Hey, how is January almost over? How did that happen? At this rate, we’ll be talking about 2025 pretty soon.

I know, bite my tongue. However, let’s focus on the present and not the future, because the present includes a $42,500 recruiting fee in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog! What’s that? Since the placement has already been made, it’s technically in the past? Nobody asked you.

This means that congratulations are in order for Jeff Katz of JSK Recruiting and Rebecca Lucas of CPG Talent Management LLC! Jeff and Rebecca placed a Senior VP of Sales to earn a split fee of $42,500 at 25%.

As a friendly neighborhood reminder, here is the information that we publish with our weekly placements:

• Names of the split recruiting partners involved (with their profile photos, when available)
• Job title
• Overall placement fee (before TE’s 6% brokerage fee, of course)
• Fee percentage

Please note that the placements listed below reflect deals finalized in Top Echelon Network for the period from January 15 through January 21, 2024.

Remember, if you don’t want information related to your Network placements published in The Pinnacle, please send an email to marketing@topechelon.com to that effect.

Congratulations to everybody below for the split placements they made in Top Echelon Network!

This Week’s Top Echelon Split Placements

— — —

Job recruiter: Neily Horan of Horan Hiring Solutions, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

Overall placement fee: $12,896

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Nick Stoia, CPC of ASAP Search

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $16,600

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Michael Agen of New Solutions Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: RN HOSPICE

Overall placement fee: $15,198

Fee percentage: 17%

— — —

Job recruiter: Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $18,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Jeff Katz of JSK Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Rebecca Lucas of CPG Talent Management, LLC

Job title: SENIOR VP OF SALES

Overall placement fee: $42,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Frank Caligiuri of Basilone Executive Search

Candidate recruiter: Joni Sappenfield of Sappenfield Staffing, Inc.

Job title: DIRECTOR OF FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY

Overall placement fee: $28,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

If you’re a newer Network member and you’d like to enjoy more success in our recruiter network, then I encourage you to contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

As you can see by the title above, this article is the first of what will be a multi-part series about why you should share ALL of your job orders and search assignments with Top Echelon Network. (You can call them job orders or you can call their search assignments . . . either one is fine with us.)

First of all, the top producers in Top Echelon Network share all of their job orders. And you can see how much money they made in 2023 because they do just that. They’re not worried about earning full fees. If they do, great. If they don’t because they made a split placement, great. They’re only worried about finding the best job candidate possible in the shortest period of time and doing over and over and over again.

That is why they are successful. That is why they bill a tremendous amount of money, both inside and outside of the Network, year after year.

But let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we? Below are five reasons why you should be sharing ALL of your job orders with Top Echelon Network:

#1—Filling Job Orders More Quickly

Recruiters often find themselves working against the clock to fill critical job positions for their clients. In a competitive industry, speed can make all the difference.

Sharing job orders within the network accelerates the recruitment process by widening the candidate pool. With more eyes on the job requirements, recruiters can identify suitable candidates faster, facilitating quicker placements.

#2—Enhanced Client Satisfaction

Client satisfaction is the cornerstone of any successful recruiting firm. When recruiters promptly fill job orders, clients benefit from a streamlined hiring process, minimizing the impact of vacancies on their operations.

Satisfied clients are more likely to trust and continue working with recruiters who consistently deliver results. By sharing job orders, recruiters contribute to client success, fostering long-term relationships and repeat business.

#3—Building a Positive Feedback Loop

Sharing job orders sets in motion a positive feedback loop within the Top Echelon Network. As recruiters successfully fill positions and satisfy clients, they are likely to receive more job orders in return.

This continuous cycle of success reinforces the collaborative spirit of the network and positions recruiters as reliable partners. The more job orders shared, the more opportunities for placements arise, creating a self-reinforcing mechanism that propels recruiters to the top of the Network standings.

#4—Expanding Business Opportunities

In the competitive world of recruitment, expanding business opportunities is a constant pursuit.

By actively participating in the network and sharing job orders, recruiters open doors to new collaborations, partnerships, and potential clients. The network becomes a thriving ecosystem where recruiters not only support each other but also uncover avenues for growth and diversification.

#5—Establishing a Reputation for Excellence

Top producers within the Top Echelon Network often share a common trait – a reputation for excellence.

