This week, we’re highlighting recruiters who have made their first split placement in Top Echelon Network!

And in fact, we have not one, but two such recruiters. They are Tet Hernandez of Raymond Search Group and Thyra Gadek of Southwest Accounting Resources. Tet made her split with Christopher Castanias of Accelerated Search Partners, while Thyra teamed up with Top Echelon Network Charter Member Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems to register her deal.

But, wait . . . there’s more!

Thyra and Steve placed an Audit Manager to earn a placement fee of $31,250 at 25%, quite a hefty fee for her first TE placement.

With that in mind, congratulations are also in order for Holly Weber of Global Talent Resources Corp. and Brian Hulecki of Career Transitions, LLC. Holly and Brian accounted for the largest split fee of the week, as they placed an Operations Manager to generate $34,500 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 March 20 through March 26, 2023.

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

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Christopher Castanias

Tet Hernandez

Job recruiter: Christopher Castanias of Accelerated Search Partners, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Tet Hernandez of Raymond Search Group

Job title: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $20,400

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Christopher Castanias

Phil Hurd

Job recruiter: Christopher Castanias of Accelerated Search Partners, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Phil Hurd of Oculus Search Partners, LLC

Job title: SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATOR

Overall placement fee: $12,000

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Trey Cameron

Michael Agen

Job recruiter: Michael Agen of New Solutions Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group

Job title: PHYSICAL THERAPIST HOME HEALTH 

Overall placement fee: $17,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Trey Cameron

Amy Chapman

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group

Job title: MANUFACTURING ENGINEER – CAPITAL PROJECTS

Overall placement fee: $20,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Steve Brody

Thyra Gadek

Job recruiter: Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems

Candidate recruiter: Thyra Gadek of Southwest Accounting Resources

Job title: AUDIT MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $31,250

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Brian Hulecki

Holly Weber

Job recruiter: Holly Weber of Global Talent Resources Corp.

Candidate recruiter: Brian Hulecki of Career Transitions, LLC

Job title: OPERATIONS MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $34,500

Fee percentage: 25%

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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.

A split partner relationship can be a delicate thing. That’s because it depends on so many different factors, not the least of which are the personalities and preferences of the recruiters involved.

I receive phone calls, emails, and messages from Network Preferred Members all of the time. They call for a number of reasons, including to share their experiences with other TE recruiters.

A Network recruiter recently contacted me about a situation. That situation: one of their split recruiting partners tried to micromanage them.

I won’t go into the details of the situation, but suffice it to say, micromanaging does NOT constitute “best practices” for our split fee recruiting membership. I’d like to take this opportunity to explain why.

Below are five reasons not to micromanage your split partners in TE:

#1—You’re complicating the placement process.

The hiring process is complicated enough. There are people on both sides of the sale, and there are more than enough people in the middle of the sale. The candidate, the hiring manager, other company officials, and now TWO recruiters.

When a split partnership works well, there is teamwork involved and the process can unfold more smoothly. However, when you micromanage the situation, it usually does not help things go more smoothly.

#2—You’re straining the relationship.

Nobody likes micromanaging. They just don’t. You’re not helping the situation or the relationship. You’re introducing stress into both.

The last thing that two recruiters need in a split placement situation is to become annoyed or bothered with each other. You can’t be bickering. You must work together to bring a satisfactory conclusion to the process.

#3—You’re not operating in “the spirit of networking.”

One of The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network is Trust, perhaps the most important Pillar. That’s because it’s the key ingredient to not only making one placement, but also making multiple placements.

If you’re going to be part of a split network and you’re going to work with trading partners, then you must trust those partners. You can’t just say that you’re going to trust them and then your actions contradict that.

#4—You’re branding yourself in a negative fashion.

Branding isn’t just for clients and candidates. It’s also for your Top Echelon Network Preferred Membership. You don’t want to brand yourself as somebody who micromanages your trading partners during the placement process. You want to brand yourself in a much more position fashion than that.

When other Network recruiters think of you, you want positive things to come to their mind . . . not things they would like to avoid. People don’t like micromanaging, period.

#5—The recruiter may not want to work with you again.

What is the end result of all this? The other recruiter not wanting to work with you. That should not come as any big surprise. Even if you make a split placement with the person, that’s no guarantee they’ll want to work with you again.

It all depends on what kind of experience you provide for them. If you’re constantly “looking over their shoulder” and bugging them about every single detail, that’s not a positive experience.

If you make a split, that’s a negative experience with a positive ending. However, if you don’t make a split, that’s a negative experience with a negative ending.

Do not micromanage your trading partners. Trust them to do what needs to be done. Work together and rely upon each other’s strengths. Provide a positive experience from start to finish.

And of course, make as many split placements as you possibly can.

If you have any questions about this blog post or about your Preferred Membership in Top Echelon’s recruiting network, please contact me at 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

We’re continuously updating both the Top Echelon recruiting software and our split placement network software. So we’re pleased to announce the following software updates!

