This year, Top Echelon Network is celebrating its 25th anniversary.  So that makes the fact Charter Member Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems recently made his 100th Network placement all the more fitting!

Brody joined Top Echelon Network on March 8, 1988 . . . which, incidentally, was the exact date that the first Pinnacle newsletter was distributed by Top Echelon founder Mike Kappel.  (Yes, it was delivered via “snail mail.”  It was prehistoric times.)

Brody’s area of specialization is Accounting and Finance, and he’s made splits in that area with a number of different Top Echelon Network recruiters down through the years.

Not only that, but Brody has attended a great many Network events like the National Convention and the Fall Conference—and he continues to attend!  (He was at the 2013 National Convention in Florida this past spring.)

Everybody at Top Echelon would like to recognize Steve for his impressive accomplishment and also thank him for his dedication and commitment as a Preferred Member of the Network for the past 25 years.  Congratulations!

Here’s to the next 100 placements!  (Just kidding . . . actually, no we’re not.)

SPLIT PLACEMENTS THIS WEEK:

Everybody wants to know where the money’s at, and Top Echelon Network is no exception.  The good news is that we publish where the money’s at in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

Every week in Top Echelon Network, recruiters close deals and make split placements, many of them placements they would not have made otherwise, if not for their Trading Partners and the opportunities they consistently present.

However, the positions filled also indicate the positions that companies want to hire with the most urgency.  They’re not just rolling out a job order and seeing what happens, hemming and hawing their way to nowhere while enlisting the services of multiple recruiters to embark upon numerous wild good chases.

No, these job orders were closely tied to urgency, and the companies that issued them were more than happy to pay a recruiter to help fill them.  If just so happens that in these cases, they paid TWO recruiters.

SPLIT JOBS FILLED THIS WEEK:

Below are the split jobs that were recently filled by Top Echelon Network recruiters.

• Sr. Recruiter – In-House
• Director of Engineering
  
• Manager of Human Resources
  
• HR Business Partner
  
• Business Consultant
  
• Database Architect/Developer
  
• Mechanical Engineer
  
• Servicing Performance Analyst
  
• Financial Advisor (Bank)
  
• Color Lab Manager

For more information about how you can be more successful in Top Echelon Network and make more split placements, call Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156.

THIS WEEK’S NETWORK SPLIT PLACEMENTS:

Job recruiter: Joan R. Walters, CPC of JR Walters Resources

Candidate recruiter: Larry Gallin of Gallin Associates

Split job title: SR. RECRUITER – IN-HOUSE

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Joan R. Walters, CPC of JR Walters Resources

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING

Fee percentage: 25%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook web design for recruiters.

— — —

Job recruiter: Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Catherine Bateman of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions

Split job title: MANAGER OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Stephanie Jakubik of Bertram & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Catherine Bateman of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions

Split job title: HR BUSINESS PARTNER

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Doris Painter, CPC of Painter & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Ram Kola of Stewart Cooper & Coon

Split job title: BUSINESS CONSULTANT

Fee percentage: 18%

Action causing split placement:

— — —

Job recruiter: David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Angela Marasco of A. Marasco Recruiting, LLC

Split job title: DATABASE ARCHITECT/DEVELOPER

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: George Seipel of Charter Executive Search

Candidate recruiter: Debi Apple of Apple & Associates, Inc.

Split job title: MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Fee percentage: 25%Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook Website.

— — —

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

Candidate recruiter: Brenda Richardson of Stewart Cooper & Coon

Split job title: SERVICING PERFORMANCE ANALYST

Fee percentage: 15%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Mitch Vigeveno of Turning Point, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Rhonda Dove of KB Search Team, LLC

Split job title: FINANCIAL ADVISOR (BANK)

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention in Florida

— — —

Job recruiter: Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: COLOR LAB MANAGER

Fee percentage: 25%

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

I’m very pleased to announce that the Midwest Regional Core Group has a date and a venue for its next meeting!

While that date isn’t exactly right around the corner, I encourage those recruiters who can attend to take this opportunity to work the date into their appointment books.

The next meeting of the Midwest Regional Core Group is scheduled for Friday, January 31, at the Ramada in Topeka, Kansas.  Not only is there a date, but there’s also a tentative itinerary, which is tentatively listed below:

9:30 to 10 a.m.—Networking

10 to 11 a.m.—“Making Social Media Manageable”

11 to 11:30 a.m.—Break/Networking

11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.—“Lunch and Learn”

12:45 to 1 p.m.—Break/Networking

1 to 1:30 p.m.—Breakout groups for exchanging hot job orders and candidates

1:30 to 2 p.m.—Breakout group for exchanging best practices

2 to 5 p.m.—Open networking time

The tentative cost to attend the event is $50.  That price includes lunch, snacks, beverages, and the training.