By consistently sharing job orders and achieving successful placements, recruiters build a positive reputation within the Network. This reputation becomes a valuable asset, leading to another positive feedback loops in terms of your Network membership. You can never have too many positive feedback loops!

As I said, this is just the first of multiple articles I will be writing about the subject of sharing ALL of your job orders with Top Echelon Network. Sharing all of your jobs is how you fill more job orders, make more placements, get more job orders, and get more clients . . . so start sharing today!

When the placement was first made and the fee was known, it was almost a foregone conclusion that it was going to the Highest Split Fee of the Year in Top Echelon Network for 2024.

After all, it was already the Highest Split Fee in the history of the Network. It was unlikely to be dethroned before the end of 2023, and it was not.

So we at Top Echelon are pleased to announce that Steve Brody of Steve Brody and Trish Kuykendall of Source Financial Staffing are responsible for the Largest Split Fee of the Year for 2024 in Top Echelon Network!

Steve and Trish placed a Tax Partner at a flat percentage to earn a recruiting fee of $100,917!

Of course, as monumental as it was (and is), that fee was not the only large fee produced in Top Echelon Network during 2023. In fact, there is a host of other placements and fees listed below, representing the top 10 placement fees in Top Echelon for the year.

However . . . you might have noticed that there are more than 10 fees listed below. That’s because there were ties among Network recruiters, lots of ties. And we certainly did NOT want to leave anybody out. As they say, the more, the merrier.

We only announce the winners of these awards in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. We do so usually (but not always) in the issue following the conclusion of each year.

Congratulations to everybody who made the largest split fees in Top Echelon Network during the quarter!  Congratulations to Steve Brody of Steve Brody and Trish Kuykendall of Source Financial Staffing who placed a Tax Partner for a split placement fee of $100,917 flat!

Largest Split Fees of 2023

— — –

First Place

Steve Brody of Steve Brody and Trish Kuykendall of Source Financial Staffing

The position for this split placement was a Tax Partner and the fee percentage associated with this placement was Flat.

Steve was the job order recruiter and Trish was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $100,917.

— — —

Second Place:

Mark Rowbottom of Rowbottom Partners and Maggie Wolgamot of Ridgeback Management Services, LLC

The position for this split placement was a Director of Data Center Engineering and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 30%.

Mark was the job order recruiter and Maggie was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $83,625.

— — –

Third Place:

Rich Grunenwald of Advisory and Consulting Services, LLC and Ben Banik of Integritas Search

The position for this split placement was a Senior Global IT Director and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Rich was the job order recruiter and Ben was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $58,750.

— — –

Fourth Place:

Nick Stoia, CPC of ASAP Search and Steve Schanz of CPS Recruitment

The position for this split placement was a Manufacturing Engineering Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 30%.

Nick was the job order recruiter and Steve was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $54,000.

— — –

Fifth Place (Tie):

Brad McMillan of RPM ReSearch and Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Director of Site Operations and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Brad was the job order recruiter and Steve was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $52,500.

— — –

Fifth Place (Tie):

Christina Boudreaux of Connectly Recruiting and Ann Boland of The Boland Group

The position for this split placement was a SVP of Business Development and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Christina was the job order recruiter and Ann was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $52,500.

— — –

Sixth Place (Tie):

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing and Eric Berg of JN Adams & Associates, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Amy was the job order recruiter and Eric was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $50,000.

— — –

Sixth Place (Tie):

Amber Schleinkofer of KB Search Team, LLC and Jay Sitapara of Talent Partners, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Head of Global Business Transformation and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Amber was the job order recruiter and Jay was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $50,000.

— — –

Sixth Place (Tie):

Carol McBride of RCC Group, LLC and Phil Hurd of Oculus Search Partners, LLC

The position for this split placement was a VP of Accounting and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Carol was the job order recruiter and Phil was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $50,000.

— — –

Sixth Place (Tie):

Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates, LLC and Chuck Sissom of Sissom & Associates

The position for this split placement was a Senior Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Ron was the job order recruiter and Chuck was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $50,000.

— — –

Seventh Place:

Doug Boyce of Priority One Search and Emily McBride of Paul Mitchell Group

The position for this split placement was a Plant Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Doug was the job order recruiter and Emily was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $48,750.

