With the second half of 2025 in this challenging job market staring us in the collective face, I would like to throw a few definitions at you that will lay the groundwork for this blog post about Network success.

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

Entropy: In any natural process, there exists an inherent tendency towards the dissipation of useful energy.

Natural Selection: Differential survival and reproduction among members of a population or species in nature, due to variation in the possession of adaptive genetic traits. Natural selection, the major driving force of evolution, is a process leading to greater adaptation of organisms to their environment.

Some things are inevitable. What we incorporate into our lives to better ourselves makes the difference in terms of whether or not we survive the bad times.

We often adopt tunnel vision because we’ve found a sweet, comfortable spot in our work or play or at home. This will make us subject to entropy itself. Eventually, our useful energy will dissipate because it is the natural law.

What does this mean, Drea?

It means that you must constantly find and implement ways to make your recruiting desk more impenetrable to failure and maintain strength.

With that in mind, below are five steps for thriving as members in Top Echelon’s recruiting network:

1. Have active data (jobs and candidates) shared with the Network.

2. Make your Recruiter Profile page reflect who you are and what you do.

3. Call other recruiters who work in your industry/specialization and build relationships with them.

4. Participate in the Virtual Core Groups, if they apply to you.

5. Set a goal to not only establish a relationship with several other TE Network members, but also to make split placements in Top Echelon. Nobody should have to tell you at this point what benefits goal setting can bring to you.

Obvious? Maybe. Sometimes the obvious is obscured by our tunnel vision. Implementing the things in our lives that will make us thrivers will also hone our instincts, and we can only hope that we are ready for whatever may come.

Finding these additional things to make you stronger and smarter will then turn surviving into thriving!

If you have any questions about this blog post or about your TE Network membership, please contact me. You can do so at 330.595.1742 or at drea@topechelon.com.

As you may have noticed, we’ve been releasing updates on a regular basis regarding Top Echelon’s recruiting software (TE Recruit) and also the TE Network software.

Matthew Deutsch

So you might be asking yourself, “Self, is there a place where I can see ALL of the Top Echelon product updates?”

If you asked yourself that question, then you’re in luck . . . because such a place does exist! That place is the Top Echelon Product Updates Page!

On that page, you can see the most recent updates and upgrades to our software. We break the updates into categories based upon the month that we released them.

When you visit the page, you’ll notice that the updates go as far back as April of 2018. (Obviously, we’ve been updating the software for a lot longer than that, but that’s the current starting point for the page.)

Not only that, but we also supply an answer to the question, “What’s next?” According to the Top Echelon Product Updates Page, this is what’s next as of the publishing of this blog post:

• [PRO] Mass Actions Added to Sequence Enrollments – Selection checkboxes and a new action menu have been added to the list of enrolled records within any Sequence. You can now stop, remove, or retry a step for multiple Person or Company records at once, making it easier and more efficient to manage enrollments.
• Dark Mode – Dark mode will offer a new way to personalize your theme, reduce eye strain, and create a more comfortable viewing experience, especially in low-light environments. This is another step toward giving you more control over how you work best.

• TE Network Certified Split Placement Partner (CSPP) Program – Soon, you’ll be able to earn the new CSPP achievement, designed to help you better understand how TE Network works, what makes partnerships successful, and how TE Network Policies guide day-to-day activity. Once certified, you will receive a badge on your TE Network profile, showing that you’re educated, committed, and ready to collaborate.

• HireGuard Integration – An integration with HireGuard’s backdoor detection platform for recruiters. This powerful tool tracks hires in real time, instantly alerting you to any backdoor placements and preventing lost recruitment fees. HireGuard ensures strong documentation for collections, and provides peace of mind knowing your profits are protected.

• GoPerfect Integration – This upcoming integration will streamline sourcing workflows by bringing GoPerfect’s AI-powered talent acquisition tools to your process, helping you connect with top candidates more quickly through personalized, automated outreach.

• [PRO] SMART-TE Email Modification Tool – Use AI to enhance your outgoing email messages by adjusting their tone and length. This tool can help you create more professional, friendly, or concise emails, depending upon your needs.

We also announce any beta testing of new features for those who want to help us make the software better. If you’re interested in Beta testing these new features, email us at beta@topechelon.com.

Of course, you may have also noticed that we send emails when we make updates and upgrades to our systems and software. However, not everybody opens the emails. Perhaps YOU are one of those people.

If that’s the case, then visiting the Top Echelon Product Updates Page on a regular basis could help keep you abreast of all the exciting new changes that we’re making to our software and systems for the expressed purpose of helping YOU make more placements.

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

→ Send an email to support@topechelon.com.

→ Visit our Help Center.

There are a number of benefits associated with being part of a split recruiter network.

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

More placements are at the top of that list. However, how a recruiter makes those additional placements is just as important as making them.

Take, for instance, working a job order outside of your niche. Normally, if a client presented you with an open position that you don’t normally work, you probably would not be inclined to accept it.

Why? Because the chances that you could fill it on your own would be slim. And if you can’t fill it (or even present credible candidates), then you might lose luster in the eyes of the hiring manager.

