Nobody likes fall-offs. Well, NO recruiter likes fall-offs, anyway. That’s one of many reasons why background checks are an essential part of any placement.

The last thing you want to do is place a candidate, receive a $25,000 check for the placement, and then have your client let the candidate go on the 89th day of a 90-day guarantee because the candidate was dishonest about something.

According to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder in 2014, fifty-eight percent of employers have caught a resume lie, with the most common relating to the following:

• Embellished skill set – 57 percent
• Embellished responsibilities – 55 percent
• Dates of employment – 42 percent
• Job title – 34 percent
• Academic degree – 33 percent
• Companies worked for – 26 percent
• Accolades/awards – 18 percent

Doesn’t anybody tell the truth anymore?

Well, we have some truth for you: Top Echelon Network recruiters can get background checks at a discounted price. That’s because Top Echelon has a relationship with background screening vendor IntelliCorp. As a benefit of our national contract with them, customers we refer to IntelliCorp can get discounted rates on a variety of services:

• Criminal searches (validated)
• Social security number verification w/address history
• Employment and education verifications
• Motor vehicle reports
• Drug testing
• Credit reports
• Professional licenses
• I9 & E-Verify

So what kind of discount are we talking about? Customized bundled product packages are available starting at $20.28. One more thing: you do NOT have to use Top Echelon Contracting as your back-office to take advantage of this discount offer for background checks.

If you run your own back-office, you can still get a discount on background checks as a Top Echelon customer. Not only that, but you can use IntelliCorp for your direct-hire placements. In fact, we’re encouraging you to use IntelliCorp for your direct-hire placements.

Click here to take advantage of this special offer!

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While once again, you do NOT have to use Top Echelon Contracting as your back-office to take advantage of this offer, we still want you to make contract placements. Click here to download our Quick-Start Guide to Contract Staffing, then read, rinse, and repeat.

One way to get your jobs in front of qualified candidates is by using the various job posting avenues that are at your disposal. However, do use Top Echelon’s job posting service? Actually, do you know about Top Echelon’s job posting service?

These are questions we wanted to answer with our latest recruiter poll in the Top Echelon Members’ Area. The poll question that we posed is as follows:

Do you use Top Echelon’s job posting service?

Results:

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

• Yes, I’m currently using it. — 54.2%
• Yes, I’ve used it in the past but am not now. — 30.8%
• No, I’ve never used it and have no plans to. — 0.0%
• No, I’ve not used it but I might in the future. — 6.5%
• What is Top Echelon’s job posting service? — 8.4%

Analysis:

According to the results of our poll, over half of the Network recruiters (54.2%) responding to the question are using the Top Echelon job posting service. Another 30.8% have used the service in the past, but are not using it presently.

However, here’s the really good news: nobody chose the answer “No, I’ve never used it and have no plans to.” Hey, thanks!

There is a contingent of recruiters who has not used the job posting service, but who might do so at a later date. And of course, there were the poll participants who selected “What is Top Echelon’s job posting service?” That group comprised 8.4% of the vote.

Conclusion:

With Top Echelon’s job posting service, Network members can get their jobs in front of more qualified passive candidates. That’s because their jobs are posted niche-specific, industry-specific, and geographic-specific job board sites around the Internet.

If it sounds like I’m trying to sell Top Echelon’s job posting service to you, that’s because I’m trying to sell Top Echelon’s job posting service to you.

Hold on, though: I’ll sweeten the pot. If you’re a Big Biller user and you’ve never used Top Echelon’s job posting service, you qualify for three FREE postings. (Hey, who doesn’t like free? I like free.)

As a Top Echelon customer, you can post for just $21 per job. Multi-job packages are also available.

With a monthly subscription you can subscribe to a set number of job slots each month. You can take jobs out of your slots and put new ones in, but the number of jobs you have active at any one time will correspond to the number of slots allowed by your subscription.

Click here to see a breakdown of the various subscription packages offered.

Earlier this year, Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group reached the 400-placement plateau in Top Echelon Network. At the time, I predicted that Trey would hit the 500-placement plateau before the end of the year.

And he did! I’m psychic!

