Spring is officially here . . . and hope springs eternal! It certainly appears that’s the case with the U.S. economy. That also pertains to what recruiters think about the possibility of a recession sometime this year.

I say that because we put the question directly to Top Echelon Network recruiters. After all, recruiters are on the “front line,” so to speak, of the employment marketplace. They talk with hiring managers and candidates all day long.

So this is the question that we posed to them recently in the form of a poll question in the Members’ Area:

Will there be a recession in the U.S. economy before the end of the year?

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

• Yes— 15.7%
• No — 84.3%

Recession? A big, fat, emphatic “No!”

The results of this poll question are pretty straightforward. Far more recruiters believe there will NOT be a recession before the end of the year than DO believe there will be one.

In fact, 84.3% chose in the negative, while just 15.7% voted in the positive. (Although it’s a bit odd to say that predicting a recession is “voting in the positive.”)

According to the recruiting statistics that we compiled for our 2016-2017 State of the Industry Report, over 62% of the recruiters who participated in our survey indicated that they do NOT believe a recession is imminent.

Here are two interesting aspects about this fact:

1. Fewer recruiters said “No” the previous year in our report (53%) than in 2016 (63%).
2. Recruiters are apparently even more optimistic now, with 84% saying “No” as compared to 63%.

The longest-running bull in history?

We are now in the second-longest bull market in the history of the United States. The longer a bull market runs, the closer you get to the next recession. Technically, we were closer to recession in 2016 than we were in 2015. However, recruiters don’t see it that way.

Regardless of American history or the laws of economics and finance, the recruiters in both our survey and this poll believe that a recession is further away now than it was in 2015. Or in 2016.

The conclusion: the longer the bull market runs, the more optimistic recruiters are becoming.

While that makes more sense at the beginning of a bull market, it makes less sense at the (supposed) end of one. Unless, of course, we’re not really close to the end . . . and this bull market turns out to be the longest one in the history of the United States.

Hey, hope springs eternal!

Several weeks ago, we introduced our “Did You Know?” series in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. This series is designed to help show members of Top Echelon’s recruiting network how to maximize the power of the Big Biller applicant tracking software

And we’re back with even MORE power tips!

Of course we’re back with more. Why wouldn’t we be?

In fact, we have another round of three more such tips, which are listed below. Accompanying each nugget of information is a link to a Help Center article and/or video that explains the feature in more detail. (Remember, the Help Center is available 24/7 to answer your questions and provide assistance.)

The next three tips about the Big Biller applicant tracking software are below.

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Did You Know . . . How to Set Up an Email Signature?

Did you know . . . that you can create an email signature file with the Big Biller recruitment software?

Not only can you create an email signature, but you can customize it, too. Once completed, it will auto-populate with each new email that you compose. Customized email signature files are just one more way that Big Biller can improve time management for recruiters.

Click HERE for a Help Center article about how to create an email signature file in Big Biller!

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Did You Know . . . About Tracking Metrics?

Measuring your performance and the performance of your recruiting staff is imperative to the growth and well-being of your firm. Tracking key recruiting metrics helps users of the Big Biller ATS recruiting software become better recruiters because they can identify both areas of strength and areas that need improvement.

Reports within Big Biller allow you to quickly pull information together so that you can determine the impact of your recruiting efforts.

Click HERE for a Help Center article about tracking key metrics in Big Biller!

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Did You Know . . . You Can Attach a Blind Resume?

You know that you can attach a resume in Big Biller. But did you know . . . that you can attach a blind resume in the our online recruiting software?

You can store a blinded copy of a candidate’s resume so that it’s ready to send to your contacts right out of Big Biller. Once the blinded version is created, you can attach it to the corresponding record and label it appropriately in the database.

Click HERE for a Help Center article explaining how to attach a blind resume in Big Biller!

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Check future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog for another installment of “Did You Know?”

And if you’re ready to see what the Big Biller recruiting software can do for your agency, then click here to sign up for a LIVE demo!

We have the top 10 recruiters in Top Echelon Network for the first quarter of the year. And they combined to earn $814,859 in placement fees during the first three months!

That’s just the top 10 recruiters in the Network. The rest of the recruiters in TE made some money, as well.

The top 10 . . . and then some

The fact of the matter is that Top Echelon Network recruiters have made more placements every year for the past four years and counting. But wait, there’s more! Network placements are up over 10% through the first quarter of the year.

