As Drea Codispoti mentioned here, November was the month of thanks (and Thanksgiving).

Matthew Deutsch

And to take things a step further—because why would we not—the TE Network recruiters who were involved with the largest split placement fees in November are certainly thankful for their trading partners!

This is especially the case for Clint Martz of A to Z Search Group and Sean Bonner of Intensiv, LLC. Clint and Sean placed a Controls Engineer to earn a recruiting fee of $40,000 at 25%.

However, as you can see below, their split was not the only placement that produced a large recruiting fee in TE Network during the month of November. There were many others, all of which adds to the widespread thanksgiving!

As a friendly reminder, Top Echelon determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its TE Network split fee recruiting awards in four distinct categories:

1.) Recruiter of the Month
2.) Largest Split Fee of the Month
3.) Recruiter of the Quarter
4.) Largest Split Fee of the Quarter

We only announce the winners of these awards in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. We do so usually (but not always) in the issue following the conclusion of each month and/or quarter.

So congratulations to everybody on the list below for scoring some BIG placement fees during the month!

Largest Split Placement Fees – November 2025

— — —

First Place:

Clint Martz of A to Z Search Group and Sean Bonner of Intensiv, LLC

Clint Martz

Sean Bonner

The position for this split placement was a Controls Engineer and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Clint was the job order recruiter and Sean was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $40,000.

— — —

Second Place:

Laura Petraitis-Doll of LS Doll & Associates and Nate Meyer of Rare Bird Recruiting

Laura Petraitis-Doll

Nate Meyer

The position for this split placement was a Senior Environmental Engineer and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Laura was the job order recruiter and Nate was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $37,500.

— — —

Third Place:

David J. Sgro of True North Consultants, Inc. and Kristy Staggs of Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.

David J. Sgro

Kristy Staggs

The position for this split placement was a Litigation Attorney and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

David was the job order recruiter and Kristy was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $33,750.

— — —

Fourth Place:

David Wood, CPC of The David Wood Company and Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

David Wood

Brad Dodge

The position for this split placement was an Engineering Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 20%.

David was the job order recruiter and Brad was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $32,000.

–— — —

Fifth Place:

Rhonda Tisko of Acloche Direct Hire and Gary Schultz of Work 22, Inc.

Rhonda Tisko

Gary Schultz

The position for this split placement was a Manufacturing Production Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 20%.

Rhonda was the job order recruiter and Gary was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $25,000.

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiting network, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting has been the top recruiter in TE Network for the vast majority of 2025, so it’s not surprising that he is also the Recruiter of the Month for November!

Matthew Deutsch

Brad was part of three Network split placements during the month. Those splits brought him a cash-in total of $32,430. It also pushed him closer to the elusive $2 million mark in terms of career earnings through TE Network.

Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James was runner-up for Recruiter of the Month honors. She was also part of three splits in November, earning over $20K in placement income. Not only that, but with the next placement that she makes, Sara will reach the coveted milestone of 100 split placements in TE Network.

Here is the information that we include with the Recruiter of the Month feature in TE Network:

1. The top five (5) recruiters for the month.
2. The cash-in total for each recruiter during the month. (We base the order of the recruiters on their amount of cash-in dollars, as opposed to the number of split placements they’ve made.)
3. The number of splits that the recruiters made during the month.
4. The number of splits each recruiter has made during their TE Network career.
5. Each recruiter’s cash-in total for their TE Network career.

With this format, it’s more likely that there will be ties among recruiters, especially with those TE Network members who have made split placements with each other.

Once again, congratulations to the recruiters listed below . . . and congratulations to every TE Network member who made a split placement (or multiple splits) during the month!

