Well, this was a foregone conclusion. What was? The fact that another recruiter was going to reach the 100-placement plateau in Top Echelon Network. AND the fact that the recruiter in question is David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc.

So . . . yeah, we’re going to make Dave the Recruiter of the Week!

And this time, we’re NOT going to publish the blog post with a stock photo of somebody who isn’t even a recruiter. As you can see, we’ve published the article with a photo of the REAL Dave Sgro posing as if he’s actually in a stock photo. (Because in the world of recruiting, you just can’t take yourself too seriously.)

What we are serious about, though, is recognizing Dave for his many accomplishments in the Network. In addition to his high production, below are five more reasons why he is Recruiter of the Week:

#1—He’s a split-minded recruiter.

What does this mean? It means that Dave does NOT view split placements as a last resort. He views them as a first option IF it means filling the job order quickly with the best candidate available. After all, that’s what his clients want to do: fill the position with the best candidate as soon as possible. They don’t care if he keeps the full fee or has to split it. Consequently, Dave doesn’t care, either, and that’s why his clients love him.

#2—He makes (a lot) of contract placements.

Dave does whatever it takes to provide value to his clients. If that means getting the candidate from another recruiter and splitting the fee, that’s what he does. If that means taking a contract job order and filling it with the help of Top Echelon Contracting, that’s what he does. He’s open to the benefits of offering contract staffing to his clients, and he’s reaped those benefits. To date, he’s made 75 contract placements through TEC. So that means he could become the first recruiter to make both 100 direct hire and 100 contract placements through TE. Go, Dave, go!

#3—He attends TE events.

Dave is a mainstay at Top Echelon Network events like the upcoming 2017 National Convention in Orlando (he’ll be there) and the 2017 Fall Conference in Chicago (he’ll be there). He has experienced first-hand the value of attending these events, and he makes attending them a priority.

#4—He excels at networking.

Dave is proactive in his networking efforts. Not only does he attend the National Convention and the Fall Conference, but he attends Regional Core Group meetings, as well. He never misses a chance to meet another TE recruiter face-to-face. Effective networking is the backbone of Top Echelon Network. Dave provides an excellent example of how it leads to a flourishing split business. AND he’s a co-inventor of the “split placement selfie.” So there’s that.

#5—He values (and praises) his trading partners.

Of the 100 placements that Dave has made, he’s probably praised his trading partners for every single one of them. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. How about the majority of them. Just like the comments below, Dave appreciates his trading partners and voices that appreciation. That’s how you build relationships with other recruiters and motivate them to work with you again. And make more split placements. And then make still more split placements.

So congratulations to David M. Sgro from everybody here at Top Echelon! We’d like to thank him for his hard work, and of course, for the fact that he’s so photogenic!

— — —

David M. Sgro, CPC

Philip Bartfield

“Philip nailed it for me! He sent me two great local candidates, the only two candidates my client really considered. Thanks, Philip! Let’s do more!”

Submitted by David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc. regarding his Network split placement with Philip Bartfield of Analytic Search

Position Title—APPLICATION PROGRAMMER/ANALYST

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the second Network split placement that David M. Sgro and Philip Bartfield have made together in Top Echelon.)

Recruiters make a LOT of money through Top Echelon Network. The fees that the top five recruiters in March generated is evidence of that.

That’s because the top five recruiters accounted for $265,993 in fees!

And you must remember: this is in addition to whatever else they’re earning on their recruiting desks. For the vast majority of TE members, their Network membership makes up just a portion of their business. These fees are like icing on the cake. They’re like gravy. They’re like gravy-flavored icing!

New faces with BIG fees

That being said, we have a couple of new faces in the top five:

• Amylyn Kyler of Kyler Professional Search
• Eric Dickerson of Gulfstream Strategic Placements, LLC

As you can see below, the #5 recruiter on the list, Jeff Katz of JSK Recruiting, billed $18,268 through the Network during March. Project that total over the course of 12 months, and that’s $219,216. Once again, that’s in addition to whatever other placements Jeff might make during the year.

There are a ton of recruiters earning a ton of recruiting fees in Top Echelon Network. The five listed above represent just a handful of recruiters leveraging the full resources of our recruiting network. What could YOU be doing to generate more fees as a TE member?

Congratulations to everybody on the list below and everybody who made Network split placements in March!

— — —

Recruiters of the Month:

1st Place: Trey Cameron
Agency: Cameron Craig Group
Placements: 19
Commission: $153,831

— — —

2nd Place: Amylyn Kyler
Agency: Kyler Professional Search
Placements: 4
Commission: $43,052

— — —

3rd Place: Sean Napoles, CPC
Agency: Career Brokers, Inc.
Placements: 3
Commission: $28,576

— — —

4th Place: Eric Dickerson
Agency: Gulfstream Strategic Placements, LLC
Placements: 3
Commission: $22,266

— — —

5th Place: Jeff Katz
Agency: JSK Recruiting
Placements: 3
Commission: $18,268

— — —

If you’re looking to make more placements with your Top Echelon Network membership, contact 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.

