Carolina Monge’s career has spanned two continents and multiple industries, but her role at Zscaler has solidified her success. Her love of spreading knowledge doesn’t stop at training new hires—she also has a social media presence that makes a difference in the lives of others. We interviewed Carolina for her three-year work anniversary on May 22, 2020. See why Carolina makes Zscaler a Great Place to Work!
What is your background?
I am originally from Venezuela, but I moved to the UK six years ago to learn English and ended up staying. My background is in systems engineering, but I started out as a pharmaceutical rep in Venezuela, speaking with patients and doctors, and realized I liked sales. When I came to the UK, I studied English for about nine months, then started looking for a job here.
I realized that tech companies had a lot of roles in a multicultural environment, so I started looking into it. I thought, ‘wow this is interesting because I’m going to be in sales IT, so I can apply both my engineering background and my sales experience.’ I thought it would be fun and also challenging because everything was going to be new for me: a new country, a new language, and a new industry. But I really liked it.
I found a position as a renewals rep at a tech company, but after about a year and a half there, Zscaler reached out and offered me a position in customer advocacy. Originally, I was supposed to handle small accounts in southern Europe, but after three months, I was handling large accounts and had expanded to manage other countries in Europe.
Give us an overview of your role at Zscaler
As a major renewals account manager, I am responsible for making sure existing customers renew their Zscaler services. It’s fun because when you are a regional sales manager, you have your specific accounts, you are the owner, and you have to build the relationship. But for renewals account managers, it’s like a cycle. Every quarter we have different accounts, every quarter we have different opportunities, every year we have different renewals. Each month is different, which keeps it interesting.
We work very closely with the customer success team, so there’s a lot of teamwork. I really like the way Zscaler approaches and manages customers, especially for large accounts, because each one has a regional sales manager, a customer success manager, and a renewals account manager. That’s something I didn’t see in my last company.
What’s something you're proud to have accomplished in your role?
Being at Zscaler for three years now, I’m one of the more senior members of my team, so I’ve had the opportunity to support our managers and help train newer team members. About a year and a half ago we had a program for graduates. We had to create a three-week new hire boot camp for 12 graduates, and I was in charge of the renewals part. We taught them about forecasting, about channels, about time management, about customer interaction, and how to qualify an opportunity. I feel very proud of that because we prepared them and trained them before sending them out to call customers or go onsite.
How has COVID-19 affected your role?
I normally work onsite in the office here in Reading. I do work from home some days but normally, my daily routine is going to the office every day. But since we’ve been working from home, I’ve tried to keep my routine consistent. For me, I wake up, exercise for 30 minutes, take a shower, eat breakfast, then start work at nine like I normally would. I’ve been trying to get the team together every week for a 20-minute coffee chat to catch up and see how everyone is doing, so that’s been helpful!
Do you have any tips for working from home?
It sounds cliché, but I think it’s important to create an everyday routine. Also prepare a specific place in your house to work, so you feel like you’re going into the office even if you’re not. Make sure to take breaks, because sometimes when you’re working from home, it can feel like you’re working more. If you can, go outside for a short walk to get some fresh air.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
I love social media, so I created a healthy lifestyle Instagram profile about five years ago to track my own fitness journey and share healthy recipes and fun exercises. I love trying new exercises and doing fitness classes like spinning and yoga. Since we’ve been in quarantine, my boyfriend and I have been doing the keto diet, and I’ve been coming up with my own recipes. At the beginning it was hard, but I’ve been able to adapt a lot of my favorite foods to be keto. I’ve made keto churros, gnocchi, sushi, and even Nutella!
Any last thoughts about Zscaler or your role?
Zscaler is an amazing company to work for, and if anyone is interested in becoming a renewals account manager, they will have the opportunity to work on a fun, multicultural team. Zscaler gives you the opportunity to grow professionally and really cares about its employees.
Join Carolina and the rest of the team!
Visit our careers page to explore opportunities in renewals account management as well as the many other roles in which you can help Zscaler drive secure digital transformation for enterprises around the world.
Read Next:
Meet Zscaler: How a Busy Family Man, Salesman, and Outdoorsman Just Keeps Truckin’
Meet Zscaler: From Sales to Enablement - How Megan Allen Found Her Passion
Meet Zscaler: How Becky Miller Balances Profession and Passion
Kristi Myllenbeck is a copywriter at Zscaler