— — —

Eighth Place:

Carol McBride of RCC Group, LLC and Thyra Gadek of Southwest Accounting Resources

The position for this split placement was an AVP of Real Estate Tax and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Carol was the job order recruiter and Thyra was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $46,250.

— — —

Ninth Place:

Pam Ratz DeVille of Selective Resources, LLC and Tom Daly of Tom Daly

The position for this split placement was a Controller – Advisor to CFO and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 27%.

Pam was the job order recruiter and Tom was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $45,900.

— — —

10th Place:

Christina Boudreaux of Connectly Recruiting and Ann Boland of The Boland Group

The position for this split placement was a Chief Human Resources Officer and the fee percentage associated with this placement was flat.

Christina was the job order recruiter and Ann was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $45,000.

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiting network, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

For years, Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group won Recruiter of the Year honors in Top Echelon Network. And now, Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group is on a streak of his own.

Michael is a three-peat winner of the award, once again taking the top spot in 2023. Although he was not able to repeat his performance of the previous two years of billing over $1 million through the Network his cash-in total of $847K is still impressive.

And yes, as is often the case, we have some new faces on our list, most prominently Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting in third place ($439,809) and Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc. in sixth place ($312,720).

In 2022, the Network’s top ten recruiters billed at least $200K. We came close in 2023, with eight of the 10 billing at least that amount, further illustrating that while 2023 was a good year, it was not quite as good as the job market’s “irrational exuberance” of 2022.

Before we unveil the full list of top-producing recruiters, I must trot out our usual disclaimer regarding these rankings:

Our annual list of the top recruiters is determined by Top Echelon Network members’ cash-in total in our split network on a rolling 12-month basis. The order of the list below reflects the recruiters’ cash-in totals for the 2022 calendar year, which ended at midnight on December 31, 2023.

So congratulations to the recruiters listed below and congratulations to every Network member who made a split placement during the year of 2023!

Recruiters of the Year – 2023

  — — —

First Place

Recruiter: Michael Stuck
Agency: Gables Search Group
Placements: 105
Commission: $847,459
Career Top Echelon placements: 553
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $3,990,898

— — —

Second Place

Recruiter: Trey Cameron
Agency: Cameron Craig Group
Placements: 49
Commission: $455,492
Career Top Echelon placements: 1,303
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $10,392,099

— — —

Third Place

Recruiter: Brad Dodge
Agency: iLocatum Recruiting
Placements: 50
Commission: $439,809
Career Top Echelon placements: 121
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $914,557

— — —

Fourth Place

Recruiter: Steve Kohn
Agency: Affinity Executive Search, Inc.
Placements: 34
Commission: $416,429
Career Top Echelon placements: 540
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $4,901,373

— — —

Fifth Place

Recruiter: Maria Hemminger
Agency: MJ Recruiters, LLC
Placements: 33
Commission: $353,888
Career Top Echelon placements: 244
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $2,083,595

— — —

Sixth Place

Recruiter: Sara Alexandroff
Agency: Sterling St. James, Inc.
Placements: 35
Commission: $312,720
Career Top Echelon placements: 59
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $491,373

— — —

Seventh Place

Recruiter: Bob White
Agency: Impact Solutions, Inc.
Placements: 33
Commission: $248,008
Career Top Echelon placements: 107
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $803,090

— — —

Eighth Place

Recruiter: Jim Strickland
Agency: BioSource Recruiters
Placements: 24
Commission: $235,963
Career Top Echelon placements: 226
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $1,780,425

— — —

Ninth Place

Recruiter: Amy Chapman
Agency: Key People Staffing
Placements: 13
Commission: $186,778
Career Top Echelon placements: 73
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $874,553

— — —

10th Place

Recruiter: Phil Hurd
Agency: Oculus Search Partners, LLC
Placements: 22
Commission: $175,473
Career Top Echelon placements: 63
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $472,550

— — —

Join us in congratulating the top-producing recruiters listed above. And here’s to hoping that 2023 is a better year for every recruiter in Top Echelon Network!

If you’re looking to make more placements with your Top Echelon split recruiting membership, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

It’s a new year, and Top Echelon Network recruiters are off and running!