Attending a Regional Core Group meeting is a great way to leverage the resources available in the Network and increase the value of your Membership!

If you’d like to attend this upcoming Regional Core Group meeting (or start a new one), please contact me at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156 or via email at Drea@TopEchelon.com.

SURVEY QUESTION:

If there’s one thing that’s been drummed incessantly into the heads of small business owners by the media, it’s the fact that they must embrace social media marketing.

However, does that pertain to executive recruiters, as well?

After all, while recruiters use LinkedIn to source for candidates, and they also advertise their jobs through Twitter and Facebook, how integral is social media to their overall marketing strategy?

Well, we decided to ask them!

We recently conducted a survey of Top Echelon Network recruiters by posting a question in the Members’ Area.

That question was as follows:

When it comes to marketing your firm’s services, how important is social media?

SURVEY RESULTS:

The choice of answers that were provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters who selected each answer:

• Extremely important — 16.4%
• Somewhat important — 43.3%
• Not that important — 31.3%
• Social media is largely a waste of time — 9.0%

SURVEY ANALYSIS:

The results might be considered a little surprising, starting with the fact that only 16.4% of survey participants consider social media to be “extremely important.”  Another 43.3% did indicate that social media is “somewhat important” to their marketing efforts.

However, that’s a combined total of just 59.7%.  That means nearly 40% of recruiters are of the opinion that social media is “not that important” (31.3%) or “largely a waste of time” (9.0%).

These results would seem to indicate that recruiters are successfully marketing themselves without the help of social media.  Could they market themselves even more effectively WITH social media?  Maybe . . . but they don’t seem to think so.

FEEDBACK:

If you’re an executive recruiter, how important is social media to your marketing efforts?  With which of the answers listed above do you most closely associate?  Is social media overhyped . . . or is it an important tool with many benefits?

THE SPLIT RECRUITERS: Kerry Boehner has made 7 placements as one of Top Echelon Network’s top recruiters.  Her agency, KOB Solutions, Inc. has been a Preferred Member since 2010. Judy Kaplan has made 79 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  Her agency, Prof’l Recruiting Consultants, has been a Preferred Member since 1992. Maria Hemminger has made 78 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  Her agency, MJ Recruiters, LLC has been a Preferred Member since 2005. Chris Ramsay, CPC has made 40 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  Her agency, Corporate Resources, LLC, has been a Preferred Member since 1992. THE SPLIT PLACEMENTS: Nothing makes a compelling case like hard evidence . . . so here’s your hard evidence: two split placements that are the result of recruiters attending Top Echelon Network conferences and meeting one another.  One conference was over eight years ago, and the other was this past spring.  However, the result is the same: placement, placement, placement! Of course, we’re also talking about a powerhouse group of female recruiters, a quartet that has combined to make over 200 Network placements.  Not only that, but two of their firms have been Preferred Member agencies for over 20 years.  All of this is a testament to both their success in the Network and their longevity in the industry. And that success has been predicated, at least in part, on attending conferences and networking with other recruiters!  (There’s something to be said for women’s intuition.) So—what are you waiting for?  Register for the 2013 Fall Conference!

— — —

“Judy and I had a fabulous time at the TEN Conference at St. Pete’s Beach.  This placement is a direct result of hanging out on the beach in Cabana 192!” Submitted by Kerry Boehner of KOB Solutions, Inc. regarding her Network split placement with Judy Kaplan of Prof’l Recruiting Consultants Position Title—MANAGER, CUSTOMER SERVICE Fee Percentage—20% (Editor’s note: This is the first Network split placement that Boehner and Kaplan have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

“It’s so great to be doing business with Chris.  This is not the first placement that we have done with her.  (Joanna Spaun made the other one.)  We have known Chris since before we started MJ Recruiters.  We met her [at the Top Echelon Network National Convention] in Nashville in 2005.  I appreciate the patience that Chris has had in completing this placement.  To another OHIO split!” Submitted by Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC regarding her Network split placement with Chris Ramsay, CPC of Corporate Resources, LLC Position Title—QUALITY MANAGER Fee Percentage—25% (Editor’s note: This is the first Network split placement that Hemminger and Ramsay have made together in Top Echelon.)/>