Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

Top Echelon is excited to announce that TE Connect Fall 2025 will be held in beautiful Columbus, Ohio—at the Hilton at Easton Place!

And the best news? Early Bird Registration is officially OPEN . . . and the cost is just $525!

Register now at: connect.topechelon.com

Register early to lock in the discounted rate and secure your spot for what promises to be one of the most energizing and impactful events of the year for TE Network members.

Event Details (For You Bullet Point Fans)

• Dates: Tuesday, October 21 – Wednesday, October 22

• Location: Hilton at Easton Place, Columbus, Ohio

• Early Bird Cost: $525

• Register here: connect.topechelon.com

Why Columbus?

Columbus offers a vibrant, centrally located setting with easy travel access, a walkable and upscale conference environment at Easton Place, and plenty of restaurants, shops, and entertainment right outside your door.

Whether you’re flying in or driving over, Columbus is the perfect place to connect with your fellow TE Network members.

What You Can Expect

TE Connect Fall 2025 is designed to maximize your recruiting business—and your experience as a Top Echelon Network member. Here’s just a taste of what’s in store:

• New Connections: Meet recruiters from across the country who share your niche.

• Stronger Partnerships: Deepen relationships with current trading partners.

• Live Trading Sessions: Share job orders, candidates, and ideas in real time.

• Actionable Learning: Hear from expert speakers and gain insights to boost performance.

• Fun and Camaraderie: Enjoy great food, laughs, and the power of shared purpose.

Why You Should Attend

TE Connect isn’t just another industry event. It’s a powerful opportunity to:

• Boost Your Billings: More trusted connections = more split placements.

• Sharpen Your Skills: Stay ahead with the latest best practices.

• Feel the Momentum: Reignite your passion for recruiting and the Network.

• Have a Blast: Because business-building should also be fun!

Let’s Connect in Columbus!

Whether it’s your first TE event or your 10th, TE Connect Fall 2025 can give you the energy, knowledge, and connections you need to finish the year strong.

Save the date, secure your spot, and prepare for an unforgettable experience.

Register for TE Connect Fall 2025!

Whether you’re an experienced search consultant or relatively new to the profession, TE Connect Fall 2025 offers something for everybody.

If you have any questions about registration (or about any other aspects of the convention), please contact me at 330.595.1742 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

With a slowdown in hiring and increased uncertainty in the economy, many recruiters are facing one of the most challenging markets we’ve seen since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Placements are harder to close, pipelines are slower to move, and even the most experienced professionals are feeling the strain.

Mark Demaree

That’s why I want to revisit something more meaningful—something more relevant now than ever before.

It’s a parable we’ve shared before, but one that perfectly illustrates the heart of what makes our network work: collaboration, generosity, and mutual support. It’s called The Long Spoons Parable, and it reminds us that even in a world full of abundance, success only comes when we work together.

So especially in times like these—when the market gets tight and competition grows fierce—this story is more than just an illustration. It’s a call to action.

A reminder that in TE Network, you’re never alone at the table . . . unless you choose to be.

An old woman is nearing the end of her life. As she closes her eyes one night, she sees a bright light and is transported to another realm. She doesn’t pass away just then. Instead, she returns to the living world to find her family gathered at her bedside. She smiles and whispers to her children, “I have seen the great hereafter.”

“The great whereafter?” Her son asks.

“Heaven and hell. I have seen them both.”

The old woman goes on to explain, “I came upon a door, and behind it was hell. What I saw there confounded me. There was a dining hall filled with rows of tables, each table teaming with a magnificent feast. It looked and smelled delicious, yet the people seated around the tables were emaciated and sickly, moaning with hunger.

“As I came closer, I realized that each person held a very long spoon. With it they could reach the feast, but the spoon was too long. Though they tried and tried again, they couldn’t bring nourishment to their mouth. In spite of the abundance before them, they were starving.”

She continued, “I left this horrid place and opened a new door, one that led to heaven. Inside, I was surprised to see that very same scene before my eyes, a dining hall filled with row upon row of tables, and on those tables, a marvelous feast. But instead of moaning with hunger, the people around the tables were sitting contentedly, talking with one another, sated from the abundance before them.

“Like those in hell, these people were holding very long spoons. As I watched, a woman dipped her spoon into a bowl of stew before her, but rather than struggling to feed herself, she extended her spoon out and fed the man seated across from her. This person, now satisfied and no longer hungry, gave thanks and returned the favor, leaning across the table to feed the woman.”