The evidence lies in the 21 split placements outlined below. As you can see, many of those placements were accompanied by large recruiting fees. And there’s no better way to start a new year than with large recruiting fees.

There are some new names below, as well as some familiar faces. But that’s how Top Echelon operates: new members entering the Network all the time and making placements with more tenured members. Over and over again until the end of time . . . which is depicted in the photo above.

But the end of the world is not here yet. There is still time to make more placements! So pick up the phone and let’s make this another great year!

As a friendly neighborhood reminder, here is the information that we publish with our weekly placements:

• Names of the split recruiting partners involved (with their profile photos, when available)
• Job title
• Overall placement fee (before TE’s 6% brokerage fee, of course)
• Fee percentage

Please note that the placements listed below reflect deals finalized in Top Echelon Network for the period from January 1 through January 14, 2024.

Remember, if you don’t want information related to your Network placements published in The Pinnacle, please send an email to marketing@topechelon.com to that effect.

Congratulations to everybody below for the split placements they made in Top Echelon Network!

This Week’s Top Echelon Split Placements

— — —

Job recruiter: Amylyn Kyler of Kyler Professional Search

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: DIRECTOR OF NON-PROFIT FUNDRAISING/DEVELOPMENT

Overall placement fee: $6,375

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Nick Stoia, CPC of ASAP Search

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

Job title: TOOL & DIE ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $19,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Hilda Fourie of Systems Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: RISK MANAGER/CREDIT MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $15,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Jim Folger, CPC of One Source Technical, Inc. 

Candidate recruiter: Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group

Job title: OUTSIDE SALES – CUSTOM METAL FABRICATED PARTS

Overall placement fee: $27,450

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Smith Richardson of Gallman Consulting

Candidate recruiter: Adam Neumann of New Talent

Job title: DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Overall placement fee: $20,900

Fee percentage: 22%

— — —

Job recruiter: Bob White of Impact Solutions, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Overall placement fee: $20,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Mike Whittington of Match Point Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Adam Pantelli of AJ Search

Job title: ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR (REMOTE)

Overall placement fee: $36,250

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Christina Boudreaux of Connectly Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Tom Honeywill of Decide Consulting

Job title: CYPRESS TEST AUTOMATION ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $15,000

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Lisa VanWyk of Step Up Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Deborah Davis of Ashford Connex, LLC

Job title: FULL CHARGE BOOKEEPER

Overall placement fee: $16,250

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Kristy Staggs of Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Chuck Cole of Cole Professional Search

Job title: MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $28,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Laura Petraitis-Doll of LS Doll & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Timothy Urbancic of True Scout Partners

Job title: ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER – PLANT LEVEL

Overall placement fee: $24,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Josh Slimmer of Jericho HR Group

Candidate recruiter: Sarah Katz of First Search, Inc.

Job title: SENIOR COMPENSATION ANALYST

Overall placement fee: $20,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Bob White of Impact Solutions, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: MECHANICAL HEAT TRANSFER SALES QUOTING APPLICATION ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $20,875

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Jeff Manga of 6 Degrees Search

Candidate recruiter: Arwen Gibbons of Hunter Gibbons

Job title: SR. FINANCIAL SYSTEMS ANALYST

Overall placement fee: $30,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Bob Jones of Bob Jones & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: ELECTRICAL ENGINEER – FACILITIES

Overall placement fee: $23,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Amylyn Kyler of Kyler Professional Search

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: CONTROLLER – FAMILY OFFICE TAX

Overall placement fee: $15,625

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Nick Stoia, CPC of ASAP Search

Candidate recruiter: Justin Bidwell of Bidwell & Associates, LLC

Job title: QUALITY ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $21,600

Fee percentage: 22.5%

— — —

Job recruiter: Kristen Grant of Apple & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Adam Pantelli of AJ Search

Job title: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT/PROCESS ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $23,540

Fee percentage: 22%

— — —

Job recruiter: Laurie Burden of The Recruiting Pro

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: PHARMACY MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $10,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Shree Kumar of Max Populi, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN

Overall placement fee: $20,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Peggy Baggott of RCC Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Bob White of Impact Solutions, Inc.

Job title: ASSISTANT FLEET MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $17,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

If you’re a newer Network member and you’d like to enjoy more success in our recruiter network, then I encourage you to contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.