Michael is the founder and Managing Director of STRIVE recruitment and brings a creative, entrepreneurial spirit to his role. With over a decade of experience in the recruitment industry, Michael also brings a wealth of knowledge to his practice and team. After receiving his BBA, Michael jumped head first into an opportunity to work for a global recruitment agency. His commitment to success earned him 2 National Top Recruiter awards at his firm—but even this didn’t satisfy his ambition. Michael eventually became unsatisfied with the broad, high-level focus of a global conglomerate and left to build a recruitment firm of his own. By blending his big business ambition with the focus, drive, and creativity of a start-up, Michael turned STRIVE into a well oiled recruitment machine that’s successfully sourced the best and brightest for a spectrum of clients that range from top local Vancouver talent to internationally renown Fortune 500 companies

When Michael isn’t in the office, he can be found playing beer league soccer, pretending to be a foodie at local restaurants, or traveling to the many places he hasn’t seen around the world. Michael runs a Half Marathon every year in support of a local charity and leads STRIVE’s partnership with the Children’s Wish Foundation all year round.

Sarita DeVries is the Director of Business Development at STRIVE. Sarita leads all  sales and marketing initiatives and overseas the recruitment operations of the Corporate Administration division.

Sarita takes the time to listen & identify customer pain points, apply thoughtful solutions and has always found a way to bring value into the relationships that she fosters. Sarita has over 12 years of experience within the staffing and recruiting industry; managing clients of all sizes, from SMEs to large, government entities.

Sarita’s success can be attributed to her genuine customer care and advocacy into her consultative sales approach. She has worked in a sales capacity most of her life and it might be even argued that business development is in her blood!

Sarita will tell you that her #1 job is being a mother to her two children. In addition to the handful they provide, Sarita has worked as a Community Champion for BabyGoRound since 2014. She is a member of 100 Women Who Care Vancouver, a giving concept that enables her to find joy in the act of giving back.

Ben has spent the majority of his career recruiting in the UK prior to making the move across the pond to the beautiful Vancouver, which he now calls home.

He always STRIVEs to go the extra mile for his candidates and clients, assisting with any queries they may have, enabling him to establish strong and long-lasting relationships.

At STRIVE Recruitment Ben is a member of the Accounting and Finance team and typically recruits:

• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Project Accountant
• Controller
• Financial Analyst
• Property Accountant
• Development Accountant

 

In his spare time, Ben likes to enjoy an active lifestyle and is often found snowboarding, hiking, surfing, playing soccer or out on the golf course. He has recently spent a year in Australia where he traveled the country and took in spots such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and the World Heritage Raintree Rainforest.

Pearl has been the head recruiter for job placement in Manufacturing, Operations, and Skilled
Trades industries at STRIVE since 2010. Pearl is first and foremost a people person. Her ability to
connect with and understand both her clients and candidates is one of the many reasons she’s
succeeded in finding top talent locally and internationally. Gaining invaluable insight into
manufacturing and distribution industries over the years, Pearl has developed a keen eye for
talent and a proven track record of delivering successful recruitment solutions. Working with
Pearl guarantees exceptional applicants for her clients, and exciting new opportunities for her
candidates. Ask any candidates or clients she’s worked with, and they’ll tell you right away that
she’s “the best in the biz.”

Pearl’s most recent placements include:

• Red Seal Millwright – food manufacturing company

• Red Seal Electrician – hardware manufacturing company

• Corporate Chef – food manufacturing company

• Operations Manager – logistics company

• Plant Manager – manufacturing company

• Building Operator – real estate company

Kirsten brings 8 years of successful recruitment experience to her role as Practice Lead at
STRIVE. She’s an active member in the construction industry and has developed an in depth
knowledge for that sector through her involvement in the CCW, NAIOP, BOMA, ULI, UDI, and
CREW associations. Her main area of focus is recruitment for the construction, real estate,
development and design industries, but her expertise knows no bounds.
Kirsten thrives in a Contingent Recruitment space and easily adopted the “No Win, No Pay”
ideology behind STRIVE’s 90 day placement guarantee—because she wins every time. Kirsten is
particularly astute in her search for leadership roles and expertly applies the S3 proactive
method to her Executive Search practice. Kristen also shows incredible versatility in her services,
and can adapt her talent search to source top candidates for even the most difficult to fill niche
roles.

