The end is near!

The end of Early Bird Registration for the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference, that is, and what could be more devastating than that?  (Well, maybe a few things, but let’s not discuss those.)

Instead, let’s focus on the fact that this year’s conference features sourcing guru Shally Steckerl as its main speaker; it includes Big Biller recruiting software training by Internet Strategies Manager Todd Bossler; and most importantly, it offers plenty of opportunities for you to meet and network with other recruiters so you can find more Trading Partners and make more placements!

This year’s Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.

BUT there’s only a little more than a week left until the end of Early Bird Registration, which is Friday, September 7!

Don’t wait until the deadline, though.  Deadlines have a way of passing you by, and this is one deadline you do NOT want to miss.

Register for the conference now, and not only save yourself a headache, but save some money, too!

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View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the Fall Conference.

What happened on August 19, 1987?

Well, after conducting a Google search, I discovered that many unpleasant things happened around the world on that date.  That’s probably not much of a surprise.

In addition, I was doing something as a 16-year old youth in my hometown of Brookfield, Ohio . . . probably something I shouldn’t have been doing, but that’s a story for another time.

However, something that IS pleasant and NOT potentially incriminating is the fact that Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiting firm Opportunity Search opened its doors for business!  That means firm owner Marc Tappis recently celebrated his firm’s 25^th year in business!

Opportunity Search joined Top Echelon Network in 2003.  Since that time, Tappis has made a total of 63 placements as a Preferred Member, which is an average of over seven placements per year.

Everybody here at Top Echelon would like to congratulate Marc on his firm’s anniversary, and more importantly, for enjoying so much success for so long in the recruiting industry.  Here’s to many more years of success!  (And split placements, too . . . let’s not forget about split placements.)

If you’re celebrating an anniversary or have attained some other milestone or accomplishment in recruiting, we want to know about it!  Send your information to marketing@topechelon.com, and you could be featured in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

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330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
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And why is it the “Michael Stuck and Sean Napoles Show” in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog this week?  Well, let me count the ways (or, more accurately, the placements):

1. They have three completed placements in this week’s issue alone.

2. They’ve made five split placements so far in 2012, which officially puts them in the “kicking recruiter butt” category as Trading Partners within the Network.

3. They also made two split placements in 2011.

4. Of the 10 placements that Stuck has made as a Preferred Member recruiter, seven of them have been with Napoles.

This once again proves that when you find another recruiter with whom you work well, there is no limit to the number of split placements you can make with that recruiter.

Remember, there are recruiters in the Network who have made 40 split placements together during their tenure as Preferred Members.  Is the sky the limit?  Darn tootin’ it is.  (And if I went to the length of using “darn tootin’, you know I’m dad-gum serious.)

Let the “Michael Stuck and Sean Napoles Show” begin!

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

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

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

Job title: SOFTWARE ENGINEER – PROGRESS

Fee Percentage—15%

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

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

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

Job title: SOFTWARE ENGINEER – PROGRESS

Fee Percentage—15%

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

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

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

Job title: SALESFORCE DEVELOPER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Joe Murawski of Focused Hire

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: SOURCING SUBCONTRACTS MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was sent to me via the automated email alerts.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Carolyn Barcus of Barcus Associates

Candidate recruiter: Mike Cirner of Fowler Placement Services, Inc.

Job title: SALES DEVELOPMENT INSURANCE VERTICAL

Fee Percentage—Flat

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

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Job order recruiter: Nick Stoia of ASAP Search and Recruiters

Candidate recruiter: Joe Miglizzi, CPC of Perspective

Job title: PRODUCT MARKETING DIRECTOR

Fee Percentage—20%

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

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Job order recruiter: Paul Johnson of Paul Johnson & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Cindy Ridley of HRTechies.com

Job title: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT LEARNING MANAGER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Cindy saw the job order and sent the candidate.

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Job order recruiter: Jed Davis of Carroll Technology Services, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Mark Ripley of Joseph Michaels International

Job title: TECHNICAL EXPERT – APPLE/MAC/IOS

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Mark saw my opening on the Big Biller recruiting software and had two strong candidates in my hands within minutes of our call.

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330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
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We swing from one extreme to another in this installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments.”  That’s because one of the recruiters we’re highlighting this week has made his first split placement as a Preferred Member in Top Echelon Network and another one has made his 307^th split placement!

The funny thing is, the formula for both split placements (and all split placements, really) is still the same.