Actually, you can hold off on calling me Nostradamus. Saying Trey Cameron would reach 500 placements before the end of the year wasn’t exactly a bold prediction. Regardless, the prediction DID come true.

Needless to say, nobody else in the history of Top Echelon Network has made 500 career placements as a member. In fact, nobody has made 400 career placements. Not only that, only a handful has made it to the 300-placement plateau.

Here are a couple of other things to keep in mind:

• As of the writing of this blog post, Trey’s placement total stands at 512. Will he make it to 600 before the end of the year? No comment.
• Trey’s cash-in amount currently a little over $3.8 million. Will he make it to $4 million before the end of the year? Of course he will. Mark down that prediction!

Yes, Trey lost the Recruiter of the Month Award to Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search. However, it appears as though he has plenty of placements with which to console himself . . . now and in the future.

Congratulations, Trey! (We look forward to another 500.)

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Trey Cameron

Pat McCombs, CPC

“Thanks, Trey, for an AWESOME candidate! Our client is thrilled!”

Submitted by Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC regarding her Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—IT SUPPORT/SYSTEMS ANALYST

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the seventh Network split placement that McCombs and Cameron have made together in Top Echelon.)

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Steve Stern

“Thank you, Trey. Good to get one done with you. I’m sure you were worried, since it has probably been eight hours since you made a placement! Hopefully, this is the first of many.”

Submitted by Steve Stern of PrismSearch Partners regarding his Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—SYSTEM ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—20%

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

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Cindy Stephens, CPC/CTS

“Thank you, Trey, for working with Tim and our agency! You are the best! We love working with you and your team. All my best!”

Submitted by Cindy Stephens, CPC/CTS of Stephens International Recruiting, Inc. regarding her firm’s Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—FIELD SERVICE HOSPITAL IT TECHNICIAN

Fee Percentage—18%

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

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If YOU are looking to make more placements with your Top Echelon Network membership, contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

In case you missed it, we’ve started featuring some of our favorite recruiting websites in a new series called the Best Recruiting Website of the Week.

So who did we crown the winner for the second week of this series? Drum roll please . . .

Congratulations to Prairie Consulting Services (www.prairieinc.com) for winning this week’s feature. Oh and shameless plug . . . we made their website earlier this year.

There’s a couple things in particular that make this site standout.

1. Homepage sets the pace. Everything you need to know and navigate on the page is above the fold. Candidates and clients clearly have their own section, both in the header and in the middle of the page. This helps with user experience for both of Prairie’s intended audiences.

2. About us page humanizes the brand. The about us page is a great addition to this site that helps the brand appeal to both clients and job seekers. This page helps put a face to the brand name and makes job seekers see who they are trusting with their job search. On the other side of things, this page shows clients their business advisor in their search. Also, this page doesn’t loose focus on how placements are the primary goal. Job seeker and client buttons are present on this page. Lastly this page looks just as good on mobile, with team bios visible from the start.

3. Navigation stays with you. Website visitors will have no problem finding the navigation on this site! The header stays with you regardless of what page you are visiting. Even as you scroll on the pages, the header stays within a viewable and clickable distance.

4. Easy to find Jobs and to Apply. This website is setup to do exactly what 99.9% of recruiters are most concerned about the most. With the jobs section of their website, job seekers can quickly search and apply for the job postings that peak their interest. Making this process easily accessible to job seekers means this website helps get as many applications as possible into the recruiting funnel.

5. Visually Appealing. The homepage is the perfect combination of Prairie’s brand colors. The blue and green are featured on all the pages, making this website cohesive and fun to look at.

Make sure to check out Prairie Consulting’s website on desktop and mobile, both of which are great examples of a recruiting website. Thinking about sprucing up your recruiting website? Make sure to check out our free website evaluation.

Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group has been the “king of the hill” in Top Echelon Network for quite some time. It seems as though he’s won just about every Recruiter of the Month Award for the past few years.

But a new recruiter is “king of the hill” for the month of September! That recruiter is Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search.

