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Award-winning Jennie Hallsworth has been promoted at Wild Recruitment in Portsmouth.

Almost 20 years after walking into a recruitment branch looking for a job with responsibility, Jennie Hallsworth is now running it. In 2006 she visited Wild Recruitment in Portsmouth and ended up working there.

She took to it like a duck to water and after a number of promotions is Branch Director, responsible for the Arundel Street business, which has 20 staff.

The mother-of-three has won multiple awards during her career and was crucial to the continued success of Wild Recruitment through the Covid pandemic.

Jennie said: “When I turned 30 I decided I needed to get a job with some responsibility. At the time I didn’t even know what recruitment was – I had no idea businesses existed that found jobs for people, and got paid for it.

“I had a sales background and ended up working as an Account Director at Wild. I was brilliantly trained and learned about the industry. Michelle Merritt, one of the founders of the business, really believed in me and gave me the responsibility I wanted. I worked in the industrial team, moved to Commercial Manager, then I was promoted to Director, then Sales Director and now Branch Director.

“When I started it was my ambition to run the office, and now I am. It really is a dream come true. It’s been quite a journey and looking ahead I want to continue our success and grow the business.

“We have four divisions and are the go-to agency in the area and we have a wide variety of job vacancies in numerous sectors.”

Wild Recruitment is part of Berry Recruitment Group (BRG) and Michelle Merritt, now a BRG Director, said: “Jennie’s story is not uncommon in the business.

“It shows that we have a career path available to those who want to progress and retaining staff is really important to us. Jennie has grown with us and has been integral to the success of Wild, which remains the one-stop-shop for recruitment in the region.”