It’s the day before Thanksgiving!

And what better day to sink our teeth into some TE network split placements? And don’t forget the recruiting fees that accompany those splits. (Kind of like whipped cream on your pumpkin pie, don’t you think?)

And speaking of recruiting fees, a $40K fee leads the way in terms of this week’s split placements. TE Network recruiters Clint Martz of A to Z Search Group and Sean Bonner of Instensiv, LLC placed a Controls Engineer to earn that $40,000 fee at 25%.

But wait, there’re more! (More pumpkin pie? There’s always more pumpkin pie.)

No, I mean there are two recruiters who recently made their first split placements in TE Network. They are Christian Hicks of Christian Hicks and Nate Meyer of Rare Bird Recruiting. Congratulations are in order for both of them!

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 November 17 through November 23, 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

— — —

Aldin Beslagic

Sara Alexandroff

Job recruiter: Aldin Beslagic of BestLogic Staffing

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

Job title: MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN 

Overall placement fee: $13,520

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Troy Randolph

Kendra Arnold

Job recruiter: Troy Randolph of Lea Randolph & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Kendra Arnold of A Plus Hire Right Search Group, LLC

Job title: HOSPICE SALES EXECUTIVE

Overall placement fee: $14,250

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Clint Martz

Sean Bonner

Job recruiter: Clint Martz of A to Z Search Group

Candidate recruiter: Sean Bonner of Intensiv, LLC

Job title: CONTROLS ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $40,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Georgette Sandifer

Christian Hicks

Job recruiter: Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting

Candidate recruiter: Christian Hicks of Christian Hicks

Job title: PROJECT SUPERINTENDENT – COMMERCIAL

Overall placement fee: $21,600

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Steve Schroeder

Paula Mendoza

Job recruiter: Steve Schroeder of Stratus Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Paula Mendoza of Twenty80 LLC

Job title: VN INSTRUCTOR

Overall placement fee: $6,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Steve Schroeder

Paula Mendoza

Job recruiter: Steve Schroeder of Stratus Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Paula Mendoza of Twenty80 LLC

Job title: VN INSTRUCTOR

Overall placement fee: $6,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Laura Petraitis-Doll

Nate Meyer

Job recruiter: Laura Petraitis-Doll of LS Doll & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Nate Meyer of Rare Bird Recruiting

Job title: SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $37,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

David M. Sgro, CPC

Kristy Staggs

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

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

Job title: LITIGATION ATTORNEY

Overall placement fee: $33,750

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.

Recruiters know the drill: you’ve got a great job order, a solid database of candidates . . . and then you burn 30 minutes (or more) trying to write the perfect Boolean string.

What if that part was done for you—instantly?

That’s exactly what the new Top Echelon Smart-TE AI Search String Generator is designed to do. And in an upcoming special webinar, you’ll see it in action.

From Job Description to Boolean . . . Instantly

Smart-TE’s AI Search String Generator takes any job title and description and turns it into a powerful, optimized Boolean search string in seconds.

No more:

• Second-guessing your operators

• Wondering which keywords you might be missing

• Spending time rewriting the same kinds of strings over and over

Instead, you enter the job details and Smart-TE goes to work:

• Analyzing the job for skills, experience, and qualifications

• Identifying critical keywords that actually matter

• Automatically building an advanced search query tailored to your role

The result? You surface highly relevant, best-matched candidates already in your database—without needing to be a Boolean expert.

Smarter Sourcing Inside TE Recruit

In a special webinar on Thursday, December 4, Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS, will walk you step-by-step through how Smart-TE works inside TE Recruit.

You’ll see how the tool:

• Expands job titles into synonymous variations

  • Example: “Account Executive” → AE, Sales Executive, Sales Rep, etc.

• Extracts key skills and experience

  • Pulling out certifications, technologies, industries, and more

• Builds advanced search queries automatically

  • You get fully formed Boolean strings ready to plug into your searches

• Delivers results directly in the People Advanced Search screen

  • All inside TE Recruit, where you already work every day

This isn’t just a flashy add-on—it’s a sourcing accelerator built to help you get faster, more relevant results from the database you’ve already invested in.

Why Smart-TE Matters Right Now

In a competitive market, small improvements in speed and accuracy can add up to big wins. Smart-TE helps you:

• Shorten time-to-candidate by cutting manual search building

• Improve match quality with richer keyword coverage and title variations

• Reduce reliance on Boolean power users on your team

• Focus your energy on engaging and closing candidates, not writing queries

If you’ve ever thought, “I know the right candidate has to be in here somewhere,” Smart-TE is built for you.

