One month left in the third quarter . . . four months left in the year . . . however many years left before the end of the world. (Actually, scratch that last one; we’re here to talk about split placements, not Armageddon.)

And speaking of split placements, we have a bevy of them in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

In fact, one of them commanded a recruiting fee of $50,000. TE Network members Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates, LLC and Donna Coleman of Donna Coleman and Associates were responsible for that fee. Ron and Donna placed a Vice President of Operations to earn that $50K fee at 25%.

But wait, there’s more! (Isn’t there always?)

Jeff Calannio of Software Placement Group, SPG made his first split placement as a member of TE Network. Jeff and Tom Christensen of C. H. Thomas Search, LLC placed a Plant/Production Manager to generate a hefty $32,500 fee at 25%.

Congratulations, Jeff!

As a friendly neighborhood reminder, here is the information that we publish with our placements:

• Names of the trading partners involved (with their profile photos, when available)
• Job title
• Overall placement fee (before TE Network’s 6% brokerage fee, of course)
• Fee percentage

Please note that the placements listed below reflect deals finalized in TE Network for the period from August 18 through August 31, 2025.

Remember, if you don’t want information related to your split placements published in The Pinnacle, please send an email to marketing@topechelon.com to that effect.

Once again, congratulations to everybody below for the split placements they made in TE Network!

This Week’s Split Placements

— — —

Job recruiter: Alex Bakker of USA Staffing Network

Candidate recruiter: Michael Agen of New Solutions Group, LLC

Job title: CT TECHNOLOGIST

Overall placement fee: $15,808

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Keith Cornelison of Personnel Resources

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: RN NURSE – ED/ER

Overall placement fee: $14,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Tom Christensen of C. H. Thomas Search, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Jeff Calannio of Software Placement Group, SPG

Job title: PLANT/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $32,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Donna Coleman of Donna Coleman and Associates

Job title: VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Overall placement fee: $50,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Blake Kindle of Mackie Search, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Deborah Davis of Ashford Connex, LLC

Job title: EARLY CAREER DESIGN ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $14,400

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Edward Duff of RCD Group

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: HEAVY EQUIPMENT MECHANIC – HEAVY CIVIL

Overall placement fee: $9,235.20

Fee percentage: 12%

— — —

Job recruiter: Brandon Adsit of Accurate Engineering Solutions, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

Overall placement fee: $15,750

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Randall Hardwick of Avalon Recruiting

Job title: R&D CHEMICAL ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $22,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Sarah Katz of First Search, Inc.

Job title: ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $30,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Matthew Smith of Workforce Recruiter

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

Job title: PROJECT MANAGER – MILLWORK OR FIXTURES

Overall placement fee: $23,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Kristy Staggs of Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

Job title: PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Overall placement fee: $18,720

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Angela Marasco of A. Marasco Recruiting LLC

Job title: PRODUCTION MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $34,500

Fee percentage: 30%

— — —

Job recruiter: Brandon Adsit of Accurate Engineering Solutions, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Adam Pantelli of AJ Search

Job title: SENIOR DESIGNER – INSTRUMENTATION/ELECTRICAL

Overall placement fee: $24,960

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Erika Staszewski of Integritas Search

Candidate recruiter: Gary Schultz of Work 22, Inc.

Job title: DIVISIONAL CONTROLLER

Overall placement fee: $40,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Steve Brody of Steve Brody

Candidate recruiter: Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group

Job title: AUDIT SENIOR – ASSURANCE/ADVISORY

Overall placement fee: $9,119.50

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

If you’re a newer TE Network member and you’d like to enjoy more success in our recruiter network, then I encourage you to contact Top Echelon 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.

Last week, in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, we announced the first inductee into the 2025 Top Echelon Hall of Fame class. That inductee was Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing.

And this week . . . we’re back with another inductee. And that inductee is . . . Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.!

Like Amy, Sara has amassed her TE Network success in a relatively short amount of time. She made her first Network split in July of 2021. Now, a little more than four years later, she has 96 split placements to her credit.

And of course, those 96 splits have brought her a tidy sum of cash-in dollars, close to $845K to be exact. Considering the current price of Network membership per month, that’s a rather remarkable return on investment (ROI).

And if the next four years are anything like the past four years, Sara will be on the cusp of 200 Network splits, which would propel her even further into the pantheon of Top Echelon all-time greats.

But in the meantime, let’s hear what Sara has to say!

— — —

“Joining Top Echelon was probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done in this business. Aside from the money, the people are just fantastic to work with and incredibly smart.

“I’m looking forward to many happy and successful years here! Thank you for this great honor and recognition!“

— — —

Be sure to check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog (as well as Top Echelon’s official LinkedIn account) for future announcements regarding 2025 inductees into Top Echelon’s Hall of Fame!