So 2017 is already off to a great start for recruiters in the Top Echelon split network!

Here’s another interesting statistic for TE recruiters. The top 14 recruiters have all billed at least $100,000 through the Network during the past 12 months. (The #15 recruiter has billed $99,711.)

But wait! Once again, there’s more! The top 60 recruiters in the Network have all billed at least $40,000 during the past 12 months.

The big take-away: money!

The big take-away: there are placements and money to be made in our split fee recruiting network! The evidence is unmistakable, and we’re here to help you. If you want to crack the list of the top 10 recruiters (or even the top 60), then contact us. Specifically, contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Below is the information that we are now including with the announcement of the Recruiter of the Quarter Award:

• The top ten (10) recruiters in the Network for the quarter
• The number of split placements those recruiters made during the quarter
• The dollar amount of commission that the recruiters earned as a result of those placements

Below are the final standings for the Recruiter of the Quarter Award in Top Echelon Network for the first quarter of 2017. Congratulations to all of these recruiters for their accomplishments!

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First Place

Recruiter: Trey Cameron
Agency: Cameron Craig Group
Placements: 37
Commission: $310,516

Second Place

Recruiter: Sean Napoles, CPC
Agency: Career Brokers, Inc.
Placements: 10
Commission: $90,486

Third Place

Recruiter: Jeff Katz
Agency: JSK Recruiting
Placements: 9
Commission: 65,762

Fourth Place

Recruiter: Kristy Staggs
Agency: Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.
Placements: 7
Commission: $39,193

Fifth Place

Recruiter: Amylyn Kyler
Agency: Kyler Professional Search
Placements: 6
Commission: $66,345

Sixth Place

Recruiter: Justin Bidwell
Agency: Bidwell & Associates, LLC
Placements: 6
Commission: $61,687

Seventh Place

Recruiter: Steve Kohn
Agency: Affinity Executive Search
Placements: 6
Commission: $54,543

Eighth Place

Recruiter: Rose Langhals
Agency: Bridgeway Professionals, Inc.
Placements: 6
Commission: $36,096

Ninth Place

Recruiter: Melissa Truax
Agency: Premier Health Careers, Inc./Premier Paths
Placements: 5
Commission: $55,263

10th Place

Recruiter: Chris Ramsey
Agency: Corporate Resources, LLC
Placements: 5
Commission: $34,968

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Top Echelon Network determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its recruiting awards based upon two criteria, which are listed below in order of importance:

1.) The number of split placements made
2.) The amount of “cash-in” dollars earned as a result of those split placements

This explains why, when multiple recruiters are tied with the same number of split placements during a given month or quarter, the recruiter with the largest “cash-in” total for their placements is deemed the winner.

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As mentioned above, if YOU are looking to make more placements with your Top Echelon split fee recruiting membership, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

For various reasons, some workers prefer to be paid on 1099 instead of a W-2. But it’s not the worker’s decision. The IRS guidelines determine whether a worker is classified as a 1099 independent contractor or a W-2 employee.

Still, recruiters and their clients often get push back when trying to convince their candidates that they need to be paid as a W-2 employee rather than a 1099 independent contractor. So how do you convince them that they need to be paid on a W-2?

For starters, you may want to point out the risks. Independent Contractor misclassification audits have increased at both the federal and state levels over the past few years.

There has been a lot of focus on how this affects companies, but workers can also be subject to audits. If it’s found that they’ve been misclassified, they could be required to file amended tax returns, which could result in additional taxes and penalties.

Benefits of W-2 contract employment

Plus, there are many advantages to being classified as a W-2 employee. By being a W-2 employee, workers will:

• Receive a weekly paycheck with the option of direct deposit
• Have access to medical insurance, vision, dental, and life insurance
• Have access to a 401(k) plan
• Be eligible for unemployment insurance
• Be covered under the employer’s Workers’ Compensation plan
• Not have to negotiate and/or write a client contract
• Not have to generate invoices to the client
• Not have to handle collection issues with the client
• Not have to float expenses while waiting on payment from the client
• Not have to do their own quarterly tax filings
• Have half of the Social Security Tax paid by the employer
• Have half of the Medicare Tax paid by the employer

By pointing out the risks of being classified as an independent contractor and the advantages of being paid on a W-2, you can convince even the most reluctant candidate that being properly classified is in their best interests.

If you’re ready to add contract staffing services to your business model, then get started today with our FREE Quick-Start Guide to Contract Staffing!