The 2016 Top Echelon National Convention was a huge success . . . and now we’re gearing up for the Fall Conference!

The dates of the Fall Conference have been set. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, October 18, and Wednesday, October 19. The site of the conference will be the same as it’s been for the past several years: the Windy City of Chicago.

Not only that, but we’re going back to the Sheraton O’Hare Suites (formerly the Sheraton Gateway Suites). As we’ve mentioned previously, this hotel has suited our purposes for the Fall Conference for many reasons. Those reasons include the following:

• It’s close to the Chicago O’Hare Airport. (In fact, you can catch a shuttle from the airport to the hotel!)
• It’s designed well for our meeting purposes, with plenty of meeting space and conference rooms.
• It’s easy for conference attendees to navigate.
• The suites have an area for business, in addition to the bedroom and bathroom.

Early Bird Registration for the Fall Conference will be available next month. As is always the case, the cost of Early Bird represents our lowest price for the conference. The cost will rise during the Regular Registration period, and of course, for Late Registration.

The room rate that we have negotiated with the Sheraton O’Hare Suites is $189 per night. That room rate is good for Top Echelon Network members attending the conference for the dates of Monday, October 17, through Wednesday, October 19.

To make hotel reservations, call 1.847.699.6300. Be sure to reference our event and its dates when you make the reservation.

The Sheraton O’Hare Suites is located near the Chicago O’Hare Airport and is only a few minutes ride on the courtesy shuttle they provide you. Please note that there are a limited number of rooms available at that rate for our group, and they will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis.

Also keep in mind that you do not have to stay at the Sheraton O’Hare Suites. You also have the option of staying at any hotel of your choosing and traveling to the Sheraton. Because life is all about choices.

Speaking of which, I hope that you choose to join us in October for the Fall Conference. Early Bird Registration will be available starting next month, and we’ll be publishing more information about the Early Bird period in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

Let’s make this another great event!

The more things change, the more things stay the same. That can be said of a lot of things, including the Recruiters of the Month for the month of May in Top Echelon Network.

What’s changed: we have different recruiters in the top five than we had the previous month.

What’s stayed the same: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group and Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search are first and second, respectively.

What really hasn’t changed is Trey “ruling the roost” with this award just about every month. That’s why we’re combining this award with the comments that Trey’s split partners submit with their Completed Placement Forms.

Below are the top five recruiters in Top Echelon Network for the month of April, followed by a series of comments submitted by a few of Trey’s many split partners:

— — —

Recruiters of the Month:

1st Place: Trey Cameron
Agency: Cameron Craig Group
Placements: 11
Commission: $85,817

— — —

2nd Place: Steve Kohn
Agency: Affinity Executive Search
Placements: 5
Commission: $39,574

— — —

3rd Place: Pam Copeland
Agency: fulltimeGiGS
Placements: 4
Commission: $34,157

— — —

4th Place: Pat McCombs
Agency: KB Search Team, LLC
Placements: 3
Commission: $33,135

— — —

5th Place: Ron Sunshine
Agency: Ron Sunshine Associates, LLC
Placements: 2
Commission: $55,225

— — —

Trey Cameron

Jason Kaminsky

“Another great candidate from Trey Cameron! Thanks so much for all your help and effort in this placement!”

Submitted by Jason Kaminsky of bizjobz, LLC regarding her Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—MANAGER-PARTS, PROCUREMENT, AND SALES

Fee Percentage—Flat

(Editor’s note: This is the first Network split placement that Kaminsky and Cameron have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

“Another great candidate originated by Trey Cameron. Thank you, Trey, for your assistance!”

Submitted by Jason Kaminsky of bizjobz, LLC regarding her Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—TERRITORY SALES MANAGER

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the third Network split placement that Kaminsky and Cameron have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

Pat McCombs, CPC

“Our client absolutely LOVED Trey’s candidate and gave her an excellent offer. Thanks, Trey!”

Submitted by Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC regarding his Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—SR. CIVIL STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the fifth Network split placement that McCombs and Cameron have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

If YOU are looking to receive a more substantial return on your investment in Top Echelon Network membership, contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

The recruiting profession is NOT for the faint of heart. If you’ve been in the profession for any length of time, then you know this to absolutely be true.

That’s one of the reasons why we recognize Top Echelon Network anniversaries in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. These aren’t just Network anniversaries; they’re anniversaries within the recruiting profession, as well.