We’ve featured Steve before in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog:

• “Steve Kohn: Second to None in Top Echelon”
• “Steve Kohn Reaches the 200 Placement Milestone”

Steve is currently #2 overall in the Network standings as far as cash-in during the past 12 months is concerned. (You can guess who’s #1.) As such, he’s finished second in the Recruiter of the Month and Recruiter of the Quarter standings quite a few times.

However, it was only a matter before Steve broke through, and that’s exactly what he did during the month of September. In fact, his 11 Network placements during the month were more than double Trey’s output.

So congratulations are in order—to Steve for being “king of the hill” last month, to Trey for being Trey, and to all of the recruiters who made placements in Top Echelon Network during the month of September!

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Recruiters of the Month:

1st Place: Steve Kohn
Agency: Affinity Executive Search, Inc.
Placements: 11
Commission: $82,386

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2nd Place: Trey Cameron
Agency: Cameron Craig Group
Placements: 5
Commission: $47,548

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3rd Place: Pamela Ratz DeVille, CPC
Agency: MMS Group
Placements: 2
Commission: $26,968

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4th Place: Ward Fisk
Agency: Talent Resource Network
Placements: 2
Commission: $17,860

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5th Place: Debbie Reiger
Agency: Reiger Technical Search
Placements: 2
Commission: $16,544

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If YOU are looking to make more placements with your Top Echelon Network membership, contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CERS by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

It’s not often that we have a Charter Member firm celebrating an anniversary in Top Echelon Network . . . but we have one this month!

That firm is Lou Michaels Associates, Inc., which joined the Network during the first year of its existence: 1988. Of course, back then Top Echelon Network was known as Nationwide Interchange Service, or NIS.

The recruiters of Lou Michaels Associates has made 273 placements in Top Echelon Network during the past 28 years. The president of the firm, Lou Michaels, has made 173 of those placements himself, generating a cash-in total of over $1.1 million.

(Lou Michaels is only one of two active Charter Members in the Network. Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems is the other.)

Lou Michaels Associates is just one of four Network firms that are celebrating an anniversary of 20 years or more. Once of those firms—Continental Search & Outplacement, Inc.—has been responsible for 311 Network placements.

We want to thank and congratulate the recruiters of Lou Michaels Associates, Continental Search & Outplacement, and all of the recruiting firms celebrating an anniversary in Top Echelon Network this month!

(Editor’s note: Top Echelon recognizes firms celebrating five, 10, 15, and 20-year anniversaries, plus any firm celebrating an anniversary in excess of 20 years.)

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28-Year Anniversary

Lou Michaels Associates, Inc. in Battle Creek, Michigan
Staff Members: Lou Michaels and Carri Johnson
Agency Join Date: October 10, 1998
Placements: 273

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23-Year Anniversary

Bailey Personnel Consultants in Rochester, New York
Staff Members: Jarie Doberstein, CPC/CTS; Sandra Pettrone; and Eleanor R. Levy
Agency Join Date: October 21, 1993
Placements: 27

Gundrum & Associates, Inc. in Cedarburg, Wisconsin
Staff Members: Mark Gundrum and Dan Gundrum
Agency Join Date: October 28, 1993
Placements: 42

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22-Year Anniversary

Stickle & Associates in Asheboro, North Carolina
Staff Members: Robert Stickle
Agency Join Date: October 27, 1994
Placements: 40

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20-Year Anniversary

Continental Search & Outplacement, Inc. in Oceanview, Delaware
Staff Members: Dan Simmons, CPC; Jim Hipskind, CPC; Don Hunter; and Deb Simmons
Agency Join Date: October 7, 1996
Placements: 311

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15-Year Anniversary

Holland & Associates, Inc. in Chelsea, Michigan
Staff Members: Thomas A. Parr and Laura Reiley
Agency Join Date: October 9, 2001
Placements: 10

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5-Year Anniversary

PMG Employment Consultants, LLC in Dublin, Ohio
Staff Members: Phil Georgenson and Michael Georgenson
Agency Join Date: October 7, 2011
Placements: 3

Rowbottom Partners in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Staff Members: Mark Rowbottom, Megan Liddell, Beth Mortl, and Julie Pankkonen
Agency Join Date: October 5, 2011
Placements: 37