Any member of Top Echelon Network can be Recruiter of the Week in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. You can be a newer member, which we’ve already proven. You can also be a more tenured member and be Recruiter of the Week.

It all comes down to performance and results.

David Manns of Access Staffing joined Top Echelon in October of 2008, which means he’ll soon be celebrating his 11th anniversary as a member. From 2007 to 2018, David made nine split placements in the Network.

However, this year, David has “caught fire,” making five splits already with three full months still to go.

David’s experience in Top Echelon is proof that you can enjoy more success in the Network at any time. Specifically, you can make more placements and you can receive a bigger return on your investment in Top Echelon Network.

So for his recent flurry of Network activity and his increased level of success, David Manns is Recruiter of the week in Top Echelon!

David Manns: the secret to his success

We wanted David to say a few words about the success that he’s enjoyed this year in TE. Thankfully, he agreed to do so.

David Manns

“I’ve been a member of Top Echelon a long time. In the beginning couple years of joining Top Echelon, the technology seemed so impressive (overwhelming) in the sense that it would lead to [automatic] success and given that it took four years to find success, I learned the hard way that it’s relationships that are key. There is an art to having good partners, and at this stage of my career, I’m very selective in working legit job orders from importers who have good cooperation from companies and timely feedback. My focus is on exporting.

“My wife started our business in staffing in Ohio which developed into a search firm. I had to change my focus off clearance level defense recruiting to find success in the network after the 2008 election when the government made cutbacks. Today, I work a desk to export Engineers and Manufacturing Operations candidates.

“One thing partners may like to know is I enjoy professionally writing resumes. My wife Shannon is my business partner and has a hand in polishing them, but we mostly give the credit to God for the capability to write them and for success in making placements.

“Another thing partners may not know is my wife is an ace researcher! We removed her off TE years ago, and it helped organize her work behind the scenes.

“There are many other partners in Top Echelon that I haven’t met, including many new ones, and I wish there were buttons a lot of times to signal which pipelines are empty, and where importers are in their searches.”

So congratulations to David Manns for his production and success in the Network and for being named Recruiter of the Week!

— — —

Bill Kubena

“Thanks, David, for thinking of me with this candidate. It was a great fit for both the candidate and the client! I am glad we got it done so quickly for you!”

Submitted by Bill Kubena of Kubena & Associates regarding her Network split placement with David Manns of Access Staffing

Position Title—CNC PROGRAMMER

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the first Network split placement that Bill and David have made together in Top Echelon.)

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The selection process for the Recruiter of the Week Award is based upon multiple criteria, including production within Top Echelon Network, adherence to the Network Policies and Golden Rules, the spirit of networking that the recruiter displays while interacting with other members, and the level of commitment that the recruiter exhibits in regards to their Network membership overall. The Recruiter of the Week is a true embodiment of The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network—Quality, Communication, Trust, and Active Participation.

We at Top Echelon recently announced that the new Network Candidates tool is LIVE. As we also mentioned, Network Candidates was formerly the MEGA Database sourcing tool.

We’re now happy to report that many Network recruiters are pleased with the Network Candidates tool. Specifically, they’re impressed with the interface and functionality of the new tool, as compared to the MEGA.

One of the Network recruiters who loves the functionality of the Network Candidates tool is Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search. Steve is a top producer in the Network. He’s made 329 placements in the Network totaling close to $3 million cash-in during his 25 years of TE membership.

Below is what Steve had to say about the new Network Candidates tool:

Steve Kohn

“The Network Candidates tool is an amazing improvement over the previous MEGA tool.

“In one neat and clean screen, we’re able to see and expand the details of the job order and the potential candidate. A quick visual scan can often tell you if the person is in the ballpark. For example, if a Quality Engineer in San Francisco came up as a match for a Manufacturing Engineer job in Iowa, it’s a pretty quick decision to click the red X that rejects the candidate.

“The results, when forwarding or rejecting, are instant (unlike the previous version that asked you to click a second button and then took several seconds to complete the task) and are immediately recorded in the candidate’s record on the sender’s side, as well as the job order record on the receiver’s side.

“Another convenient and fair feature is that if the same candidate has been unknowingly requested from multiple recruiters, only the first submission goes through and the rest are blocked. Early bird gets the worm.

“This is a great tool that greatly speeds up communication and accuracy. I’m sure that more placements will soon be happening.”