Recruiters of the Month – November 2025

— — —

First Place:

Brad Dodge

Recruiter: Brad Dodge
Agency: iLocatum Recruiting
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $32,430.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 239
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $1,923,144.38

— — —

Second Place:

Sara Alexandroff

Recruiter: Sara Alexandroff
Agency: Sterling St. James
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $20,529.60
Career Top Echelon placements: 99
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $866,547.55

— — —

Third Place (Tie):

Clint Martz

Recruiter: Clint Martz 
Agency: A to Z Search Group
Placements: One (1)
Cash-in total: $18,800.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 9
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $128,662.50

— — —

Third Place (Tie):

Sean Bonner

Recruiter: Sean Bonner 
Agency: Intensiv, LLC
Placements: One (1)
Cash-in total: $18,800.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 4
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $59,337.50

— — —

Fourth Place (Tie):

Nate Meyer

Recruiter: Nate Meyer 
Agency: Rare Bird Recruiting
Placements: One (1)
Cash-in total: $17,625.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 1
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $17,625.00

— — —

Fourth Place (Tie):

Laura Petraitis-Doll

Recruiter: Laura Petraitis-Doll 
Agency: LS Doll & Associates
Placements: One (1)
Cash-in total: $17,625.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 39
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $421,434.11

— — —

Fifth Place (Tie):

Kristy Staggs

Recruiter: Kristy Staggs 
Agency: Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.
Placements: One (1)
Cash-in total: $15,862.50
Career Top Echelon placements: 128
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $955,926.96

— — —

Fifth Place (Tie):

David J. Sgro

Recruiter: David J. Sgro 
Agency: True North Consultants, Inc.
Placements: One (1)
Cash-in total: $15,862.50
Career Top Echelon placements: 33
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $268,984.64

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiter network, then contact Director of Network Operations, Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

As you might have noticed, The Four Pillars of TE Network have cropped up often in my series of blog posts regarding networking tips.

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

That’s going to be the case again this week in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. The two Pillars in question? Communication and Active Participation. And they both relate to rapport.

When you think about it, these two might need to be reversed. A member first has to make the decision that they’re going to actively participate in our recruiter network.

Only then can they effectively communicate with one another for the purpose of sharing information and making split placements.

This week’s networking tip seems rather simple and straightforward—and it is. However, it does take some effort and a commitment on the part of every member to make it happen.

That being said, “Networking Tip #6” is as follows:

Search out those members in your “area of specialty” and develop rapport with them through verbal communication.

Our logic regarding rapport:

You’ve built your business by talking with your clients and your candidates. You’ve learned how to determine what your clients need and what your candidates have to offer.

You use resumes and computers to gather information, but for the most part, your success depends upon the verbal communication that you have with both parties. After all, your clients hire people, not resumes.

Verbal communication is your most powerful tool for getting the job done. Verbal communication not only means talking, but it also means listening. It’s a two-way process that builds trust and strengthens client and candidate relationships.

We’re suggesting that you use your most powerful tool, verbal communication, with TE Network members to identify who can help you and how they can potentially help you.

Immediate steps you can take:

1.) Call members who are working areas similar to your specialty area.

Tell them about the candidates and job orders you’re working and ask about the candidates and job orders they’re working. They may have six or 10 candidates or job orders you need right now! A short phone call can tell you everything you need to know.

2.) Watch the “Welcome New Members” section in the Network Dashboard to see who’s joined the Network and in which disciplines and industries they specialize. (This information is also published in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

After reading their areas of specialization, call and introduce yourself if there’s even the slightest potential for overlap. They won’t forget you!

3.) If you see a candidate whose resume is close, but not exact, pick up the phone and discover if there is more there than meets the eye.

A five-minute phone call might be worth $5,000 to $15,000 for you and that Network member.

4.) If you see another TE Network member working a similar job order, call them and tell them what you’re looking for.

After all, the two of you will be covering the same ground. Help each other!

5.) When you run a search in the Network Candidates sourcing tool and one or two members have candidates that are close, but not a fit for your search, call them to see if they have any more candidates. It’s worth a shot!

Trust with your trading partners

Your TE Network trading partners can become a tremendous asset for you, if you learn how to use that asset.

First, you must find out who and where they are and develop a trusting relationship with these individuals. Second, you must communicate with them regularly to see if they can help you and see if you can help them.

