Who is CameleonHR ?
Small booming Quebec business, CameleonHR is, first of all, a super-motivated team of professionals. After all, we all work remotely (sometimes even from a lodge in Gaspésie), and in the past year, you have all met us through our computer screen. To complete the description that you can find on our website, our first blog article is to present you every team member.
Every one of us had to answer five questions. The questions were chosen so you could see our personality and notice that we are all different, but work in harmony. Here are the answers!
Let us take a moment to remember where we come from; What was your first job?
Marie-Andrée: When I was 7-8 years old, I would do drawings that I was trying to sell to my neighbours. I thought I would be rich! I had entrepreneurship in my blood from a young age! Let’s just say that my project of becoming Picasso was quickly stopped by my parents who were tipped off by the neighbours ;). Then, as a teenager, I did a lot of babysitting; I created a babysitter’s club, and I would recommend my friends when I would not be available for clients. I was already doing resource placement without even knowing it, and I would not even ask for a profit sharing. I had to refine my business sense 😉. My first real job, legally paid: I was a cashier at McDonalds!
Annie: Day camp instructor. I liked my 11-12 years old group. Let just say that the fact that I was 16, wouldn’t help them to take me seriously, but we had a lot of nice moments together. This experience helped me understand a lot of things and helped me grow. I surely understood why my parents would always repeat themselves and ask me to stop rolling my eyes at them when they would do it. 😉
Frédérique: Consultant in a schooling uniforms store! A few months later, I’ve decided to start a second job (apparently, even at 14 I liked to keep busy 😉) as a Recreation Centre supervisor.
Éloïse: Recreation Centre animator: it was always hard to leave my group of younger kids at the end of each summer. Then I reoriented towards becoming a professional and social integration advisor for young people. Being young myself (at that time 😊), I grew up with them!
What is your favourite question to ask during an interview and why?
M.A: “What are the personal and professional accomplishments you are the proudest of?” This question allows you to know more about the human. Every human has their own story, and we do not define ourselves only by our job. In companies, we often forget that skills are not only developed by the job that we do nut as well by our life experience which can be fulfilled of projects and travelling that makes us who we are today.
A.: “What professional accomplishment are you the proudest of and why?” It tells a lot about the person, what is important, their way of working, etc. Everyone’s story is so different, and everyone has their own vision of a success. It’s always interesting to know more about what makes us different.
F.: “Can you describe me one of the worst projects you have worked on and why didn’t you like it?” It is one of my favourite questions because it allows me to understand exactly what the candidate doesn’t want to do/do not want to repeat, in means of tasks, responsibilities, ambiance, work conditions, etc. It also allows the candidate’s values and allows me to partially evaluate if it could be a good match with the client.
É. : “What are your expectations?” I like to start with the candidate interest to construct the interview.
We all work from home. If we forget about the time difference; you can work from anywhere in the world. Where would you be right now?
M.A: Maui, Hawaii 🙂 in a small villa near Kihei – I would have sand, mountains and good restaurants not too far.
A.: Hawaii
F.: Definitely far from the city! I would probably go to a Scandinavian country 😊
É.: Polynesia, I would like to 😊
What is your definition of a good candidate experience?
M-A.: The definition a good candidate experience is when we can build a long-term relation with them, and they follow us through time! For that, we have to really know our candidate, their interests, their passions, and who they are. After that, we must maintain the relation! Either with regular follow-up, by giving feedback or to keep in touch. The candidates will always remember how we treated them and how we made them feel.
A.: To be present for them at every step of the process, to listen to their needs, to properly understand what drives the person, to make sure that the company will fit with their values, that the person will be fulfilled by the position, to facilitate the transition for the person, to make sure that everything goes smoothly for the onboarding as well.
F.: For me, a good candidate experience, start with a transparent communication, a warm approach, and availability. Transparency is to inform the candidate of what is really happening, about other candidates in the process with the clients, a refusal or a non-fit between their values and the client’s. The warm approach and the availability: To listen, make the candidate comfortable, allowing the candidate to freely explain where he is in his process and reflection and stay empathic, guide him when needed, give support in the process, and give him lines of thought.
É.: A good candidate experience goes through a constructive and benevolent support from the consultant throughout the whole process. We have to be a resource and promote the exchange with the candidate to make the experience as rewarding as possible.
Let us be nostalgic: when you were a child, what did you say you wanted to do as an adult?
M-A.: Where to begin… I was a dreamy child… and I used to believe that anything is possible! So, I think I almost wanted to do everything! One thing is for sure, I always wanted to have my own business 🙂
A.: A vet, I wanted to save needing animals and have my own Noah’s ark! Small secret: I am secretly building it slowly 😉
F.: Author! I wanted to write fiction. Throughout summer, I would read one book a day. I used to love: Les chevaliers d’Émeraude, les ailes d’Alexanne, Aurélie Laflamme, Harry Potter, and much more! My classics now are: Naomi Fontaine’s books, Kim Tuy, Léanne Simpson, Sylvie Drapeau and almost everything from the white collection Léméac!
É.: Archeologist in Egypt. I even took the hieroglyph class in college. My dream was crushed when I realized that being claustrophobic, my research wouldn’t go too far… Bye-bye to the lost pyramid adventurer!
Majority wins, we should work from Hawaii! We all keep that wish to travel and work at the same time. We noticed that our favourite interview questions are all to better know our candidates and ensure their happiness at work. Finally, even if we all have different backgrounds that our first job barely is the same or that we thought we would become someone complete different: today we all work together, doing a job that we like, in a company with a variety of possibilities.