Top Echelon Network recruiter Mary Anne Buckley, CPC of Interstate Recruiters Corp strikes again! That’s because she made the biggest recruiting fee in the Network during the month of March.

Yes, Mary Anne did split the fee with another recruiter: Justin Bidwell of Bidwell Search, LLC. However, Mary Anne has shared in the Largest Split Fee of the Month Award on numerous occasions.

In fact, she’s made 18 placements in TE. Ten (10) of those 18 have been over $40,000. In addition, four (4) of them have been over $50,000. Those four are as follows:

• $78,750
• $68,600
• $56,250
• $52,500

Average TE recruiting fee: $37,000!

So while this is the biggest recruiting fee in the Network for March, it’s only the fourth-biggest fee for Mary Anne in the Network! The average fee for Mary Anne’s 18 TE placements is over $37,000.

Who says there’s no money to be made in a split fee recruiting network? Mary Anne, who’s been a Network member since 2005, is a 30-year veteran of the recruiting profession. She specializes in the Pharma and Biotech industries and has had the job order in all but one of her 18 TE placements.

So congratulations to Mary Anne Buckley and Justin Bidwell for the Largest Split Fee of the Month. May there be many more!

— — —

Largest Split Fee of the Month:

Mary Anne Buckley, CPC

Justin Bidwell

Mary Anne Buckley of Interstate Recruiters Corp and Justin Bidwell of Bidwell & Associates, LLC

The position for this split placement was a Director of Quality Compliance. Buckley was the job order recruiter, and Bidwell was the candidate recruiter.

The action that stimulated this split placement was listed as “Network Jobs Feed.”

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

— — —

Top Echelon determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its Network recruiting awards in four distinct categories, which are listed below:

1.) Recruiter of the Month
2.) Largest Split Fee of the Month
3.) Recruiter of the Quarter
4.) Largest Split Fee of the Quarter

The winners of these awards are only announced in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, usually (but not always) in the issue following the conclusion of each month and/or quarter.

You’ve most likely heard the expression “Any business is good business.” As you probably already realize, that saying does NOT necessarily apply to recruiting. And it certainly does NOT apply to a bad job order.

Industry trainer Barb Bruno said it best in one of her Top Echelon blog posts: “When you think of all the work that goes into marketing your services, writing a job order, and working that order, it’s vital that you choose to work only job orders that have the best chance of resulting in a placement.”

As Kenny Rogers sings in his famous song, “The Gambler,” “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” But HOW can you tell which direct hire job orders should send you running in the opposite direction?

Below are the top five signs of a bad job order:

#1—No urgency = a bad job order

The client should be able to give an expected fill date for the position, even if it’s tentative. “ASAP” is not a timeline. Try asking more specific questions. Those questions could include, “What is the target start date?” or “When will you be available to interview with candidates?” If they cannot answer those questions, filling the position is probably not a high priority.

#2—Slow or no response

If your client has a habit of missing phone calls or it takes longer than 48 hours to hear back, taking more job orders from them may be inadvisable.

#3—Several recruiters working one order

Make sure you aren’t wasting your time in a race against several other recruiters to fill the same job order.

#4—Key decision makers are AWOL.

Will you have access to the key decision maker or hiring manager? It may be worth your while to find out up front. You’ll likely start with human resources and that’s fine, but pursuing the job order could be an exercise in futility if the person with the need isn’t involved.

#5—The client is looking for a “purple squirrel.”

The client wants a recent college graduate with 15 years of experience who can write in cuneiform and juggles torches in their off-hours. That may be a slight exaggeration, but some of your clients’ expectations are likely almost as ludicrous. Instead of slogging through the mud, maybe it would be best to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Alternatively, you could ask them to “try out” a candidate with MOST of what they’re seeking (cuneiform but no fire-juggling?) on a contract-to-direct basis. Since they have no long-term commitment, they may be willing to give a close-to-perfect fit a shot!

With or without these telling signals, you can probably tell bad business instinctively. But you also know that you need to generate income and you may be hesitant to turn it down. What if you had a steady stream of income that allowed you to be choosier about your job orders? It’s not a fantasy. You CAN turn down a bad job order. IF you are generating steady income through contract staffing.

When you have contractors, you’re paid for every hour they work during the contract period. That means you’re making money even when you’re not making direct placements. This gives you the freedom to turn down job orders that you know ultimately won’t be worth your time. This, in turn, leaves you with more time for the good job orders that are much more likely to deliver a large direct hire placement fee.

Access “Your Complete Guide to Contract Staffing” to get started today!