Recruiting is not an easy profession. If it was, then everybody would be doing it.

However, it can even be difficult for those people who are good at it! That’s proven on an almost daily basis within the profession.

That’s because there are so many factors involved, including the fact that there are people at all ends of the sale—people who can “put the kibosh” on the deal at any point and for just about any reason. That makes it all the more difficult if there’s just one recruiter trying to make the placement happen.

But what about . . . two recruiters?

That’s the beauty of making split placements. You can rely upon teamwork—the combined efforts of TWO experienced recruiters—to get the job done and close the deal.

There are placements that happen all the time in Top Echelon that illustrate the teamwork that exists in the Network. Furthermore, these placements illustrate the hidden value (and not-so-hidden value) of working with another recruiter in Top Echelon. This value includes the following components:

#1—More placements

This one is the most obvious. When you work with other recruiters in the Network to share job orders and candidates, you increase the chances you will make placements that you would not have made otherwise.

#2—More placements more often

This is the next step in the evolution of your TE Network membership. Once you start making placements with your split recruiting partners, you’ll learn the different ways that each one of you works. As a result, not only can you make more splits, but this familiarity will also help you make them more quickly.

#3—More placements with less effort

This is another byproduct of familiarity. In addition, let’s not forget that there are two recruiters working on the placement and not just one. That means it’s not up to just one recruiter to do 100% of the work involved. (At least, that’s the way we’ve designed the TE system to work.)

#4—Less stress

As you well know, recruiting is a stressful profession. Once again, when two recruiters are working on the same placement together, not only is there less work involved, but there is also theoretically less stress involved. (And if the placement is a stressful one, then the recruiters can vent to one another and brainstorm solutions.)

Who doesn’t love more placements AND less stress? This is the value of teamwork in TE Network!

If you have questions about how to maximize your TE Network membership and make more splits, I urge you to contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

I’m not going to mince words. We want agencies just like YOURS in Top Echelon’s recruiting network!

In fact, we’re willing to pay you for them through the Top Echelon Referral Program.

Yes, that’s right. As a loyal customer, you can refer other recruiters to TE Network and/or our ATS and get paid!

And you may have heard what follows in past issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, but I like new TE Network members (and new TE Recruit customers, for that matter) and you probably like more money, so let’s both get what we want . . .

We’ll offer you a 20% referral fee for the first year for all referrals that use our services. (Please note this does not include Top Echelon’s 6% brokerage fee on split placements.)

CLICK HERE and complete the application to join the Top Echelon Referral Program.

After you join, you’ll receive a call from Chris Jackson of Top Echelon. Chris will schedule a quick 15-minute call with you, during which he will walk you through the following:

• PartnerStack, our partner portal that will manage payouts and referrals.
• How to access your unique referral link.
• How to begin earning money by referring other recruiters to us!

And yes, before you ask, you can earn two 20% commissions if you refer a recruiting agency that both becomes a TE Network member and also signs up for a subscription of TE Recruit.

So join the Top Echelon Referral Program so we can get more customers just like YOU and you can start earning more money for being a loyal customer!

I’m pleased to announce the Virtual Core Group (VCG) meeting schedule for the month of September!

For those of you who don’t know, TE Network recruiters share the following information during Virtual Core Group teleconference call meetings:

• Hot job orders and candidates
• Information about the activity they’re seeing in the marketplace and/or in their niche
• Ideas for increased production on their desks and within their agencies

These are the activities that lead most directly to making more split placements in TE Network.

So that is why I’m inviting—or in other words, strongly encouraging—you to attend one of September’s Virtual Core Group meetings. Below is the complete VCG schedule for September, including the industries involved and the time that each meeting will be held. (Note: all times are Eastern.)

Wednesday, September 10:

• 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. — Manufacturing & Engineering
• 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. — Accounting & Finance

Thursday, September 11:

• 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. — Law & Legal Services
• 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. — Sales & Marketing

You can join the meeting to which you belong by accessing the information listed below.

Google Meeting link: https://meet.google.com/qba-qdic-kou

Below is the agenda for each Virtual Core Group meeting:

1. Welcome
2. Roll call of the members
3. I will share the latest software updates for both TE Network and the Top Echelon recruiting software (also known as TE Recruit).
4. Members will share their hot jobs with corresponding group discussion.
5. I will direct a software and Network protocol Q&A session to close the call.

It is my goal that this agenda will help you take away more from the meeting than just hot jobs and/or candidates. Hopefully, it will help make you more knowledgeable in terms of the Top Echelon community.

If you’d like to join one of the groups listed above or if you’d like to start a new group, please contact me.

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