Talent Acquisition Specialist, Zen Educate & Zen Locum

Joined at a time when it was still a really small team and had the chance to learn a ton about data, strategy, and automation to help us to focus on smart work from very early on. Taking that learning we've built out functions that helped us scale all of our teams and have given me the chance to keep learning.

I'd always wanted to be a part of a business where the culture was taken as seriously as the work. With all of our teams, as we've grown, we've had new joiners that add to the culture and make it an even better place to work. It's a team of genuinely good people.

As in any startup, there are loads of problems that you can work on fixing. You've got the chance to sink your teeth into projects and your own functions that can have a huge impact on the rest of the business. That work doesn't go unnoticed and people's contributions are celebrated.

Zen Educate works hard to coach and develop its team members. Graduates are given opportunities to take ownership over projects and high performers quickly progress. If you work hard, you will do well here.

At Zen Educate, there is a culture of open communication. This goes both ways, as managers also seek feedback on how they can improve. The company sets clear direction on how you can achieve, and calls out achievements as well as works closely with you on development areas.

Every decision is always stripped back and broken down into what the core problem is. The level of data required depends on the size of the problem at hand, which is what keeps it interesting. Sometimes it is a quick bar chart, and at other times it is a full spreadsheet required to provide the data we need!

It's great to know that our product and team are helping schools save money so they can spend more of their budget on the kids.

I joined Zen as a junior developer and from day one I was given meaningful projects to work on; a good balance of 'in at the deep end' but with enough support not to feel overwhelmed. I contribute to decisions made about our codebase and am never made to feel like my thoughts aren't as important as anyone with more experience.

We have a great team of inspiring people who are super friendly, and who all teach me so much each week. I've felt very welcomed despite starting remotely because of COVID.

The education system wastes a lot of money on supply recruitment which would be better spent in the classroom or on facilities. Zen has saved schools over £1m in fees and it's gratifying to hear from schools about the difference this makes to their budgets. Everyone here wants to help schools save money, and help teachers find good jobs.

Everyone roles up their sleeves to dive into problems that need solving. It's very collaborative and we all push each other to make sure we're getting things delivered for schools, and helping teachers and schools have as good an experience as possible.

Senior management and line managers are all very present and involved in the day to day running of things. They all want to help with things and give helpful and constructive feedback when things go well, and when they don't go so well. The new joiner experience is also excellent as you get to know senior people very quickly which avoids any awkwardness later when working together on a project.