Get on the phone and make it happen!

Now that we’ve discussed why you should develop rapport through verbal communication, we’ll move on to Networking Tip #7 in the next blog post in our series.

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

We at Top Echelon had a lot to be thankful for during the month of November . . . and that was before 27 recruiting agencies joined TE Network as new members!

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

We will admit that a handful of these agencies were members of the Network in the past. However, we certainly welcome them back with open arms. And there is no better month for us to do so than November, the month of thanksgiving. (And, of course, Thanksgiving.)

But we want YOU, the loyal members of TE Network, to also be thankful. We want you to make split placements with these recruiting agencies. And at the same time, we want you to get ready to make 2026 a great year for your agency and for the recruiting profession overall!

As I mentioned above, take a moment to reach out, introduce yourself, and start a conversation with these recruiters, especially with those whose specialties align with your own. You never know when a quick message or shared search might spark your next trusted trading partner . . . or your next successful split placement!

We run the names of recruiting agencies applying for membership in the Network Dashboard section of the TE Network software. We list the names of new Network members, as well.

However, we also list our new members in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. This list typically includes the:

• Name of the agency
• Industries and/or specialties in which the agency operates
• Names of the recruiters working at the agency
• Geographic location of the agency

So I’d like to take this moment to once again congratulate the recruiting agencies listed below and publicly welcome them to TE Network. I look forward to helping them make split placements!

(Note: If you have any questions about reaching out to new members or about your membership in general, please contact me. My contact information is listed at the end of this blog post.)

New Member Agencies – November 2025

— — —

AimPoint Talent Partners
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Anthony Miles
Location: Columbus, OH

— — —

CMT GLOBAL CONSULTING
Industries: Mining, Energy, Heavy Industry, Engineering, Professional Services, Aerospace, and Manufacturing
Recruiters: Christa Tsitirides
Location: Les Cedres, QC

— — —

ConEng Recruiting
Industries: Construction and Engineering
Recruiters: John Mullen
Location: Vero Beach, FL

— — —

Crucial Hire
Industries: HR, Administration, IT, Finance, and Marketing
Recruiters: Zach Nold
Location: Chicago, IL

— — —

Drew Marcus Consulting, LLC
Industries: Insurance
Recruiters: Drew Marcus
Location: Leverett, MA

— — —

Elevate Direct
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Christopher Hollinger
Location: Livermore, CA

— — —

Elite Ascend Staffing Solutions
Industries: IT/Program Management, Law/Legal, Finance, Admin, Economics/Stats, and Government 
Recruiters: Davitta Kauffman
Location: Laurel, MD

— — —

Enginuity Advantage, LLC
Industries: Architecture, Engineering/Construction, Environmental Sciences, Finance, Beverage, and Staffing
Recruiters: Kelly Hatfield
Location: Everett, WA

— — —

Epiphany Resource Group
Industries: Government Contractors
Recruiters: Joshua Mills
Location: Sarasota, FL

— — —

Everest Search Partners
Industries: Generalist 
Recruiters: John Maley
Location: Dallas, TX

— — —

GoodHire Recruitment
Industries: Government, Hospitality, Education, Non-Profit, C-Suite, and Construction
Recruiters: Cristina Petrilla
Location: Henderson, NV

— — —

Gundrum & Associates, Inc.
Industries: Engineering
Recruiters: Mark Gundrum
Location: Cedarburg, WI

— — —

Hawthorne Staffing
Industries: Information Technology
Recruiters: Maya Hawthorne
Location: Houston, TX

— — —

Human Capital Ventures, LLC
Industries: Technology, Finance, Healthcare, and Entertainment
Recruiters: Robert Leis
Location: Irvine, CA

— — —

IT Audit Search
Industries: IT and Finance
Recruiters: Ralph Dahm
Location: Wheaton, IL

— — —

Kace Premier Medical Talent, Inc.
Industries: Healthcare
Recruiters: Joel Brown
Location: Crofton, MD