Webinar Details: Join Us December 4

Topic: “Supercharge Your Searches with Smart-TE”
Host: Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS, Director of Network Operations, Top Echelon
Date: December 4
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Format: Live webinar from Top Echelon Software

You’ll come away with a clear understanding of how to:

• Take a real job description and instantly generate Boolean

• Refine and review AI-built search strings

• Run those searches inside TE Recruit’s People Advanced Search

• Turn Smart-TE into a practical, everyday sourcing advantage

Ready to See It Live?

If you want faster sourcing, smarter automation, and dramatically higher relevance in your searches, you won’t want to miss this session.

Join Drea and Top Echelon on December 4 and get ready to “Supercharge your Searches with Smart-TE!”

Believe it or not, I’ve already discussed four “Networking Tips” for Top Echelon. My, how time flies.

That brings us to our next tip, which at first glance seems like a rather simple one. However, it can prove to be more difficult than it appears. That’s because it deals with your reputation.

But when it comes to enjoying success in Top Echelon’s recruiting network—and enjoying it more often—this is one tip that you absolutely cannot ignore.

If you take this tip to heart with everything you do in the Network, then you won’t have to go looking for success. Success will find YOU instead.

With that kind of buildup, Networking Tip #5 is below . . .

Build a positive reputation with your peers.

Our logic about your Network reputation:

Everybody wants to be a winner, and the shrewd will try to surround themselves with winners. You’re participating in one of the world’s largest network of independently-owned recruiting agencies.

Your co-members are trying to determine with whom they can work best. The relationships you form with Network members now are the building blocks for your future split placements.

If you develop the reputation of being a “mover and a shaker,” then your co-members will tend to pay more attention to your candidates and job orders than if they had never heard of you. This helps to perpetuate your positive reputation.

Below are some immediate steps that you can take to build your reputation:

#1—Make placements!

Nothing will do more for your reputation than making a large number of Network placements! Everything else is secondary.

#2—Be a “go getter.”

Make things happen!

Get your co-members’ candidates interviewed. Respond quickly to Network job orders with candidates who are right on target.

Post good, place-able candidates. Get your good job orders into the Network quickly. Go out of your way to help a co-member.

#3—Keep your nose clean.

Don’t jeopardize everything you’ve worked for by doing anything that could be construed as even the slightest bit unethical.

#4—Remember our biggest rule for success.

What is our biggest rule for success? It’s also simple: in everything you do, always give more than you take.

Now that we’ve discussed building a positive reputation with your peers in our split network, we’ll move on to Networking Tip #6 next.

If you have any questions, please contact me by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

The new year is almost here! (Well, if you mean by “almost here,” it’s about a month away, then yes . . . it’s almost here.)

Matthew Deutsch

And you can make more money through Top Echelon’s referral program for TE Network members and TE Recruit users!

This is your chance to boost your income in 2026 while helping other recruiters discover the power of our recruiting network and/or recruiting software!

Here’s How It Works: As a valued customer, you can refer other recruiters to join our recruiting network or use our ATS (TE Recruit)—and get paid for it! It’s that simple.

We’re offering a 20% referral fee for the first year on any referrals that sign up and use our services. (Please note that this does not include Top Echelon’s 6% brokerage fee on split placements.)

What You’ll Get:

• 20% commission for all valid referrals
• A second 20% commission if your referral joins both TE Network and uses TE Recruit

How to Get Started: Joining is easy! CLICK HERE to fill out the application and become a part of our referral program.

Chris Jackson

Once you sign up, Chris Jackson from Top Echelon will reach out to schedule a brief 15-minute call. During this call, Chris will walk you through:

• PartnerStack, our portal for managing payouts and referrals
• How to access your unique referral link
• How to start earning commissions by referring other recruiters!

Why Join Now? At Top Echelon, your success is our priority. By joining the referral program, you’ll have the opportunity to increase your earnings while helping others discover the tools that make recruiting more efficient.

Since it’s nearly December, now is the perfect time to get up to speed and position yourself for a profitable year ahead.

Don’t wait! Join our referral program today and take the first step toward boosting your income in 2026!

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

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

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 December’s Virtual Core Group meetings. Below is the complete VCG schedule for December, including the industries involved and the time that each meeting will be held. (Note: all times are Eastern.)

Wednesday, December 3:

• 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. — Accounting & Finance

Wednesday, December 10:

• 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. — Manufacturing & Engineering

Thursday, December 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.