International Women's Day celebrates women's accomplishments and reminds us of the ongoing struggle for gender equality. It's important to acknowledge women's contributions, reflect on progress made, and inspire action to remove barriers.
At Jobwise, we’re proud to celebrate International Women’s Day by recognising the amazing women who make up 90% of our staff. They play a vital role in shaping our company culture and contributing to our success as a recruitment agency.
If you didn’t know already, our Managing Director Leanne Finnigan, is one of our many remarkable women and today we wanted Leanne to share her rise from Administrator to Managing Director in her own words.
“When I left school and started my journey into the world of work in 1989, I really had no idea what I wanted to do… my family had a very strong work ethic and it was drummed into me from an early age that you had to work hard to achieve anything, I just didn’t know what I wanted to work hard at!
In those days working for a bank or the local council was deemed to be the most secure option, so after gaining 10 GCSEs and deciding not to go to college or university as I was keen to start earning, I applied for a job at the TSB bank which after a few tough interviews I secured.
I spent 3 years as a cashier, gaining some banking qualifications and a lot of experience, but banking didn’t suit my personality and I just couldn’t see myself in banking long term, so I left to go traveling for a few months.
When I returned, I saw a job advertised in the local paper by Jobwise (this was at the time that the only way of advertising jobs was in the weekly edition of the local papers!) I had no idea what a recruitment agency was all about, but I applied as the job sounded interesting.
I was invited in for an interview, the job with one of their clients had just been filled unfortunately but there was an Administrator’s job working for the Jobwise office that I was offered which I accepted as it sounded quite an interesting role... helping people find jobs, and with the opportunity to get into sales.
I started at Jobwise in March 1993 and quickly worked out that recruitment could be a very rewarding career. I quickly moved up the ranks; Recruitment Consultant, Team Leader, Manager, Area Manager, Director, and then in 2010 took over as Managing Director.
At Jobwise no two days are the same, it’s a challenging environment in which I thrive in. I love working with the team we have and enjoy seeing people develop and progress within the company. I believe in giving people an opportunity like I had, and every single manager has been promoted from within.
If I had to describe myself in a few words I would be a problem solver, driven, approachable, and encouraging with very high standards and expectations – of myself and others!
Jobwise has a clear idea of what works best when recruiting and meeting every single candidate and client before matching the two together is key to our service. We have a vision of creating a world where everyone loves their job and this is very much part of everything that we do. Changing lives one job at a time!
I was very proud (& shocked!) to win the Corporate Leader of the Year in 2011 by Forward Ladies at the Women In Business Awards and then more recently to win the Inspirational Leader of the Year in 2015 at the same awards! Also winning the Greater Manchester Businessperson of the Year (open to men & women) in 2020/2021 was a great accolade too!
The Forward Ladies group is a brilliant network of like-minded businesswomen and the Women In Business Awards is a fantastic platform for amazing, inspirational businesswomen to be credited for their contribution to the business world. At the recent (very glamorous) Forward Ladies awards lunch in Manchester, we heard from some amazing businesswomen and their journey which drives me on to achieve more.”
On this International Women's Day, let us celebrate the achievements of women in the workplace and empower them to thrive in their careers.