— — —

Kirk Recruitment, Ltd.
Industries: Information Technology
Recruiters: Stephen Kirk
Location: Los Angeles, CA

— — —

MFinity Resources, LLC
Industries: Healthcare and Executive Search
Recruiters: Michelle Adams
Location: Beaumont, TX

— — —

MW Talent
Industries: Legal
Recruiters: Mariam Weber
Location: Alpharetta, GA

— — —

My Elite Path
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Yvonne Haner
Location: Evansville, IN

— — —

People Plus Solutions
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Capri Barnette
Location: McDonough, GA

— — —

Real Estate Executive Search
Industries: Real Estate
Recruiters: Richard Birgel
Location: Dania, FL

— — —

The Brinkman Group, LLC
Industries: Insurance
Recruiters: Kristin Heideman
Location: Kansas City, MO

— — —

The Gallagher Group
Industries: Accounting/Finance, Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Distribution
Recruiters: Hugh Gallagher
Location: Breinigsville, PA

— — —

Top Recruiters, LLC
Industries: Legal, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Hospitality
Recruiters: Josh Montellano
Location: Chicago, IL

— — —

Vireon Capital Group
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Christopher Mazzone
Location: Springfield, MA

— — —

William Estes & Associates
Industries: Accounting/Finance and Information Technology
Recruiters: William Estes
Location: Concord, CA

— — —

It doesn’t matter if you’re a newer TE Network recruiter or an established member. If you want help making split placements with other Network members, then I encourage you to contact me.

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

It is the holiday season, so naturally, there is a lot to celebrate.

Matthew Deutsch

But now there’s even more to celebrate, because we have the recruiting agencies celebrating an anniversary in TE Network for the month of December!

But it’s even more festive than that. Why, you ask? I shall tell you: there are not one, but two agencies celebrating a TE Network anniversary of 31 years.

Those two agencies are Alternate Route in San Diego, California and The David Wood Company in Vancouver, Washington.

As you can see below, there are 21 agencies overall celebrating an anniversary in TE Network during December. So we not only congratulate the recruiters of Alternate Route and The David Wood Company, but also the recruiters of every agency celebrating an anniversary this month!

When recognizing Network agencies for their anniversaries, Top Echelon includes the name of the agency; the length of the anniversary; and the location of the agency, including the city and state.

So congratulations to all of the agencies celebrating anniversaries in our split fee recruiting network during the month of December!

— — —

31-Year Anniversary

• Alternate Route, San Diego, CA
• The David Wood Company, Vancouver, WA

— — —

28-Year Anniversary

• LS Doll & Associates, Orland Park, IL

— — —

25-Year Anniversary

• Personnel Services Unlimited, Shelby, NC

— — —

18-Year Anniversary

• KV Resources, LLC, Wales, WI
• The Walstrom Group, Rogers, MN

— — —

16-Year Anniversary

• Hire Horizons, Pickerington, OH

— — —

10-Year Anniversary

• Sora Resource Group, LLC, Elizabethtown, KY

— — —

9-Year Anniversary

• Personnel Resources, Tipp City, OH

— — —

7-Year Anniversary

• Gary Thompson, Beaufort, SC
• LFP Associates, Odenton, MD

— — —

4-Year Anniversary

• Decide Consulting, Houston, TX
• Engineering Search Partners, Woodstock, GA

— — —

2-Year Anniversary

• National Staffing Services, Troy, MI
• Tri-Starr Group, San Antonio, TX

— — —

1-Year Anniversary

• 1 Direction Employment Services, LLC, Nashville, TN
• Human Capital Ventures, LLC, Irvine, CA
• Launching Point, Menomonee Falls, WI
• PeopleWise, Albany, NY
• Talent-Pipeline, Oakland Park, FL
• Technical Staffing Essentials LLC, Grandville, MI

— — —

Thank you to all of these agencies and the many others that have joined TE Network over the years. We look forward to many more anniversaries and split placements in the years ahead!