We’re here! It’s 2017, a new year!

And with a new year comes a great many things, including crushing expectations regarding the amount you plan to bill during the next 12 months. But let’s talk about what other recruiters billed during the past 12 months.

Specifically, let’s talk about the top 10 recruiters in Top Echelon Network for all of 2016!

Our annual list of the top recruiters is determined by members’ cash-in total in Top Echelon Network on a rolling 12-month basis. The order of the list was reflects the recruiters’ cash-in total for the 2016 calendar year, which ended at midnight on December 31, 2016.

Before I comment on the list, though, how about I produce the list? That’s a great idea!

Don’t stop at the top

Below are the top 10 recruiters in Top Echelon Network for 2016, from #10 to #1 (including the recruiter’ name, their firm name, and their total cash-in):

#10—Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC: $119,199

#9—Tim Piccini of Phillips Recruiting Services: $119,606

#8—Judi Terrando of Key Corporate Services, LLC: $124,726

#7—John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc.: $130,735

#6—Pam Copeland of fulltimeGiGS: $157,170

#5—Kerry Boehner of KOB Solutions, Inc.: $160,721

#4—Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.: $166,459

#3—Melissa Truax of Premier Health Careers, Inc/ Premier Paths: $185,143

#2—Steve Kohn of Affinity Search: $505,375

#1—Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group: $1,272,772

What would a list be without some analysis of that list? Below are three observations based on the names and numbers above:

#1—Reigning Trey

Trey Cameron just set a new Network record for cash-in during a calendar year with over $1.2 million. As you might have already guessed, Trey broke his own record, which he set the previous year. His cash-in total for 2015 was over $800K.

#2—$100K all the way

Everybody on the list billed at least $100K through the Network in 2016. That has not always been the case, especially during the Great Recession. It has traditionally signified a good year for Network recruiters, and that was once again the case in 2016.

#3—New faces in the top places

There are some new names on our list, specifically Tim Piccini, Judi Terrando, and Melissa Truax. In fact, Melissa climbed all the way to the #3 position. This indicates that there is plenty of new blood in the Network, recruiters who are hungry to increase their revenue through split placements.

“Tell us what they’ve won!”

As is tradition, the top 10 recruiters in the Network will be recognized at the upcoming 2017 National Convention. At the convention, they will receive an award in front of their peers at the annual awards luncheon.

This year’s National Convention is scheduled for Tuesday, April 25, through Wednesday, April 26. The site will be the DoubleTree Hilton in Orlando, which is located at the entrance of Universal Studios.

Early Bird Registration is currently underway for the convention. That means you can register at the Early Bird rate of $395 per person. (You can sign up for the convention in the Members’ Area with a credit card.)

In the meantime, join us in congratulating the recruiters listed above for their performance and production during the 2016 calendar year!

But don’t let their production add to your already crushing expectations for 2017. You’re under enough pressure already.

Not only is it a new year with new Top Echelon Network recruiting firms, but it’s also a new year for networking in TE! Specifically, it’s a new year for our Regional Core Group meetings.

I mention this because I have a “save the date” announcement for one of our groups. That group is the Midwest Mid-Winter Regional Core Group, which will be meeting on Wednesday, February 15.

Below is the location of the meeting, including the address:

Potawatomi Inn
Wig Wam Room
6 Lane 100A Lake James
Angola, IN  46703

Yes, the title of the blog post says, “Indiana Recruiters Meeting,” but that’s because the event is being held in Indiana. However, any Network recruiter from a neighboring state can also attend.

More details regarding the time and cost of the event will be available next week, either in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, the news section of the Members’ Area, or both. However, there are some things that I can tell you about the event.

Attendees will engage in both unstructured opportunities and structured activities that revolve around networking. Our goal is to get you connected with other recruiters within the same industry and/or niche so that you can exchange hot job orders and candidates and make split placements.

That’s the goal, plain and simple. That’s always been our goal with this network, and it always will be. We want to help you make placements and generate more revenue for your firm, and events like this one absolutely accomplish that goal.

If you’d like to attend this Indiana recruiters meeting in Top Echelon, please contact me at 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com. OR if you’d like to help start a new regional core group, we can do that, too.

More placements are the goal. Let’s make 2017 a great year!

It’s a new year and a new month, which means I have new Network recruiting firms to introduce!

There were a total of nine recruiting firms that joined Top Echelon Network during the month of December. Granted, that’s a lower number than we had in the months of October and November. However, December is typically a slower time of the year for recruiters. As a result, it’s also a slower time of year in terms of new Network members.

Over 50 more Member firms in 2016

We’re excited about the prospects for 2017. That includes the prospects for TE membership, as well as the prospects for the recruiting industry overall. The membership grew by more than 50 firms in 2016, and we look forward to even greater growth during the next 12 months.