That formula—as you’ll see by reading the comments below—consists mainly of the Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network.  Those Pillars are Quality, Communication, Trust, and Active Participation.  These recruiters posted their jobs on the Network, they searched the jobs on the Network, and they contacted each other about those jobs.

The result?  Money, money, moneeeeee-y . . . money!

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!  “Who loves ya, baby?”

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“Thanks for posting the candidate on TE!  Bruce posted the candidate on 6/8, we took the job order on 6/12, and by 6/14 we had the candidate qualified and submitted.  A few interviews later, he received the job offer.  Thanks, Bruce!”

Submitted by Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc. regarding her split placement with Bruce Ramstad of Bruce L. Ramstad

Position Title—MANUFACTURING ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: this is the second split placement that Snyder and Ramstad have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

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“Mark saw my opening, called me to inquire about it, and within minutes of our conversation, had two strong candidates in front of me.  Thanks, Mark!”

Submitted by Jed Davis of Carroll Technology Services, Inc. regarding his split placement with Mark Ripley of Joseph Michaels International

Position Title—TECHNICAL EXPERT – APPLE/MAC/iOS
Fee Percentage—20%

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

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330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
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I’ve got the new Virtual Core Group schedule!

See how I’m trying to inject some excitement into Virtual Core Groups . . . that’s because there’s a lot to get excited about, people!

Virtual Core Groups help recruiters in Top Echelon Network make placements.  It’s happened in the past, and it’s most certainly going to happen again in the future.  I want YOU to participate in these groups, and I want YOU to make more splits.

Virtual Core Group meetings are regularly scheduled conference calls for Preferred Member recruiters who work in the same industry or niche.

During these calls, recruiters share information about the activity they’re seeing, they share hot job orders and candidates, and they also bounce ideas off one another.  These are the activities that lead most directly to making split placements.  (Did I mention that?)

Below is the Virtual Core Group teleconference call schedule for the month of September (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time).

If you think you’d like to start a new Virtual Core Group—or join an existing one—please contact me!

My contact information is below. Yes, I’m talking to you.  Don’t make me turn this blog post around.

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330.455.1433, x156
drea@topechelon.com
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The Top Echelon Network offices will be closed on Monday, September 3, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

The offices will re-open at 8 a.m. the following day, Tuesday, September 4.

We’d like to wish everybody a fun and safe holiday while you visit with family and friends.  Drink lots of lemonade (or another beverage of your choosing); play volleyball or horseshoes; watch some college football; eat plenty of hamburgers and hot dogs; and most of all, enjoy a few laughs.

But whatever you do, don’t work on Labor Day . . . unless you’re about to make a placement . . . with a huge fee . . . and it’s a Network split . . . then a LITTLE work wouldn’t hurt.  Right?

All work and no play might make Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work make Jack a poor boy.  Or something like that.

(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.)
Not so long ago, many people felt compelled to choose between their career or family.  Now, as buzz phrases like “work-life balance” take over the workplace, the focus is on “having it all.”

While having it all may sound great in theory, it’s hard to come by in practice.  Juggling a full-time job and family responsibilities (which for many workers includes caring for children AND elderly parents) is not for the faint of heart.

That’s why, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, many skilled professionals are turning to contract staffing.  In what the article calls “a major shift,” temporary/contract placements of college-educated professionals has outpaced those of clerical and blue-collar temps.

In fact, placements of contractors in healthcare, technology, engineering, science, law, and accounting are expected to make up 52% of the expected $100.3 billion staffing industry revenue in 2012, according to the article, citing Staffing Industry Analysts statistics.

The article states that the reason for this shift is that workers are trying to find work with a more flexible or part-time schedule.  Contract/temporary work is a viable route to flexible work, particularly for those with in-demand skills such as engineering, IT, programming, and social media.

The article further states that these workers make between $20-$200 an hour, but typically do not get benefits.  This is where you, as a recruiter, can really make a difference.  Lack of benefits is a major factor that often holds candidates back from considering contract work.

But you could place your highly skilled candidates as contractors and outsource their employment to a contract staffing back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting, that provides them with benefits.  That way, they can enjoy the flexibility that is possible through contracting without missing out on the benefits they can gain through traditional, full-time employment.

As a recruiter, your job is to provide your clients with the best of the best.  By providing candidates with the opportunity to “have it all,” you can attract the highest caliber talent and, as a result, attract the best placement opportunities.

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888.627.3678
dfledderjohann@topecheloncontracting.com
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