Given the rise in international tourism and the rapid growth of the Vietnamese economy, the hospitality industry in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial hub, has been facing severe labor shortages due to competition with other fast-growing parts of the economy. These struggles to acquire high-quality employees is strangling future growth and placing new importance on the role of recruitment. To better understand the effectiveness of an organization’s recruitment strategy, recruiters need to ascertain the Job Pursuit Intention (JPI) of job seekers to efficiently align an applicant’s work notions with the organization’s goals. This study aims to investigate the factors impacting on JPI among employees working in the hotel sector in Ho Chi Minh City. Secondary data are from previous studies and primary data are from consultation with 10 experts, group discussions and five in-depths structured interviews with 15 random employees and 302 survey questionnaires with employees working in three five-star hotels. Cronbach’s Alpha, EFA, T-Test, ANOVA are used for statistical analysis. The findings show that compensation, career advancement, and work-life balance affect JPI of job seekers, in which compensation is the most influential factor. Furthermore, recommendations for recruiters, further research and limitations of this study have been laid out.