Not only did membership grow this past year, but so did placements. And split placements is the reason we publish the names of new members in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

Split placements are our single-minded focus. We want you to find new trading partners with whom to make splits. Then we want you to make split after split after split.

I encourage you to look through the list below. If appropriate, reach out to some of these firms. Introduce yourself, welcome them to the Network, and ask about their biggest need. Perhaps you can meet that need and split a placement fee!

— — —

FOCUS SOLUTIONS GROUP
Date joined: December 1
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Industries:  Information Technology, Mobile/Gaming, Big Data and C-Level recruitment
Agency members: Michele Ragatz

— — —

OPEN WATER RECRUITING
Date joined: December 5
Location: Mesquite, Nevada
Industries: General
Agency members: Rick Christensen

— — —

WESTBE
Date joined: December 7
Location: De Pere, Wisconsin
Industries:  T, Accounting & Finance, Executive Search and Sales
Agency members: Peter Kolb and Casey Drengler

— — —

COLLINS PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENTS
Date joined: December 14
Location: Yorba Linda, California
Industries: General
Agency members: Mark Collins

— — —

FITZPATRICK ASSOCIATES EXECUTIVE SEARCH, LLC
Date joined: December 14
Location: Cumming, Georgia
Industries: Financial services
Agency members: Press Fitzpatrick

— — —

7 EAGLE GROUP
Date joined: December 22
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Industries:  wide range of industries, including: manufacturing, sales and marketing, healthcare, etc.
Agency members: Jordie Kern, Robert Clark, David Davidson, Susie McCrea, and Chris Caffrey

— — —

HIPP PROFESSIONAL SEARCH, LLC
Date joined: December 27
Location: Columbus, New Jersey
Industries: General
Agency members: Iris Ethington

— — —

A & S RESOURCE STAFFING
Date joined: December 28
Location: Stone Mountain, Georgia
Industries: Information Technology, Telecommunications, Engineering, HR, Sales & Marketing
Agency members: Brenda Mitchell

— — —

DMJW CONSULTING, LLC
Date joined: December 30
Location: Sussex, Wisconsin
Industries: Industrial/Manufacturing, Sales/Marketing, Customer Service, Engineers, IT, Human Resources & Safety, Automotive/Technical, Accounting/Finance, General Labor, Admin/Clerical
Agency members: Domonic Wiedenhoeft

— — —

It doesn’t matter if you’re a newer Network recruiter or an established members. If you want help making more split placements, then contact me! You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

The average tenure of a Top Echelon Network recruiter in the profession is approximately 15 years. However, does that mean a recruiter with 15 years of experience is considered “old school”? Furthermore, what does that recruiter think about such a label?

We whipped up another poll question for the Members’ Area, baked it for 25 minutes, let it cool, and then applied a generous layer of icing. The question that we posed is as follows:

Do you consider yourself an “old school” recruiter or a “new school” recruiter?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of Network recruiters that selected each one:

• “Old school”— 27.4%
• “New school” — 17.9%
• I’m both. — 48.4%
• I’m neither, quit trying to label me. — 6.3%

School is in session

The beauty of this poll question is that there is no real, definitive answer. That’s because it’s a purely subjective question. After all, who determines what is “old school” and what is “new school”?

• Does it have to do with technology?
• Or perhaps the way in which a recruiter chooses to recruit?
• Does it have anything to do with how long the recruiter has been in the profession?
• Or does it pertain to which tools and/or services the recruiter uses?

All great questions, the answers to which will differ depending upon the person you ask. That being said, the results of this particular poll are rather interesting. For example, what stands out is the number of recruiters who chose “I’m both” as their answer: 48.4%. That’s nearly half!

Almost half of the recruiters participating in this poll considers themselves both an “old school” recruiter and a “new school” recruiter. But how is that even possible? Does that mean they employ both strategies and methodologies related to both schools of thought? And if they do, wouldn’t they be prone to using one more than the other?

Fun to contemplate, difficult to quantify

For example, if a recruiter considers themselves 60% “old school” and 40% “new school,” would they not fall into the former category overall? After all, it would be practically impossible for a recruiter to be 50-50. Once again, though, this is a subjective topic, making it fun to contemplate but ultimately difficult to quantify.

Once we get past the most popular answer, “old school” finished second with 27.4% of the vote. “New school” was third at 17.9%. In addition, there was a small contingent (6.3%) that resisted the notion of being labeled at all.

The bottom line: Quite a few Top Echelon Network recruiters fancy themselves as being members of both camps. Beyond that, when you crunch all the numbers—the only semi-objective data we possess—“old school” appears to be a more popular label among TE recruiters.

Regardless of how you view yourself, if you want to make more split placements, then contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.