In contrast to Steve, Mike Haydon of Personnel Services Unlimited just started in the recruiting profession this year. Despite that fact, Steve has found the Network Candidates tool to be an intuitive and highly functional part of his recruiting desk.

Mike Haydon

“I’ve reached out to several TE folks with regards to seeing their candidates by searching on geography and keyword or title. In the brief time that I’ve been using the [Network Candidates] tool, I’ve talked with a dozen other members about candidates. I haven’t had a successful placement as of yet, but that’s not a limitation on the TE side. I’ve had a couple of client companies that are still reviewing candidates as part of their process.

“I think the tool is very good. I like the way it’s organized, and I’ve found the ability to track and source by job title and background to be very beneficial and helpful. What I really like is that the sharing capability has opened up the opportunity to have dialogue with other recruiters and start forming relationships with them. I’m looking forward to continuing that dialogue and also building new relationships.”

I recently conducted a Training Tuesday webinar about the Network Candidates tool. You can view the recorded version of that webinar below:

So what does the new Network Candidates tool offer? The following, among other things:

• For starters, you’ll search in one place for your candidates within the Network software. Specifically, you’ll click the “NETWORK” tab in the search results to see what’s available in terms of the over four millions candidates to which you have access.
• Multiple state location searching
• Filters: Most Common Locations, Education Levels, Resume Add Date, and the top five recruiters representing data in the list
• More information to make a determination regarding which candidates to request:
  • Current Position Title
  • Location
  • Parsed skills from the resume
  • Display of past work history position titles and the number of years/months in those positions
  • Summary on the candidate

I’d also like to take this opportunity to invite YOU to be a beta tester for the upcoming changes to the Network software.

Simply send an email to drea@topechelon.com with the words “Beta Tester” in the subject line. Remember, of course, that we can’t put every single Network member on beta testing, so there are limitations.

That’s why if you really want to be a beta tester, I suggest that you act today and send an email!

Sure, the possibility of a recession has been a hot topic in the news media during the past several weeks. However, here are a few facts:

• Nobody has ever been able to predict exactly when a recession is going to begin. (Not with any degree of accuracy, that is.)
• The U.S. Stock Market is still trading near an all-time high level, regardless of recent fluctuations.
• Members of Top Echelon Network have made more placements through the first eight months of this year than they did through the first eight months of last year.
• Placements in Top Echelon Network have increased in four of the past five years.

And if these facts aren’t enough for you, we also have recent poll results from our recruiting network. Specifically, we have the poll results outlined below. Those results tells us the following:

• Over a third of Network member agencies (36.1%) are working more job orders right now than they were a year ago at this time.
• Nearly two-thirds of Network member agencies (73.6%) are working either the same number of job orders or more job orders than last year.
• Over 90% of Network members have lost at least one top candidate this year because their clients are moving too slowly.

Put all of that together, and the conclusion is that there is no hint of a recession in this current job market. Yes, the well-paid pundits and prognosticators continue to debate “doom and gloom” scenarios. However, the members of the Baby Boomer Generation are still retiring by the droves, and there is still a serious talent shortage within most industries.

So right now, the focus should not be on the theoretical start to a recession that nobody can predict. It should be on “making hay while the sun shines.”

Because even though summer is now technically over, the sun is STILL shining.

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How would you describe the number of job orders your agency is working, as compared to a year ago at this time?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters selecting each one:

• We’re working more job orders. — 36.1%
• We’re working roughly the same number of job orders. — 37.5%
• We’re working fewer job orders. — 26.4%

— — —

How many top candidates have you lost this year because your clients moved too slowly?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters selecting each one:

• None — 9.3%
• 1 or 2 — 29.1%
• 3 or 4 — 36.0%
• 5 or 6 — 16.3%
• More than 6 — 9.3%

— — —

When you close a deal, do you:

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters selecting each one:

• Ring a bell. — 12.7%
• Do a dance. — 11.4%
• Belt out a rebel yell. — 6.3%
• Schedule a round of golf. — 2.5%
• Make another call. — 38.0%
• Celebrate some other way. — 29.1%

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Just a reminder: we post a poll question in the Members’ Area every week. Once you participate in the poll, you can see the results as other Members cast their votes.

We usually post a new Members’ Area poll question on Monday. We usually do that, but we don’t always do that. We don’t like to be predictable.

If YOU want to make more split placements and increase your production, then contact Director of Network Operations, Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can reach Drea by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.