Introducing Brittany Jerrison…
My name is Brittany, I’m 24, and I’ve been in Manchester for 6 years. I came to Manchester for University where I did TV and Radio at Salford University.
I’m one of those people who, if I want something, I want something now. Before recruitment, I was working part-time in the beauty industry, I knew that beauty, TV, or Radio couldn’t give me what I wanted. It takes a while to work your way up the pecking order, I’d have been making brews for a very long time; don’t get me wrong I make a good cup of tea, but I just didn’t want to wait, and that’s when I fell onto recruitment. I remember looking into it and thinking that was the industry to give me the progression that I wanted and quickly.
I expected the progression to be quick because of what I’d read about recruitment. I wasn’t just sold a dream as I did progress very quickly. I feel like if I’d done 3 years in TV or radio I wouldn’t have progressed as fast. Whereas here, I’ve progressed from a Trainee Consultant at our parent company; Will and Mike then saw potential in me and brought me over to ITG. This was literally the best thing I could have done. In 3 years, I have worked up the ranks from Trainee to Consultant, to Senior, and then finally Managing Consultant. Hopefully, it’s just going to keep going.
What’s the best thing about In Technology Group?
It’s got to be the culture, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. There are a lot of recruitment companies in Manchester, there is a lot of money to be made wherever, so why here? It’s exactly what I say to people in interviews, I wouldn’t be sitting here selling them the dream if I wasn’t all for it myself and I think that goes to show that three years down the line, I’m still here. I was apprehensive about the culture because naturally as companies get bigger there is that concern that the family network can be lost, sometimes big, corporate companies it’s just bums on seats. But here, because I’ve seen us grow from 7 to nearly 40, I’ve seen the progression, and luckily enough our mentality and ethos haven’t changed. We are a massive network and with such a stressful job it is so important that you’re surrounded by like-minded people that can reassure and support each other. There are people as Senior as Mike, a Divisional Manager, or Will as Director, even though they are Senior, people look up to them for reassurance and support.
What is your goal?
My absolute goal is to become a Director, I really want that. Since coming into recruitment I’ve heard and seen Will’s progression. I saw him as a top biller before he was Director and when we were at the parent company Will’s name was always talked about and I thought that’s what I want to achieve. He started at 21, I started at 21, so for me, it’s an inspiration to follow what he’s done. I love the recruitment side of things, but as I’ve built my own team, I’ve enjoyed being able to manage, support people and give people their chance to have a career. What’s really nice about this job is; that you start at the bottom and you bring other people up in their careers. For you to progress, they have to achieve and knowing that they’ve hit the next pay rise or promotion is really nice to see. Will has seen everyone including myself really flourish and see people wanting more, so if I can give that as generations go on that would be the goal.
What is the highlight of your career?
The main highlight for me was when Mike called me and said “I think you are ready to have a trainee.” I was just speechless because I didn’t feel I was good enough or old enough to be a manager at 22/23, I was like wow, I am actually progressing. I know we get given the progression plan but that hit home, I was stepping up a rank, this was the next level. I remember feeling so nervous on my first day as a trainee and now, as a Managing Consultant, here I am helping other people and answering those questions that I was asking. It’s nice to know that people think that my answers and knowledge- although it’s only three years, are enough to help them.
Why did you go into the Tech Sector?
I think it goes without saying, everyone knows how much money there is to be made in tech. We are from a generation where that’s all we’ve really known, in my teens, it was more prominent, so it’s kind of a no-brainer to get into that industry. There are other industries, but for instance, over the pandemic, every other sector struggled. Whereas tech, actually increased because you’re able to work remotely and have to advance, it’s always going to expand. You know it’s a safe industry because it’ll always be there. It makes the most money and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re all here for.
