How did you hear about Gungho?
I came across Gungho through a friend who recommended I apply. I live in West Dorset and wanted to work locally so it seemed like a good fit. Before Gungho, I worked for a company in Bournemouth and had over an hour’s commute each day which I absolutely hated.
What attracted you to Gungho?
My background is in-house recruitment, so I was looking for something similar but nothing came up. My initial research actually put me off applying as I didn’t think I had the right skills to do the job. I had an image in my mind that Gungho did telesales and all I could think of were pushy people in pods trying to hit unrealistic targets. That felt very scary and not what I was looking for. However, I kept an open mind and applied. I’m so glad that I did!
How was your interview?
When I attended my interview, the image of pushy telesales went completely out of my mind. The team was friendly and in terms of matching skills, they were just trying to unearth if I was a good communicator. I came away from my first interview feeling intrigued about Gungho and it made me get really fired up for my second interview. I started to look into the world of anti-money laundering and it completely fascinated me. I was hooked and wanted to learn more. When I was offered the job I was delighted and couldn’t wait to get started.
Charlotte Blake-Smith – Team Leader
So what happened next?
Having never worked in the industry before, I was slightly anxious that I’d be thrown in the deep end, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Gungho was really organised and I had a full induction which was well planned and carefully mapped out for me. The team welcomed me and everyone is on your side. They want you to be successful and regularly share success stories, tips, and ideas. I did lots of reading at home, joined LinkedIn groups in the AML community and got my head around all the acronyms.
How do you start your day?
I get up at 6 am every day and go for a run with my two sons and our dogs. It’s a great way to start the day! I live locally so I’m really lucky to be able to cycle to work after dropping my children at school. As soon as I get to my desk, I’m checking my emails and Salesforce.com dashboards. I decide where I need to focus for the morning and get cracking on our Asian campaigns. The job is all about reaching the right contacts and having great conversations. It’s a chance to present a new RegTech platform and explore whether it might be a good fit for the organisation.
How do you find working to targets?
If we get the conversations right, then hitting target is very achievable. I find the targets help us all focus and it gives us all a real buzz once we hit them. In fact, it’s quite addictive and can be hard to stop dialling! I love to coach and mentor my team; it’s wonderful to see people put my coaching to good use and see how it helps make a difference to their approach on the phones.
What’s 4 day week like?
I have realised that two day weekends are not enough! On my Fridays off work, I visit family, get life admin done and get our family life in order ready for the weekend. The weekend is then properly relaxed and focussed on fun times.
You can find out more about working at Gungho here.
