After Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman ki she worked as a director in short-term productions, including Kayıp in 2013 and Benim Adım Gültepe in 2014.
[3] After high school, she began her theatre training in Italy, but she lost her scholarship following an economic crisis in her homeland and was forced to return to Turkey.
[1] While Günay was continuing her education at the university, she started working at Vipsaş, a film company owned by her father's friend.
[5] In the same year, she worked as an assistant director in the movie The Encounter directed by Ömer Kavur[6] and served as the general coordinator in the series Serseri Aşıklar.
[7] In 2004, she was the assistant director on Ismaël Ferroukhi's 2004 film Le Grand Voyage, which was a co-production between France, Morocco, Bulgaria and Turkey.
[8] In the same year, she worked as an assistant director in Kanal D's series Çemberimde Gül Oya, directed by Çağan Irmak.
The series, which premiered on Show TV in 2006, focuses on the challenges faced by Dila Hanım, a widow with four children.
[14] In 2007, Günay started directing Eşref Saati, which was produced by Pana Film and premiered on Show TV.
[17][18] In 2009, Günay started directing another series produced by Pana Film called Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu.
"[19] Tan's next project was Kanal D's drama series Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman ki, produced by D Productions.
[22] The series reached high viewing numbers following its premiere,[23][24][25] a success linked by Tan to its script, which is "a story that everyone can empathize with."
[33] Dolunay Soysert, another cast member, stated that she accepted the offer as she had always wanted to work with Zeynep Günay Tan.
[35] Starring Horozoğlu, Soysert, Aslı Enver and Kaan Taşaner, the story starts after a boy from a rich family is arrested by the police and subsequently escapes.
In July 2015, Tan was announced to be the director of a new series produced by D Productions called Benim Adım Gültepe, which was planned to be broadcast on Kanal D in September and the shootings were due to take place in Konak, İzmir.
[40] Starring Horozoğlu, Ayça Bingöl and İlker Kızmaz, the series is set in the 1980s and focuses on the events taking place in a neighborhood called Gültepe.
[41] Günay Tan worked for 1.5 months to prepare the cast members for their roles and "embroidered every character like lace.
"[42] Ekin Koç, one of the young actors in the series, talked about the preparation process and said, "The main role in this job is the director Zeynep Günay Tan.
[44] Columnist Ceren Şehirlioğlu wrote that Benim Adım Gültepe reflects the feeling of grief to the audience "in all its authenticity" and director Günay Tan and writer Vural Yaşaroğlu created a revolution in the history of Turkish television with this work.
[48] It was alleged that the director had problems with the actresses Anastasia Tsilimpiou and Hülya Avşar during the shooting, and therefore left the project.
[50] The series' first episode, which was directed by Tan, Yağız Alp Akaydın, Mert Baykal and Deniz Koloş, aired on 12 November 2015.
[52] Starring Aslı Melisa Uzun, İdris Nebi Taşkan and Su Kutlu, the series is centered around the life of five university students and premiered on 28 August 2016.
"[54] Milliyet writer Asu Maro reacted to the premature ending of the series, which she thought was "a well-written, well-played and curiously watched project" and congratulated Günay Tan, Koloş and scriptwriter Ekin Atalar for their work.
[55] Another columnist, Sina Koloğlu, wrote that Arkadaşlar İyidir is the "most realistic youth series" of recent times and it was a "pity" to see it end.
[57] Starring Özcan Deniz and Aslı Enver, the series İstanbullu Gelin is about a mam who comes from a rich family in Bursa, but falls in love with a singer in Istanbul.
"[63] Kaan Taşaner praised Tan's ability in communicating with cast members believed that "Zeynep is a very clever director who shoots every scene when necessary and captures the details you cannot see as an actor.