“I suddenly understood the difference between heaven and hell,” the old woman said to her family. “It is neither the qualities of the place, nor of the abundance of resources, but the way people treat each other.

“In hell, we are selfish. We would rather go hungry than give the people we don’t care for the pleasure of eating.”

“But in heaven, we feed each other. We put trust in those around us, and never go hungry.”

When you feed other recruiters in TE Network—your trading partners—you don’t go hungry. No matter what’s happening in the economy or on the other side of the world, there’s no reason to hoard everything on your recruiting desk, especially if you have a long spoon and you’re having trouble feeding yourself.

If you need something, ask your trading partners. Then ask your trading partners what they need.

If you have what your trading partners need, then give it to them. If they have what you need, then they’ll give it to you.

This is the essence of membership in Top Echelon’s recruiting network. Don’t be like the first group of people in the parable above. Strive to be like the second group.

And remember: “It is neither the qualities of the place, nor of the abundance of resources, but the way people treat each other.”

Let’s rely on our trading partners in TE Network and make the second half of 2025 the best that it can be!

There’s a reason why Communication is one of the The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network.

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

That reason: communication with a trading partner is the number-one way in which split placements happen between TE Network members.

This is true both statistically and philosophically. However, it’s not just communication between members that’s important, either. That’s what I’d like to address in this blog post.

It’s also essential that communication with another member’s candidate is handled properly and in line with TE Network Policies.

With that in mind, take the following three steps when contacting another recruiter’s candidate:

1. Identify yourself (your name and your agency’s name).

2. Explain that you’re working with the recruiter who sent you the candidate. That way, the candidate will have a better idea of who you are and why you’re calling. Make sure to identify the other recruiter by their name and their agency’s name.

3. Let the candidate know what your role in the process will be and what they can expect from you.

While all of the above steps are crucial when communicating with another recruiter’s candidate, there’s something even more important you must do after that.

You must keep the other recruiter apprised of the situation!

Why is all of this important? For two main reasons:

#1—It eliminates confusion.

A split placement involves more people and moving parts than a regular placement. As a result, confusion is more likely to occur. This is the case in regards to both the candidate and the recruiter who submitted the candidate to you.

#2—It builds trust.

Quality communication leads to the type of trust that can result in not just one placement, but multiple placements. Forging a trading partner relationship that leads to multiple placements should be the goal of every Network member.

If you’re part of a recruiting agency with multiple recruiters, make sure that every recruiter in the office is aware of the importance of this practice and that they follow this practice.

In addition, make certain that adequate notes have been taken regarding each candidate. This way, all recruiters within the agency will know where the candidate originated.

If you have any questions about this issue or about your Top Echelon recruiting network membership, I encourage you to contact me.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Top Echelon offers a free monthly webinar as part of its Expert Recruiter Coaching Series.

Matthew Deutsch

These webinars touch upon a variety of recruiter-related topics. These topics deal with both job candidates and clients. As always, our goal with these webinars is to help agency recruiters and search consultants just like YOU make more placements.

We record these webinars for recruiters who can’t attend the live presentation, and we’re now pleased to offer the video from our most recent webinar by Bob Marshall of TBMG International.

The title of that webinar (and corresponding training video) is “AI and the Future of Recruiting, Part Two.”

Below is the official description for this training video:

— — —

Artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to automate up to 50% of work activities by 2030, and some forecasts suggest that 100% of office-based roles could be impacted by as early as 2026. This shift isn’t limited to low-skill jobs—it includes high-skill sectors like law, medicine, and software development.

Bob Marshall

But recruiters must adapt without losing their human edge. With this in mind, we invite you to watch the next webinar video in our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series, during which Bob Marshall of TBMG International explores how recruiters can thrive in this AI-powered future, leveraging these tools to enhance (not replace) the personal touch.

This webinar video is a follow-up to “AI and the Future of Recruiting, Part One,” which Bob delivered for Top Echelon in September of 2023. A lot has happened since then—and now it’s time to revisit the conversation with fresh eyes and updated insights.

During this FREE and content-rich webinar video, Bob will explore:

• The fundamentals of AI (what you need to know now)
• How recruiters have evolved over the past 24 months
• AI’s opportunities (the positives)
• AI’s threats (the negatives)
• The 21 job titles predicted to disappear in the next five (5) years
• The 25 jobs AI can’t replace

So get ready for whatever the future holds and watch “AI and the Future of Recruiting, Part Two”!

Watch this FREE training video!

 — — —

Recorded versions of our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars are posted on our website as free online recruitment training courses in the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Library.

Keep an eye out for the next free webinar in our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series!