Meet Renata, Culture Champion

Finding the role

Looking back, these past eight months at PortSwigger have been absolutely amazing! But I would imagine reading this might sound too good to be true. So let me walk you through my journey as an international student who moved to England to pursue an MSc in Work and Organizational Psychology, and later landed the incredible role of Culture Champion at PortSwigger.

Toward the end of my masters, I began applying for graduate programs and job opportunities in the field of my specialization. Specifically, I was looking for a people-related opportunity that would enable me to utilize my Organizational Psychology knowledge.

I perused many job posts on LinkedIn, but the posting for a Culture Champion at PortSwigger really stood out to me for all sorts of reasons. The job description had outlined the different areas of work that we had covered throughout my MSc; such as servant leadership, agile working, workplace design and well-being, organizational culture, and recruitment. I was also drawn to how the role incorporated different facets of Organizational Psychology, in facilitating its people-related initiatives whilst maintaining an excellent organizational culture, which in turn enables employees to thrive.

The interview and onboarding

The interview process was by far the most efficient, relaxed, and comfortable I've ever experienced. The communication was prompt and seamless throughout the entire process. After a successful interview process, I was fortunate to be given an offer to join PortSwigger.

From the first day, I was well-orientated and shown all the different types of amazing software that supports an agile way of working within the company; such as Jira, Trello, and Miro. As I shadowed different colleagues in the Culture Team, I was able to learn so much about various people-based initiatives; for example, how to implement effective 360 degree feedback mechanisms for high performing teams. I was also given the autonomy to select projects that I found particularly interesting to drive, and work on them independently.

Settling in as a Swigger

Besides the day-to-day work, there is a graduate development program - this ensures that each graduate is given the best chance to succeed early on in their career.

At PortSwigger, it's not just about work, but also about having fun - everyone is so nice and friendly and there's always somebody to chat to.

There are plenty of opportunities to meet people outside work and build friendships, either during team and company-wide socials which take place every quarter, or during self-organized "PupSwagger" dog walks for example. Be assured, no matter where you come from to join PortSwigger, you will definitely find new friends!