1. Careers Page Refresh

We are excited to announce a new visual overhaul to the Careers Page layout. Based on beta user feedback, this new interface features a less cluttered design with more space and fewer borders, as well as a more streamlined application page.

2. Additional Job Types

Additional options have been added to the Job Type field to fit a wider range of job orders. In addition to Direct Hire, Contract, and Temp-to-Hire, Job Type options also include Temporary, Internship, Full Time and Part Time.

3. Datasheet URL in Exports

You are now able to add Datasheet URL as a column option when exporting People, Company, and Job records. This allows you to quickly refer back to the record itself without having to look each one up individually.

4. Virus Scanning

As an added layer of protection, we now virus scan all attachments that are uploaded to the software. You can choose whether you want to receive bell and/or email Notifications when the system detects an issue.

5. BETA: Indeed Ability to Post Jobs Through Indeed

We’ve been busy retooling our Job advertising functionality, which will enable you to post directly to your Indeed account. Please note that this option is not currently compatible with the TEN Jobs Feed.

6. BETA: Checkr Integration

Checkr’s quick, thorough background checks help make the hiring and screening process more efficient.

7. BETA: Google Meet Virtual Meeting Links

Add virtual Google Meet links to Scheduled Activities while sending calendar event invitations.

This is a one-year agreement that automatically renews for another year at the end of the paid period and is available to both new and existing customers.

Remember, you can always stay informed about software updates by visiting the official Top Echelon Product Updates page. You can see current and past updates, as well as which updates and upgrades are next.

If you have questions about these updates or about any other aspect of your Top Echelon Network and/or recruiting software account, you can:

→ Send an email to support@topechelon.com.

→ Visit our Help Center.

I’ve blogged on numerous occasions about the importance of both the candidate recruiter and the job order recruiter doing their due diligence in Top Echelon’s recruiting network.

I know that it’s human nature to “cut corners” in the interest of saving time and doing less work. However, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to overcome human nature and instead adhere to The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network . . . especially the Pillar of QUALITY.

Let’s start with what you should NOT do as the candidate recruiter in Top Echelon. You should NOT just send a resume without screening or qualifying the candidate at all.

Yes, that’s easier. Yes, that saves time. But no, that is NOT what you should do if you want to brand yourself as a quality recruiter and a quality split recruiting partner in the Network.

Drea says: CALL the candidate!

Instead, you should CALL the candidate and speak with them. First of all, they should know who you are when the job order recruiter drops your name at a later date. Second, you need to qualify them.

In fact, below are six things you should find out during that phone screening:

1. The type of position they’re looking for.

2. Whether or not they’re currently employed.

3. If they are employed, what their compensation requirements are.

4. If they’re open to the position for which you’d like to submit them.

5. If there’s relocation or travel associated with the position, if they’re open to those, as stated in the job description.

6. The reason that they’re looking for a new job.

This initial phone screening is the important first step of the candidate recruiter’s responsibility during the split placement process. I’ll be addressing the next steps in future Pinnacle blog posts.

In the meantime, do NOT just forward a resume to the job order recruiter. If you want your split network partners to take your candidate and the process seriously, they expect you to take it just as seriously.

Always submit a screened and qualified candidate to your trading partners.

If you have any questions, I encourage you to contact me by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Top Echelon offers a free monthly webinar as part of its Expert Recruiter Coaching Series.

Gary Stauble

These webinars touch upon a variety of recruiter-related topics. These topics deal with both job candidates and clients. As always, our goal with these webinars is to help professional recruiters and executive search consultants just like YOU make more placements.

We record these webinars for recruiters who can’t attend the live presentation, and we’re now pleased to offer the video from our most recent webinar by Gary Stauble of The Recruiting Lab.

The title of that webinar (and corresponding training video) is “How to Recession-Proof Your Firm”

Below is the official description for this training video:

— — —

According to Fortune magazine, over two-thirds of economists believe a recession is likely to hit in 2023.

Experts debate about whether the slowdown will be mild or more serious. Most of that is beyond our control. But what’s not beyond our control is how we respond.

The Greek philosopher Epictetus famously said, “Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.”

In this special webinar video in the Top Echelon Expert Recruiter Coaching Series, Gary Stauble of The Recruiting Lab will assist you in moving from fear into action. During this information-packed session, you’ll learn:

• The fastest and easiest way to secure more searches (it’s NOT MPCs)
• How to turn, “No openings” into a new revenue stream
• How to perform an Extreme Client Reboot
• A stealth marketing method for landing new clients
• How to decide whether to fire some of your staff
• The “Super Skill” required for thriving in a volatile market
• The seven (7) hidden opportunities to take advantage of during a recession
• The three (3) key financial decisions you need to make right now
• And much more!

So don’t wait and don’t delay! Watch this training video and find out “How to Recession-Proof Your Firm”!

Watch this FREE training video!

 — — —

Recorded versions of our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars are posted on our website as free online recruitment training courses in the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Library.

Keep an eye out for the next free webinar in our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series!