What it does: Consumer banking, corporate banking, investment banking, foreign exchange transactions and bancassurance.
Best known for: Vietcombank is known for its customer-centric approach and modern banking initiatives such as mobile apps and customer portals.
Staff stats: Around 17,000 employees in about 100 branches and 430 transactional offices spread across Vietnam.
The good bits: It’s one of the few state-owned companies that have a corporate culture that doesn’t rely on bureaucracy. The company compensates employees well with high salaries and many bonuses.
The not so good bits: A poor work-life balance with shifts that can last 10-12 hours per day.
On April 1, 1963, the Agency of Foreign Exchange under the State Bank of Vietnam was separated and the Bank of Foreign Trade of Vietnam was created to advise, manage and create policies for foreign exchange transactions. It diversified its services and became a mass-market commercial bank in 1990. The current official title, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade in Vietnam, was adopted in 1996. In 2008, it was selected as a pilot project for the privatization of state-owned companies. On June 30, 2009, it was listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange under the symbol VCB and is the largest listed company in Vietnam by market capitalization.
Vietcombank hires graduates throughout the year for various positions. The banking sector in Vietnam has a high turnover rate so it’s not unusual to find around 300 openings at any given time on the Vietcombank career page. A large percentage of these positions are for graduates.
Graduates must be 35 years or less on the application submission deadline. Fluency in English is a must for most positions, with a minimum grade of C required for English as a foreign language. Positions that have heavy interaction with customers will require a higher grade. All positions will have the required grade clearly marked in the advertisement.
Vietcombank is one of the modern banks in Vietnam that makes good use of technology. Some IT knowledge, specifically working knowledge of MS Office is a clear advantage. For certain jobs, this is a strict requirement.
For each job, the bank chooses candidates from a specific set of local universities. The list of local universities is clearly mentioned in the advertisement. Graduates from foreign universities can apply for various positions, but there are no clear criteria defined for them.
For most jobs, the interview process takes about two days. The candidate will have to face an IQ test, EQ test and a personality test. Finally, the candidate will face a panel interview, with questions about why they think they are suitable for the position; why they left their previous employment; what kind of projects did they get involved in at university. The panel interview usually lasts about 30 minutes and candidates are invited to ask questions at the end.
Although Vietcombank is one of the modern banks in Vietnam with a strong corporate culture it is still a state-owned bank and bureaucracy plays a big role in the decision-making process. Some of the top positions are government appointments. Because there is no well-defined career path, graduates might struggle to understand what they need to achieve to reach the next level. There are very few senior positions available, resulting in high competition among fresh graduates to reach those positions. It is not unusual to find some people working in the same position for 5-10 years.
Vietcombank is known for its corporate culture, where there is a high level of trust and mutual respect towards each other. Customer care comes naturally to Vietcombank employees because it is part of the culture. It is one of the first things graduates are trained in, and there are constant training programs to educate the employees on the latest trends and best practices. Employee feedback is valued and encouraged. There is an annual contest where employees can pitch ideas and win prizes if their ideas are selected for implementation.
Special days like Independence Day and the Lunar New Year are celebrated across the bank. If employees are stressed out and looking for a break, then there are many events to participate in, such as annual events like the sports day, elegant couple competition and mini-football tournaments. At the branch level, there are many activities organized by the youth clubs, ranging from mini-marathons to singing competitions.
These activities have contributed to making the bank known as the best bank to work in Vietnam. It also came second in the best places to work competition in 2019.
Vietcombank contributes heavily to the government poverty reduction program. They build and donate houses to the poor, give grants to poor families to start businesses, give scholarships to needy children to continue their studies and have allowance programs for single-parent families.
In the health sector, they donate ambulances, hospital beds and medical equipment.
At Vietcombank you’ll be working at one of the few state-owned companies that have a corporate culture. You’ll be surrounded by smart and helpful colleagues who will work together to achieve company goals. You’ll be compensated very well with frequent bonuses. However, be prepared for long shifts that last for 10-12 hours, a long wait for a promotion and stressful days figuring out how to reach the sales targets.