Marie-Andrée Levesque never thought she would work in recruiting. But, as fate would have it, a friend working at Randstad suggested she interview with the company after she returned from a year-long trip to Spain. Marie-Andrée recalls enjoying the process and the person that interviewed her. And soon after, she was offered a job as an industrial support recruiter. Joining the company showed Marie-Andrée that recruiting empowers you to change a person’s life. This new perspective inspired her to eventually start her own company to change as many lives as possible.
Working at Randstad gave Marie-Andrée a comprehensive understanding of recruiting. She operated every aspect of the process and managed many different teams. She enjoyed visiting job sites to meet employees and learn about their roles. But what she loved most was getting to know people and their families and learning about their professional goals. The human element made Marie-Andrée feel genuinely connected to the lives of the candidates she assisted. She says, “I truly wanted to help people improve their life.”
After her first recruitment role, Marie-Andrée worked at Bombardier for a short period before taking maternity leave. While caring for her newborn, she received a call from Domenic Calcara from Recruit Action. She knew Domenic during the time they both worked at Randstad. Domenic told her he had joined Recruit Action a year prior, and their business was growing fast. He wanted Marie-Andrée to bring her recruiting expertise to their developing team. And before long, Marie-Andrée was helping to streamline operations, further business development, structure training, and manage clients.
Marie-Andrée’s experience at Recruit Action left a lasting impression that influenced how she shaped her future company. “I was impressed with how innovative Recruit Action was with how they treated their employees,” she says. The autonomous work philosophy, remote work flexibility, and the R-Club were benefits she had never experienced at the other companies she worked. Seeing an ambitious company so focused on a human approach and having fun was refreshing. She says, “Recruit Action is always having fun. It is a part of their DNA.”
Marie-Andrée stayed with Recruit Action for several years and then worked at a few more organizations before launching Caméléon RH in 2020. Her vision is to help as many companies as possible be better at recruiting. She says, “Many companies have a recruiting team, but they are too busy to handle the workload. So Caméléon RH helps businesses fulfill positions and develop best practices.” To Marie-Andrée, making sure her team has a lasting positive impact on the company is paramount. And when she needs additional support and expertise, Domenic is the first call she makes. She says, “We share our expertise depending on our client needs, and our genuine collaboration helps us grow stronger businesses with more efficiency.”
Marie-Andrée believes Recruit Action’s human approach and tight-knit team distinguish the company from other recruiting firms. She says, “You know they are a great company because most of the Recruit Action team has been the same since I was there.” Marie-Andrée believes the team is vital because they value loyalty, ambition, and taking care of one another. She says, “We all move so fast that we sometimes forget that we are working with humans. I’ve learned that it is vital to Domenic to make sure his team is doing well personally and professionally, so they all grow together.” It is evident that Recruit Action is close to her heart when she says, “I look forward to every opportunity that we have to work together.”
Visit the Caméléon RH website to learn more about Marie-Andrée today.
