Chaunsey Marshall is a Senior International Recruiter at Pendo, a company that helps people adopt software more quickly and successfully.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I believe, like many people, I fell into recruitment. After nearly 3 degrees focused solely in psychology and business, I landed a role as an internal recruiter for a telematics company.

I recruited many software engineers, platform engineers, java developers, mobile developers all the way through to product designers and Marketing Executives. I felt as though I learned a lot in working with a team as well as hiring across many different organisations. Fast forward to where I am now.

I work at Pendo – leading the way for international growth. I work with many different organisations across engineering, product, design, sales, marketing and everything in between!

I work with another recruiter who is really building the market out in our israel office, heavily focused in engineering, product and design. We have built out markets across EMEA and more recently APAC. It’s been great to help build out our Japan and Australian offices! 

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

 I am an international recruiter focusing on the UK and APAC regions. I hire across all sectors, whether it’s Sales, Customer Success, Engineering, Product or Design. It’s one of the best parts of my job.

On top of that, I work with hiring managers in about 5 different time zones and 4 different continents and many different countries. It’s amazing to help scale our offices across the globe all while getting so much exposure, and learning from the best mentors at Pendo.

Day to day I could be doing anything from building out new markets in Australia to finalising interview processes and structure in Japan, to speaking to Sales and Engineering talent about Pendo and if it would be a good challenge for them to take on a role in a company like Pendo.

In my role, I walk a tightrope between strategy and hands-on work. I speak to people from all backgrounds and sectors in hopes of pairing them with their dream job in our growing SaaS unicorn!

On top of that, I help to roadmap what upcoming quarters will look like for hiring, retro on what previous quarters entailed, understand our strengths and areas of growth – it’s all quite exciting. Not only that, but I have a supportive team beside me that helps me to focus on where I want my career to go and what I want to focus on.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

One of Pendo’s core values is “Respecting life outside of work” and this is something we definitely believe in. We understand some people are night-owls, and some are early-birds, so we don’t paint everyone with the same brush.

I believe my role calls for a lot of flexibility! I could be up in the morning speaking to candidates in Australia at 7AM, or I could be working until 7PM with colleagues in the US on projects or strategies.

The expectation isn’t that I’m on 12 hours in one day, the expectation is that I act like an owner and manage my time effectively so that I am set up for success and I am setting my team up for success. It’s a lot of responsibility and can be a challenge to learn at first, but it’s definitely a way I like working. 

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

I LOVE this question, and I’m sure if you ask any member of my team, they would say the same! It’s a subject I’m very passionate about – I actually wrote my dissertation on WLB and its effectiveness in businesses and more recently was voted by the members of our people team as the person who emulated that value to an extreme (I proudly keep this award on show 24/7).

Work-life balance, to me, means the ability to be able to manage work and life in conjunction with one another. Peace of mind when you log off, and peace of mind that when you come to work, you’re bringing your best-self, and have the ability to do so.

I keep strict boundaries on my work-life balance, whether that’s the tag in the signature of my email (My working hours may not be your working hours. Please do not feel the need to respond outside of your working hours.) or maintain meeting times when working with teams in the US on the West or East Coast.

I’m quite open about what I will do out of working hours (sending offers, closing candidates, etc.) VS what I won’t do out of office hours (scheduled meetings that can be done via slack or email for example). 

5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

In the past 12 months, I’ve really stuck tight to my own schedule. I’ve also stopped drinking caffeine and started drinking more water! Now, the second is more for another reason, but something I’ve definitely noticed a change in. Ironically, I feel more energised WITHOUT caffeine but that’s probably because I substituted it for actual breakfast in the morning rather than just a coffee. 

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

Of course, I need to plug Todd Olsen’s book The Product-Led Organization which is really a playbook for software product teams to implement product-led strategies. I have two of these books (my husband actually ordered one) and it’s really relevant to what we are doing and where the organisation is heading. 

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

I love my Apple Watch – I finally caved in and got one. I now understand why everyone loves them. I track my walks with my dog, I get notifications on the go and I have a watch I don’t need to wind! Other than that, LinkedIn and Instagram. I constantly switch between the two. I find them both to be good sources for content and information, respectively. 

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

I would say anyone in C-suite from a top 10 SaaS company. It’d be relevant to my organisation, and I’d like to see their thoughts. I think we have moved away from the idea that, in order to be successful, you need to wake up at 4AM to start work. I love this.

Recognizing not everyone’s the same and success in one area may look completely different than success in another. I would like to see how this is being dealt with in organisations, and what’s being done to prevent burnout in an increasingly benefits-driven market. 

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Yes, I think work-life balance is more than just flexible or remote working. It’s about your health, your wellbeing, and the support around these areas. Make sure you’re set up for success in both.

You’re not only walking that tightrope between the two but you’re also making sure you have the support of both, mentally and physically. You need to be able to take the time off you want for either work or life and have an environment that supports this.

Whether that’s working for a company that has policies and benefits for mental health and wellbeing, or great parental leave, or even plans for healthcare (dental, vision, etc.). Work and life are often seen to battle against one another.

I think in this day-and-age we are getting a lot closer to understanding these two should go hand in hand. Don’t settle, and work for a company that supports you as an entire person, not just your ‘work self’.

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