WIZE Woman of Impact - Wendy Bartijn

Meet Wendy Bartijn

Role: Senior Customer Success Manager. 

Outspoken rebel wanting to change the world.

Dept: Customer Engagement

Favorite Quote: Don’t wait to be asked. If you want it, Step up. / Don’t be afraid to be LOUD.

Questions:

1. What brought you to Zscaler? 

I was looking for a company in which I could help customers get the most out of the products that they had bought. Zscaler is a company that cares about its customers and creates a structure to make customers successful.

2. After spending so many years with a different organization, what has been the biggest difference you’ve seen in working for Zscaler? 

At Zscaler, you still have the space to be creative. When you see something that you would like to change, you can get the space to do that. I was also lucky to join a team of like-minded people. We understand each other, have a lot of fun, and have each other’s backs. For me, that means the world!

3. If you were to think back to the beginning of your career, what would you tell yourself?

A career is not a simple line going straight up, you will take sidesteps, and everything you do will count toward your experience and skills. In the end, it will bring you to where you are supposed to be. And if not, try again!

Find out what you really want and then create a community around you that will help you get there. Don’t be afraid to be yourself. 

4. What motivates you every day? 

In my work: the fact that every day is different. Different customers but also different activities. From making presentations for a QBR to helping a customer deploy to helping solve a big escalation. I am lucky to work with amazing customers and a lot of very talented people within Zscaler, and we are always striving to give our customers the best experience possible.

In WIZE: To work with so many talented women, and to have a real community with the ladies of the core team. There is still a lot to do, but I feel we make a difference, and I would love to go so much further with this.

5. What experience or lesson has been most impactful during your career journey?

When I started, you had to be ‘one of the boys’ to be accepted. Most of the time I was, and still am, the only woman in the meeting. 

At one time a female leader told me to ‘just be myself’. 

She made me realize that it is exhausting NOT to be yourself. It took me a while to be able to do that and feel confident about it. Women with a strong voice are, even today, not always appreciated in the business. I am my authentic self, and I am proud to be an outspoken gender diversity advocate. I feel we can do so much more if we work together and elevate each other, both between women, but also in collaboration with men. We are 51% of the population after all 😉   

6. If you could pick one person who has been influential in your life, who would it be? Why? 

That would be my mother. She stopped working when my sister and I were born, but she has always supported me in my choices, and my career. Even when I moved to France! Thanks to her, I am who I am today. And I know that she is proud of me. 

7. With the holiday season upon us, what are some of your favorite traditions that you look forward to every year?

During the year we are all very busy. My husband and I with jobs (and kids, and the house, etc.) my oldest daughter with her study, and my youngest daughter with school. However, Christmas is for us an amazing time with family. Cooking together, decorating together, and all sorts of activities. It is a time for relaxation, and we all love that. I wish that for everyone!