As you might have heard us mention a time or two, Top Echelon Network will be celebrating its 25th year of existence in 2013.

But why wait?  Let’s start celebrating right now!  There’s no time like the present!  Besides, there are some who say the world is going to end before 2013 even gets here, so let’s party like it’s 1999!  (Actually scratch that; my 1999 party wasn’t that great.)

Anyway, one of the things we’ll be doing to celebrate this milestone is recognize those recruiters who have accomplished tremendous milestones as Preferred Members of Top Echelon Network during the past 24+ years.  One of those milestones is making 100 placements.

And you might be interested to know—and I’m interested to tell you—that in the 24 years that Top Echelon Network has been in business, 24 recruiters have made 100 placements or more as Preferred Members.  Coincidence?  Maybe . . . probably . . . work with me here.

Below is the list of the 24 recruiters who comprise “The Top Echelon Network 100 Placement Club.”  Some are no longer in the Network.  The names of those recruiters are in italics.

1. Bruce Ramstad of Bruce L. Ramstad—307
2. Gary Silver of The Shay Group—224
3. Jim Bostic of The Bostic Group, Inc.—224
4. Jerry Walter of Walter & Associates, Inc.—180
5. Jim Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick & Associates—176
6. Dan Simmons of Continental Search & Outplacement, Inc.—175
7. Dan Regan of Maxwell Marcus Corporate Recruiters—171
8. Sean Napoles of Career Brokers, Inc.—164
9. Lou Michaels of Lou Michaels Associates, Inc.—162
10. Kate Bell of Bell & Associates—157
11. Al Katz of First Search—152
12. Elvin Erickson of Erickson & Associates, Inc.—143
13. Allen Davis of SoftwareJobs.com, Inc.—140
14. Heidi Kay of Kay Concepts, Inc.—135 (currently with another Preferred Member firm)
15. Richard Lechtenberg of Dick Berg & Associates—131
16. Colleen Switala of Database Search, Inc.—123
17. Donna Carroll of Systems Personnel—122
18. Terry Rhodes of newcareers—122
19. Bill Williams—114
20. Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group—124
21. Johnny Winn The Anchor Group—106
22. Antoinette Andrews of Quantum Advantage, Inc.—104
23. Joyce Gray of Rhodes International, Inc.—101
24. David Kersey of Kersey & Associates, Inc.—100

Twenty-four recruiters in 24 years.  So the question is this one: how close is the next recruiter to reaching the 100-placement plateau?

The next recruiter is Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems.  Not only is Steve a Charter Member, but he’s made 96 Network placements to date.  If he can make four more, he’ll become the 25th recruiter to make 100 placements in Top Echelon Network.

How fitting would that be?

So, Steve—we’re rooting for you.  We wish you split placement success.  And you know, if you can make your 100th before next March, that would be great.

No pressure, though . . . just thinking out loud.  You understand.

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330.455.1433, x125
MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group may be the “Recruiter of the Month” for April.  He may be the Top Producing Recruiter right now in Top Echelon Network.  He may have been the Top Producing Recruiter for the 2011 calendar year.

But this is a new year, and the last thing you want to do is forget about THIS guy.  THIS guy is Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.

Sean is currently #2 in the Network in terms of cash-in, and during his long tenure as a Preferred Member, he’s won a boatload of awards (the quantity wasn’t tested with an actual boat, but you understand), including the coveted Top Producing Recruiter award.

This week’s listing of Top Echelon Network split placements include two splits involving Sean, and with Information Technology as hot as it is right now, you can expect many more from Sean.

You can also rest assured that he’ll give Trey a run for his money before 2012 is over.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Larry Ploscowe of EXEK Recruiters, Ltd.

Candidate recruiter: Bob Millman of AutoPro Technical Recruiting

Job title: GENERAL MANAGER

Fee Percentage—33%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Tom Heeney of Corporate Resources, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Joe Pelayo of Joseph Michaels International

Job title: STAFF OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIAN

Fee Percentage—Flat

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching Top Echelon’s split databases.

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.

Job title: SAP BASIS ADMINISTRATOR

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Wendy Johnson of Professionals Incorporated

Candidate recruiter: Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.

Job title: JAVA P/A

Fee Percentage—22.5%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Suzanne Griffith, CPC of J S Griffith & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Terry Rhodes of newcareers

Job title: SENIOR MECHANICAL DESIGN EINGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

 — — —

If you’d like to see the amount of the fees associated with each of the split placements listed above, login to the Members’ Area and click on the profiles of the recruiters involved.  The fee totals will be included along with those split placements.

Remember, you can opt out of having your split placement highlighted.  Just send an email to marketing@TopEchelon.com indicating your desire to be left out.  Once you do so, you won’t be included in future installments of this feature.

— — —

330.455.1433, x125
MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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Actually, it’s not that much of a surprise that Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group is the “Recruiter of the Month.”  After all, he’s won that award more often than not over the course of the past 12 to 18 months.

However, this time the margin of victory was far smaller for Trey, who had to edge out two other recruiters for the top honor.  Remember, the number of split placements that a Preferred Member recruiter makes is just one of the determining factors.