Kirsten’s most recent placements include:

• Architect – Architecture Firm

• Senior Project Manager – Design Build Company

• Site Superintendent – Local Builder

• Senior Interior Designer – Design Build Company

• Manager of Design – Design Build Company

• Intermediate Interior Designer – Design Firm

Jenalin began her career in Business Administration and Recruiting in 2011, She has joined STRIVE in 2018 as a Recruitment Specialist in Operations and Manufacturing.
With a personable and bright personality, she fits right into the STRIVE culture.

Having 8 years of experience in Customer Service, Office Administration and Recruiting, and winning the Top Administrator award in pervious years, she is a true professional with a great ability to source and screen top talent, making sure her candidates are matched with the best company for their skills and experience. Her passion and dedication in improving people lives all around her, serves our clients well. Jenalin mainly recruits for the following:

• Plant Managers
• Production Supervisors
• Maintenance Manager
• Quality Assurance Manager (QA)
• Red Seal Millwrights
• Electrician
• Power Engineer
• Quality Control Technician (QC)
• Operations Manager
• Logistics/Distribution Manager
• Warehouse Manager
• Inventory Control Manager
• Supply Chain Analyst

In her spare time, she loves to go for runs, hiking, keeping active, she is a proud contributor to World Vision and World Wild Fund.

Phuong started her career within recruitment in 2010 and has never looked back! She loves working in a high pace, dynamic and results driven industry. She is the Practice Lead for the Operations and Manufacturing division. She has demonstrated a history of partnering with manufacturing companies to help them find and retain top talent. With over 8 years’ experience within staffing, she understands how important it is to build a strong network of candidates for her clients. She has achieved the best of staffing award on both contractor and client side: 80% of contractor/client voted her a 9 or 10 for her service. She lives by the quote “Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others.”

She has a proven track record of placing the following skill sets:

• Production Managers
• Operations Managers
• Plant Managers
• Skilled Trades (Millwrights, Fabricators, Welders, Mechanics, Assembler)
• Quality Assurance, Quality Control

Phuong has a passion for creating meaningful relationships and finding ways to better herself and others around her. Outside of the office, you can find her grounding herself through yoga and meditation, spin cycling to hip hop music, or finding her next adventure.

With over 8+ years of client support and recruitment experience, Lindsay works efficiently to connect with and understand both clients and candidates to find the right fit. Lindsay brings her competitiveness from her background with sports as well as a positive attitude and upbeat personality to the office.

At STRIVE Recruitment Lindsay is a member of the Construction and Design Team and typically recruits:

• ICI
• Residential
• Retail
• Hospitality
• Design-Build
• Real Estate
• Development
• Architecture
• Interior Design

When she’s not in the office, Lindsay can be found hiking around local mountains, running 10ks half marathons, kayaking, or working out at the gym. Lindsay looks forward to being a big part of the STRIVE team and seeing what new adventures come from it.

Samantha is a Vancouver native and a Recruitment Specialist at Strive specializing in Corporate Administration – temp and perm positions. After four years in the fitness industry and a BA in Psychology, she decided she wanted to continue her passion of connecting with people and help them find their dream career. She loves working with all different types of business professionals from graduating students to senior positions. Samantha has had great success recruiting for the following roles:

• Admin Assistant
• Reception
• Office Management
• Executive Assistant
• Business Development Manager (inside and outside)
• Account Manager
• Sales associate
• HR Generalist
• HR specialist
• Accounting

Jessica is one of our Recruitment Specialists focused on the Accounting & Finance Industry. Jessica loves building relationships and connecting with people in her professional and personal life. A natural conversationalist, she has the ability to make candidates feel comfortable and confident. Jessica works on a wide range of roles and is always ready to take on a new challenge.

Examples of recent placements:

• Assistant Controller
• Internal Auditor
• Senior Financial Analyst
• Project Accountant
• Development Accountant
• Senior Accountant
• Manager Financial Planning and Analysis
• Property Accountant

When Jessica isn’t working, you can find her enjoying quality time with family and friends, playing volleyball, and planning her next travel adventure. Jessica strongly believes in helping others. You can find her organizing and participating in initiatives within the community to help those that are struggling. Her mantra is “it’s nice to be nice” and believes that a smile can go a long way.

With 6 years of experience in customer service, Harveen decided to jump into Recruitment with the passion of assisting people on a regular basis. You will never find Harveen not smiling or laughing!

Outside of work, you can find her watching hockey at the nearest arena/restaurant, attending live concerts, travelling the world, or planning her next travel adventure to check a new city off her bucket list!