The accounts team keeps growing and we couldn’t be happier! In January, Thanh-Nhan Mai Trung joined the ZN team. Born in Belgium but with Vietnamese and Chinese origins, we’ve jokingly called Thanh a “Fasian”. Currently in her “baking period”, the entire ZN team has been feasting on the pastries she’s brought for us to try. Besides baking, she enjoys eating, cooking and experimenting.
I had a chat with Thanh to learn more about her.
Angelica: Before joining ZN, what you were doing? And how did you join ZN?
Thanh: I finished my Masters in Business Engineering (Major in Finance) at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management in September 2011 (after enjoying a semester in Singapore in 2009). After that, I went to San Francisco for a 1-year master’s degree in International Business at Hult International Business School, where I got to enjoy the company of people from over 50 different countries. During that year, I also spent two month in Shanghai and had an internship at SurveyMonkey in Palo Alto, California.
In September 2012, I decided to come back to Brussels to find my first “real” job. While job hunting, I spent two months working on an SEO project for Microsoft. Then, during a family dinner, my cousin asked me, “Have you tried applying to ZN?” And I said, “ZN?” Because I did some volunteering for TEDx in San Francisco and attended TEDxShanghai, and since ZN was part of TEDxBrussels, she suggested that I have a look at ZN. So I started doing some research on ZN and got an interview in December. While waiting at the entrance to the office, I saw a writable wall where people could leave comments or share their thoughts. From that moment, I knew that I wanted to work for this creative company.
After a couple of interviews, I joined ZN in January 2013.
Angelica: What’s your work at ZN like? What do you do? What are your main responsibilities/clients?
Thanh: I am starting as a project coordinator. So I try to facilitate projects. At the moment, I am mainly helping with budgeting, planning and coordinating projects, which is pretty exciting, to be honest. What I really like about what I do is that I handle a bit of everything. I am in contact with the client, I crunch numbers, I use my creativity, and I discover something interesting each day because the world of communication is always evolving and our clients’ projects are so diverse.
Angelica: What do you like most of working at ZN? What makes the work at ZN different from other companies doing something similar?
Thanh: What I really like about ZN is the mingling of cultures/international environment. Next to me I have a Singaporean, a Filipino, a Flemish Belgian, a French Belgian, a Colombian and a Mexican. For me, it is like a mini-Hult. I believe that this mingling of cultures is one of the things that makes the creative work at ZN different. Divergent thinking generates much more creativity than convergent thinking.
Angelica: Are you a Hyperthinker? Why?
Thanh: Not yet 100% hyperthinker, but the transition is in progress… I would say that at the moment I am at 50%. I have a lot of fun learning new things and each time I learn something I am “Woah, they can do that?” or “Woah, that is how it works!” I am also very adaptive to changing environments and/or situations, and I always try to see others’ perspectives. What I definitely need to work on is my hyperlinking side J
Angelica: Could you suggest a movie or a travel destination?
Thanh: I really like Woody Allen’s movies. They always make me laugh. As for travel destinations, if you find yourself in North America, I’d totally recommend San Francisco! It’s a great place to have fun and there are so many great people, great places and great food! If you go to Asia, Thailand is amazing! They have very welcoming people, amazing landscape, great diversity and exquisite food! As for Europe, Brussels in the summer!
Find out more about Thanh by checking out her profile.