However, a job order is a job order . . . is a job order. Membership in a split network like TE Network is an excellent way to fill those orders that fall “outside of your wheelhouse.”

There are TE Network members who make placements every year that they would NOT have made otherwise. That’s because they leverage the resources and knowledge of their trading partners to make those placements happen.

In fact, filling a job order outside of your niche is one of the ways that split placements promote business development.

After all, you’re making placements in a niche you might not know anything about. And once you make one placement with a trading partner, that opens the door to another . . . and another . . . and another. (You get the drift.)

However, filling job orders outside of your niche is just one way that split placements promote business development. The other four ways are as follows:

1. Filling job orders within your niche that you would not have filled otherwise
2. Filling job orders within your niche that you might have filled otherwise, but filling them more quickly
3. Sourcing candidates within your niche that you would have not sourced otherwise
4. Gleaning best practices, advice, and tips from other recruiters

So remember: the next time a client gives you a job order outside of your niche, take it!

Take that order and share it with your trading partners and the rest of the Network, if necessary. Somebody can help you fill it.

If you don’t take that job order, then your client might give it to one of your competitors instead.

And why would you want THAT to happen?

Last month in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, I addressed “4 Things a Network Importer Should Do in TE.”

In this issue, I want to continue discussing best practices for importers in TE Network.

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

And the cornerstone of this discussion (and this blog post) is that Communication is one of The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network. It’s a key element for success in the Network, regardless of whether you’re an importer or an exporter.

Let’s go one step further: quality communication is one of the ways that recruiters make the most split placements together.

Poor communication does NOT result in more splits.

I say this for a reason: every once in a while, I notice a pattern of poor communication within the Network. However, it doesn’t involve communication between recruiters.

It involves communication between a recruiter and a candidate—more specifically, a TE Network importer (the recruiter with the job) and a candidate supplied by an exporter (the recruiter with the candidate).

Here, in a nutshell, is the problem: the importer is NOT referencing the exporter when first contacting the candidate.

Why is this a problem? It causes confusion, doubt, and suspicion in the candidate’s mind, as well as in the exporter’s mind.

The importer has a much better chance of getting their phone calls and emails returned when they reference the exporter. By doing this, the importer has created some commonality with the candidate, which eliminates confusion in the candidate’s mind.

It also eliminates suspicion in the exporter’s mind, since they know that the importer referenced them up front. This lays the groundwork for a much better trading partner relationship.

So . . . when you don’t reference the exporter in your communication with their candidate, that can be costly. You could very well be costing yourself the opportunity to make a split placement with that exporter. (And neither of you could even be aware that the opportunity was missed.)

With that in mind, below is a good template for what to say when contacting another recruiter’s candidate. You can add your own personal touch, of course.

“Hello, my name is [your name and agency name here]. I’m currently working with [your split partner’s name and agency name here] to fill the position of [job title here]. I’d like to speak with you regarding this position and ask you some additional questions.”

Quality communication pertains to ALL communication—with other recruiters and also with other recruiters’ candidates. Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, delays, and other complications that can get in the way of making more split placements.

Your time is far too valuable for such obstacles.

Identify yourself and reference the exporter when contacting their candidate. Make this a habit and you’ll notice how much easier the whole split recruiting process will become.

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

Top Echelon Training and Support Manager Todd Bossler recently conducted a special TE Recruit Training Tuesday webinar titled, “Polish Your Process: Mastering the Pipeline in TE Recruit.”

Matthew Deutsch

You may have attended this free webinar on Tuesday, June 3. On the other hand, you may not have been in attendance.

Regardless, we have the recorded version of the webinar, which I am presenting to you now. (The recording is also located in the Top Echelon Help Center.)

If you are not a user of our recruiting software, TE Recruit, then check out the video, anyway, to see how the software could benefit your recruiting desk and agency.

We at Top Echelon are continually working to make the resources that we provide to our customers better, and this is yet more proof!

Below is the official description of this training video:

— — —

Todd Bossler

Any time is the perfect time to evaluate and improve your recruiting processes, and that is the topic of our latest Training Tuesday webinar video!

Join Top Echelon Training and Support Manager Todd Bossler for an in-depth look at the Pipeline—one of the most powerful features in TE Recruit.

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to enhance your current workflow, this video will show you how to use the Pipeline to streamline your placements and boost productivity.

During this FREE video, you’ll learn:

• The basics of the Pipeline, including Stages and Activities
• How to add candidates to your Pipeline and track their progress
• Tips for customizing Pipeline Stages to match your recruiting workflow
• How Automations can improve efficiency and reduce manual work
• Ways to utilize the Pipeline Report for cross-job candidate visibility
• Best practices for managing multiple Pipelines and moving records between them
• Pro tips to transform your Pipeline into a well-oiled placement machine

Don’t miss this opportunity to sharpen your skills and get ahead of the game as we move closer to the midway point of the year.

So watch this video and get ready to “Polish Your Process: Mastering the Pipeline in TE Recruit”!

Watch this TE Recruit training video!

Remember to check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog every week for more updates regarding Top Echelon software improvements and upgrades.

If you have any questions about how you can maximize your TE Network membership, please contact 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.