State employment still favored by most Vietnamese job seekers

Nguyen Thi Mong Van, a 24-year-old accounting graduate in Hanoi, has found a job as an accountant in a local public kindergarten here and said she is happy with her work.

"Despite low salary, my position is a dream of many others as it is stable," Van said, adding that her salary during her probation period is around 1.7 million Vietnamese dong (80 U.S. dollars) a month.

She said that after her probation, her salary will be raised to over 2 million Vietnamese dong (95 U.S. dollars) per month.

Vietnamese people prefer working in state-run institutions since most of them equate working in government as insurance for their future. They are saying that working in government is more stable compared to the private sector.

This preference for state institutions is not a new phenomenon but is deeply rooted in the Vietnamese psyche.

Nguyen Van Choan, 44, from northern Nam Dinh province, said that her nephew, who took an entrance exam to university this year, is expected to work in a state-run agency or company after graduation following the aspiration of the whole family.

In a recruitment of the Hanoi Tax Department in mid-August, long lines of applicants with their resumes were queuing outside the building, most of them eager to start a career in the state- run agency.

Those who are now working in state offices and those who are still aspiring to get hired in the government share a common belief about working in government: it provides good income, stability, time flexibility, more benefits and the chance to get promoted as one gets older.

Stability is definitely the No. 1 consideration for working in government because the government institutions seldom lay off employees, Van said.

"To most Vietnamese, state employment means you don't have to worry about being fired and one is guaranteed of pension after retirement," said Van.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, 26, who works in a private enterprise in Hanoi, said that if there is an opening, she would like to work in a government agency. She said that in her present job, she has to observe strict work schedule.

"The working environment in a state-run office is more relaxed and apart from the annual leave, having a few extra days off will not affect the monthly salary of an employee," said Thuy.

She lamented that in her current job, a certain amount will be deducted from her salary whenever she is absent or late.

Time flexibility is another factor that lures Vietnamese to the state sector, said Thuy, adding that she herself is eyeing several state organizations as her next job target.

Good reputation is also a major attraction of the state employment.Nguyen Thi Tuyen, 28, left her job as a translator in a Hanoi-based foreign company with good salary to move to southern Ho Chi Minh City and became a civil servant two years ago.

"Right after graduating from university, I vowed not to work in a state organization since I love challenges and a dynamic working environment. However after four years in the private sector, I realized that I was wrong because I felt being stagnant. I then applied for a post in Ho Chi Minh City's foreign affairs department," Tuyen said.

Now, Tuyen said, she is enjoying her work. "What I like most of the job is the chance to travel around, meeting people, and the job increases my standing in the community. Working in a state-run agency helps me earn respect from other people and gives me the opportunity to get scholarships," Tuyen told Xinhua.

However, according to Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the country currently has some 2.8 million civil servants but about 30 percent of them are incompetent.

In an effort to increase efficiency of the public service, Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs in February initiated a proposal to cut down 100,000 incompetent civil servants across the country, which is, of course, a piece of bad news for Vietnam's aspiring job seekers.