The second factor is the amount of cash-in that those split placements produce.  It just so happens that Trey’s cash-in total for the month is what pushed him over the top and garnered him yet another recognition award.

In addition, Trey currently sits atop the Network as the Top Producing Recruiter, with a sizeable lead on the rest of the Top 10.

We recognize recruiters for both monthly and quarterly performance in two categories—“Recruiter of the Month” and “Highest Split Placement Fee of the Month.”

Remember, for more information about the placements and cash-in totals associated with these awards, please login to the Members’ Area and view the profiles and placement details of the recruiters involved.

 — — —

Recruiter of the Month
Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Trey was one of three Preferred Member recruiters to make three split placements during the month of April.  However, he wins the award based upon his cash-in total for those three placements.

The other recruiters who made three split placements were Greg Downs of Downs Associates and Debbi Reiger of Reiger Technical Search.

 — — —

Highest Split Placement Fee of the Month
Steve Copeland of Albert Energy, LLC and Jeff Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC

The position for this placement was a Global Alliance Program Director.  Steve was the job order recruiter, and Jeff was the candidate recruiter.  The action that stimulated this placement was listed as “Tenacious passive sourcing and epic moral support by Jeff Gilbert, the “Kingfish” of recruiting!”

 — — —

Our criteria for these awards:

Top Echelon Network is a split placement network.  As such, we place an emphasis on split placements, and that emphasis constitutes a large part of our criteria for these awards.  We determine the monthly and quarterly award winners based upon two things, 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

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MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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At Top Echelon Network, we’re always looking for a textbook example of a split placement—and we have not one, but two in this week’s installment of “’Comments’ and Compliments”!

And to top it all off, the recruiters involved made their first split placement with one another.  In fact, the first pair of recruiters listed below have been Preferred Members of the Network for a combined 35 years.

Like they say, there’s a first time for everything . . . although we still have absolutely no idea who “they” are.  (Whoever they are, they certainly seem to have a lot to say.)

Yes, it’s May.  Yes, school is almost out for millions of students.  But when it comes to split placements, class is always in session.

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation, send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

— — —

/“Bill Millman called me after I posted the job on TE on January 11.  He asked for extensive details on the job and set out to direct-recruit some appropriate applicants, which he did almost immediately.  He came up with at least four viable applicants, two of which were the only applicants to make it to the face-to-face interview stage and both received offers from my client.  The first applicant turned down the offer, but the second accepted.  Both candidates were excellent.  Bob was a big help!”

Submitted by Larry Ploscowe of EXEK Recruiters, Ltd. regarding his split placement with Bob Millman of AutoPro Technical Recruiting

Position Title—GENERAL MANAGER
Fee Percentage—33%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Ploscowe and Millman have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Jim called, presented a candidate, and then sent me a resume.  I presented one candidate to the client, and we hit the bullseye.  The candidate was presented for a Production Manager position during the onsite interview, but the client had another position in the back of their mind.  When they saw the candidate, they switched gears and were interviewing him for a future need.  They approved the new position and made our candidate an offer.  Jim, thanks for sending an outstanding candidate!”

Submitted by Bob Wylan of R.A. Wylan & Co., Inc. regarding his split placement with Jim Crumpley of Jim Crumpley of Jim Crumpley & Associates

Position Title—SENIOR MANAGER OF PRODUCT PLANNING
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Wylan and Crumpley have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

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330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
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(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

A recent article by Harvard Business Review focuses on how employers can retain their Generation X talent, but it appears that many workers from this generation may be better suited for contract assignments.

According to the article, 70% of Gen Xers surveyed by the Center for Talent Innovation stated that they prefer to work independently.  Consider the following quotes from workers interviewed for the survey:

• “Once I’ve learned my job, I like to move on.”
• “I need something new to keep things fresh.”
• “If it’s the right thing, I’d jump. I won’t stop learning or growing just to have a job.”

The article recommends that, in order to retain these employees, employers should invest in mentoring programs and allow employees to rotate through different types of jobs.

Another option is for these workers to consider contract assignments.  Contracting would allow them to try different companies, projects, industries, and job functions.

Do you have Generation X candidates who have a lot of talent but seem restless and easily bored?  If so, you may want to encourage them to consider contract assignments.

By placing them in positions that meet their career goals, you could find yourself a quality pool of contract candidates that will come to you again and again for more contract opportunities.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
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For years, The Cornerstone, the newsletter of Top Echelon contract staffing solutions, was sent to the Preferred Members of Top Echelon Network.  The Cornerstone was eventually discontinued in favor of another newsletter, Contracting Corner, which is now published once a quarter.

However, we still run contracting statistics in select issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.  These statistics include Non-Split Contract Placements, Split Contract Placements, and Non-Recruited Placements, among others.

Below are the most recent statistics regarding contract placements made by Preferred Member recruiters, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.

Many of the Top Producers in Top Echelon Network have added contract staffing to their business model and have also taken advantage of the contract placement services provided by Top Echelon Contracting.

For more information about the benefits of contract staffing and the services that Top Echelon Contracting provides, call (888) 627-3678, Ext. 2.