Meet Charlotte Penrose, Talent Acquisition Manager at Zencargo

Hello, I’m Charlotte Penrose, the Talent Acquisition Manager in Commercial and Operations for the People Team at Zencargo.

Before joining this team, I had been working in recruitment for construction companies for a few years. However, I fancied doing something different, particularly with a start-up, which is why Zencargo was a perfect fit for me. 

This company is not your traditional freight forwarding business. We’re on a mission to disrupt the entire trillion-dollar shipping industry by making it work more efficiently and affordably whilst keeping our customers top of mind. 

Working here is absolutely brilliant. I love every aspect of it, from the people to the work and the product. 

Looking for Talent

As a Talent Acquisition Manager, I work with different departments to help them hire the best-fitting people for their roles. I typically assist operations, pricing and procurement, marketing and sales, and customer success to name a few. 

The qualities for each role are varied. For some, experience in that field is essential. For others, it’s more about whether you’re data-driven or have experiences with that type of work, not necessarily in the same industry. 

For every role, a start-up mentality is vital. We’re consistently scaling and evolving, and it’s a very fast-paced environment. That makes Zencargo a fascinating place to work, but you need to be driven and eager to learn. 

Most importantly, we look for people whose values align with ours and the company. We’re a people-centric, hard-working, goal-oriented group that is committed to our employees and our mission. 

Our interview process includes multiple interviews, typically at least 2-3, with members of different departments. We want to get to know somebody as a person before bringing them into the team. 

Managing Culture During Expansion

We have a lot of goals that we’d like to accomplish during the next year or so. That means it’s vital to have the infrastructure and enough staff to guide us towards those targets. Zencargo has already almost doubled in size in the year I’ve been with the company. And we’ll probably need to double again over the next twelve months. 

But culture comes first. 

The larger a company grows, the more challenging it is to manage culture, especially when staff is spread across the globe. But one of our values is maintaining a positive, supportive, and inclusive culture.

One of the ways we do this is by having “all hands” meetings where new people can introduce themselves and spend a little time with everybody together. We have other team-focused check-ins to ensure we work smoothly and stay on target. 

Communication is essential. Any updates, changes, new priorities, big wins, and things like that are shared with everybody as soon as possible. When we all know the goals and expectations, we’re all better prepared to do the work, both autonomously and together. 

The Joys of Working With Zencargo

Freight forwarding might not sound that enticing, but this isn’t your traditional logistics company. 

We’re breaking barriers and taking great strides to fix a long-broken supply chain. Every day is filled with new developments, exciting challenges, and big wins. 

Most importantly, we care about people: our clients and each other. 

Every person is encouraged to develop their own ideas for new things to try or different ways of solving problems. We celebrate accomplishments together and support each other after missteps or frustrations. When mistakes happen, we use them as learning opportunities to move forward. 

Zencargo wants everyone to thrive in their job, so roles often shift to accommodate new passions or skills. The company is at its best when everybody is in the best place for their expertise and harmony. 

It’s fast-paced, and we all have to work hard to keep up with our company goals. But if you want to make a difference in the world or do something unique, Zencargo is the place for you.