on the rise as well, so that is another sector we are putting effort into. While we do recruit finance directors or CEOs to fill corporate executive roles for clients, the majority of the demand we see is for management level personnel, so at the present most of the support we offer is devoted to this tier of positions."

Though Nga provides executive and mid-level recruitment services, she also keeps a vigilant eye on employment conditions for students and other young people. She continues to give as much assistance as she can individually alongside carrying out her normal duties.

"When I returned from The Netherlands in 2006, I learned that young people in Vietnam lack confidence because they do not possess the skills needed to apply for many positions. I knew that I had to do something to tackle this issue. These past few years I have worked as a social trainer at several schools in Vietnam, doing what I can to ensure that students acquire skills that will be useful in the workplace. While sharing information with the Recruit Group in Japan as part of this process, I was told of a project called the 'Recruit WORKFIT Program' that is meant to help job seekers with similar concerns. I found this program to be very interesting and thus volunteered to bring it over to Vietnam."

Giving young people essential skills and chances to find job information

The Recruit WORKFIT Program is a unique project aimed at broadening the horizons of young people who lack confidence in their job-hunting abilities so that as many of them as possible can find employment. The program includes activities such as seminars for honing interviewing and self-presentation skills as well as practical exercises focusing on group work.

"Many students in Vietnam don't know how to access job listings, while schools here oftentimes don't provide training or instruction on how to find such information. In other words, young people here don't have the opportunity to learn skills such as how to find jobs, fill out application forms, submit applications, or go through the interviewing process. This is why I thought it was so important that we introduce something like the Recruit WORKFIT Program that not only helps young people gain these essential skills, but is also perfect for schools looking to support employment."

In fact, Vietnamese universities and students have voiced positive views of the program each of the three times it has been held from October 2015 up to this point. Nga Vuong and the RGF Executive Search Vietnam team, who acted as facilitators, apply knowhow from Recruit in Japan to the local situation, and continue to work diligently in the hope that they can create as many participants as possible.

"The Recruit WORKFIT Program has proven extremely useful in helping Vietnamese students gain the skills they need to find employment in the future. One of the other reasons I was dead-set on bringing it here is that I believed that introducing it as an official Recruit program would increase recognition of Recruit throughout Asia. It would make me happy if this program created chances to share Recruit's contributions to society."

I was born to help people

"In college I was involved in a field of research known as 'populace culture', which is the study of the arts, music, and human behavior. When I later began working at one of the international schools here in Hanoi, I felt that I wanted to put these ideas into practice with children and various other people. Thinking back on it, ever since my days in university I've always been interested in human-resource management and development. This is what led me to become so deeply involved in these areas."

As her words demonstrate, Nga Vuong's path in life has included an ever-present desire to help others. Her current business and work style of bringing happiness to many people by acting as a go-between for companies and those seeking work has proven to be a dream job.

"I think this desire to help people has been a part of my personality since birth. I never asked things of others - ever since I was a child I always did what I could to assist my family, and put others before myself in almost every situation. That's why I'm often called a 'people person'."

Organization that offers chances to take the initiative

RGF and the international recruitment businesses in Recruit Group adheres to seven company values: integrity, respect, teamwork, kaizen, accountability, boldness and fun. Nga says that she has embraced these concepts and strives to make them a part of how she goes about her duties. She works with the unshakeable conviction that is unique to team leaders.

"It's important to be bold and just do things, to not be afraid and just try; basically, to learn through action. The best way to get this philosophy to spread within my teams and company is to practice it myself. I make sure that my staff understands what I am doing each day and take the initiative so that I can at least serve as a model to them. If my team members see that their leader is doing thing that they haven't done yet, then they will have no choice but to try, too."

Nga lives up to her words by taking the lead position in appointments and meetings with clients, and by making sure that she works harder than anyone else each day from morning to night.

"RGF and Recruit Group are large organizations, but they are also companies that give us employees plenty of opportunities to take the initiative when it comes to things we truly want."

True value is contributing to the country, community, and people, not just the company

Nga Vuong's amazing efforts and sincere attitude towards her work have earned her the deep trust of not only the staff of RGF Executive Search Vietnam, but also the members of the Recruit Group in Japan. Her superior skills and character would make her a top choice for competitors at other companies. But, Nga has no doubts in her choice to work at RGF Executive Search Vietnam.

"There are many opportunities for my colleagues and me here. This is just as true now as it was when I first arrived here four years ago. If it had changed, I most likely would not be here now. My goal of making the world a happier place also remains unchanged. Just last year we implemented this CSR project that made me love this company even more. Sometimes we have to act a bit boldly to achieve our objectives, but I think that true value comes from actions that contribute to the country, community, and people, not just our business."

There is no doubt that Nga Vuong will continue to work alongside the Recruit Group in taking the lead by "just do it, by not being afraid to try" when it comes to bringing happiness to people in Vietnam.

"My goal in life is to make people happy. Being a happy person means living as a 'people person'. If I act as a people person, then I am sure that those around me will be happy. And if everyone is happy, then I can be a happy person, too."

Nga Vuong

Managing Director, RGF Executive Search Vietnam

Nga heads RGF Executive Search Vietnam, with an office in Ho Chi Minh City and another in Hanoi. She enjoys conducting searches focused on senior executive appointments across a number of functions and industries, including consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, education and manufacturing.

Nga has more than 19 years of international experience in human resources, education and training, and general management. Prior to joining RGF and setting up RGF Executive Search Vietnam in April 2012, Nga was a Principal at Odgers Berndtson, a UK-based global executive search firm, where she had managed Vietnamese operations.

Before entering the executive search industry, Nga worked for a number of educational institutions in Vietnam and the Netherlands. A passionate advocate of continuous education, Nga holds a Master's Degree in Human Resources and Employment from the International Institute of Social Studies, at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

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Jun 8, 2016

This article is based on information available at the time of publication.