As usual, we have some BIG anniversaries this month. We have a recruiting firm that’s been in the Network for 26 years (Career Professionals, Inc.) and two firms that have been members for 25 years (Helffrich International and Walter & Associates).

So while we recognize these firms—the five other firms listed below—for their anniversaries in Top Echelon Network, we’re also recognizing them for their longevity in the recruiting profession. If you’re working with the recruiters in these firms or you’ve worked with them in the past, please reach out to them and share your congratulations.

Speaking of which, all of us at Top Echelon would like to extend our congratulations to everybody celebrating Top Echelon anniversaries this month!

(Editor’s note: Top Echelon recognizes firms celebrating five, 10, 15, and 20-year anniversaries, plus any firm celebrating an anniversary in excess of 20 years.)

— — —

26-Year Anniversary

Career Professionals, Inc. in Morristown, Tennessee
Staff Members: Veronica Snyder and Mike Sandlock
Agency Join Date: June 27, 1990
Placements: 193 placements

— — —

25-Year Anniversary

Helffrich International in Oldsmar, Florida
Staff Members: Mike Helffrich, CPC
Agency Join Date: June 26, 1991
Placements: 33 placements

Walter & Associates in Olathe, Kansas
Staff Members: Jerry Walter
Agency Join Date: June 27, 1991
Placements: 182 placements

— — —

10-Year Anniversary

Professional Placement Consulting Group in Whitinsville, Massachusetts
Staff Members: Abbas Masnoon
Agency Join Date: June 2, 2006
Placements: 1 placement

The Smith Consulting Group, LLC in Jackson, Michigan
Staff Members: Juli Smith, Randy Thomas, and Kevin Smith
Agency Join Date: June 26, 2006
Placements: 49 placements

Management Analysis & Utilization, Inc. in Augusta, Georgia
Staff Members: Jim Sheehan, Jennifer Clements, Jeff Wheeler, Heather Borden, Megan Christopher, Jessica May, Stacie Fuss, Laurie Herron, Stacey Lewis, Shannon Caston, Mary Smith, Sumner Markwalter, Michelle Lyons, Emily Mosser, Heather Martel, Abbey Nunes, Brittany McDaniel, and Erin McKenzie
Agency Join Date: June 29, 2006
Placements: 22 placements

— — —

5-Year Anniversary

IT Audit Search in Wheaton, Illinois
Staff Members: Ralph Dahm and Matthew Dahm
Agency Join Date: June 6, 2011
Placements: 8

Orion Delta Group in Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Staff Members: Tom Mitlo and Tara Conroy
Agency Join Date: June 30, 2011
Placements: 1

Recruiters, by and large, are on the phone ALL of the time. (If they want to make a lot of placements, they are.) Their office phone, their home phone, their cell phone, their second cell phone.

Two cell phones? Sure, why not? While we’re on the subject of cell phones, let’s discuss which cell phone provider is the favorite among Top Echelon Network members.

We can discuss this because I already have the answer. I already have the answer because we recently conducted a poll of Network recruiters. That poll contained the following question:

Which of the following cell phone service providers do you use?

Results:

We presented six possible answers, all of which are listed below, along with the percentage of Top Echelon Network Preferred Members that chose each answer.

• Verizon — 51.0%
• AT&T — 34.4%
• T-Mobile — 3.8%
• Sprint — 7.0%
• U.S. Cellular — 2.5%
• Other — 1.3%

Cell phone winner:

Verizon was the clear winner in this poll, earning over half of the vote (51.0%). AT&T was a not-so-close second at 34.4%.

After that, the numbers fall off drastically. Sprint finished third with 7.0% of the vote. After Sprint was T-Mobile (3.8%) and U. S. Cellular (2.5%).

Give it up for Verizon, the most popular cell phone provider among recruiters! (Among recruiters in Top Echelon Network, that is . . . and that’s all that really matters.)

The side of the majority:

Phone time is crucial for recruiters. Generally, the more they’re on the phone, the more placements they make and the more money they earn.

That being said, recruiters naturally want a dependable and affordable cell phone provider. Does that mean Verizon is that provider? Not necessarily. It just means that approximately half of the recruiters in Top Echelon Network might very well believe that’s the case.

As with all things, opinions vary. And as Mark Twain once said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”