Finding the perfect team is tough! Going through the job posting process, interviewing potential candidates… it’s stressful both for the employer and the potential employee! When we interviewed Kyle, we saw something in him and knew he had potential. We knew he was a caterpillar that would turn into a butterfly with the right coaching.

He got his start in renovations at a young age

Kyle initially got into renovations at age 13 when he worked with his Dad on a home project. They wanted to redo their basement, and in grade 8, Kyle was eager to learn and help. He quickly realized that he really liked this kind of hands-on work.

While working with his Dad on the basement, Kyle learned framing, drywall installation and mudding, basic plumbing, and tiling. He got a really good feel for all aspects of renovation, and when he entered high school in Toronto, he took shop classes to increase his skill level.

Onward to Home Depot

Right out of high school, Kyle took a job at Home Depot and spent five years working there. Working in the different departments, he learned even more about renovations and got exposure to a lot of renovation tools and materials.

Kyle on a recent vacation back to B.C. to visit his Dad

Renovating in British Columbia

When his Dad moved to British Columbia, Kyle went with him. He and his Dad took on work renovating apartment suites in BC. Kyle’s focus was on the installation of laminate flooring, painting, installing countertops, drywall patching, and installing trim. He did this for 3 years, 8 months at a time, with return trips back to Ontario to visit family and friends in between.

The reasons he’s back in Ontario

Since Kyle didn’t know anyone out in BC and really missed his friends and family, he decided to move back to Ontario. Kyle started working at a data cabling company, working at places like the Rogers Centre and Sky Dome. However, the hours were bad with several overnight jobs. He started looking for other work and knew he wanted to get back into the renovation industry. That’s when he applied for a job with Multi Trade Building Services, and as they say, the rest is history!

Missing family and friends might be the reason he came back to Ontario, but there’s a more important reason why he stayed: Leigh. Kyle met the love of his life, Leigh, through a family friend and had their first date at the Royal Ontario Museum. They’ve been together for 4 years now, and she’s the reason why he decided to stay in Ontario.

The Interview

Taking a break at lunch and meeting up with Super Mario!

We laugh about it now, but we almost didn’t hire Kyle! He really didn’t interview well and came across as very shy and awkward. Knowing that skills could be taught to almost anyone, we were more interested in hiring someone who was polite, well mannered, and could interact well with clients and other team members. We took a chance on Kyle, as he was one of the most considerate people we had met. We could see through his nervousness and knew this was someone we wanted on our team.

Kyle’s skill set was still pretty green. Our mission for our clients is to produce high-quality work and an outstanding customer experience. That means not rushing the job but instead doing it right the first time. With so many of our team members we have hired, this was a new skill for them. Most of them came from backgrounds working for companies that rushed them. Getting the job done as quickly as possible was all that mattered because that meant more money in the pockets of the business owners. At MTBS, it’s the opposite! We want our team members to take their time and do a quality job!

When Kyle first started working for us, he wanted to outperform and impress us. He thought the way to do that was to get through the job quickly. Once we slowed him down and had him train with the right people, he quickly became the star he is today! His work improved exponentially, and his true personality shone through.

WOW! Were we ever impressed! Kyle was everything we had hoped for and more! We knew we saw potential in him during that first interview, and he proved us right! He gets more compliments from our clients than any other employee! He is so polite, courteous, conscientious, diligent, hardworking, dedicated, and loyal. His skill set has improved dramatically over the 3 years he has been with us. He’s always interested in learning more and improving his skills. We couldn’t ask for anything more from such a valued team member!

Keeping busy outside of work

Kyle has lots of hobbies outside of work. As an avid skateboarder, he even built a ramp for practice right in his own backyard. He is a huge fan of horror movies, his favourite being “Halloween”.

He loves living in Oshawa, as the pace is nice and not as crazy rushed as it was in Toronto for him when he lived there. He enjoys sitting on his porch just listening to music. He’s also a big history buff and enjoys camping. He’s also a big animal lover, with 2 cats and 1 dog.

Kyle says he loves working for MTBS and seeing the progress on a job. He is a perfectionist and always strives to do the best he can. We look forward to having Kyle with us for his entire career. There is a great future ahead for him with us!

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