As you well know, the end of the year is nearly here. And no, I didn’t plan on rhyming that much. It just sort of . . . happened.

But something you might not want to leave to happenstance is the Professional Tier of the Top Echelon recruiting software.

During the last several months, we’ve been rolling out information regarding our Pro Tier, starting with a Training Tuesday webinar session devoted to it on August 1. Then, later in August, we published some FAQs regarding the Pro Tier.

Then we announced that current users of the Top Echelon recruiting software would have access to the Pro Tier features at no additional cost from September 1 through November 30. At the end of that free trial, you’d have to choose whether to upgrade to the Pro Tier or not.

Obviously, we’re past the date of November 30, so what now? I’m glad you asked that question because I have an answer!

If you want to enjoy the current AND future features of the Pro Tier, then I recommend paying for the Top Echelon recruiting software with the annual plan. This, of course, means paying for a year of the software in advance. But here are the benefits . . .

The cost of the Professional Tier with the monthly plan is $110 per month. However, if you opt for the annual plan and pay for 12 months in advance, then the cost is $89 per month. And that just happens to be the price of the Standard Tier on the monthly plan.

So this means that you can get Pro Tier features at Standard Tier pricing by opting for the annual payment plan!

And keep in mind that we’ll be adding new features and functionality to the Pro Tier during the next 12 months.

As you can see, we’ve already added three new Pro Tier features to the software:

1. Temporary Activity Edit Screen
2. Attachments Listed on Email Edit Screen
3. Active/Inactive Automations Toggle

But wait, there’s more! That’s right, we have some more Pro Tier features on the horizon, which you can check out by visiting the Top Echelon Product Updates page. However, to save you time, here are the Pro Tier features scheduled for release in the near future:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Job Description Integration—This integration will offer the ability to use AI to automatically generate a job description based on the Job Title and other fields, such as Certification, Education, Compensation Requirements, Remote Status, and more.
• Automated Text Messaging Action—Send text messages automatically via Automations.

And if you’d like to take the next step, I encourage you to schedule a 15-minute demo of the Professional Tier by clicking on the link below:

Yes, I want a 15-minute demo of the Pro Tier!

This is a free, personalized demo with a Pro Tier Specialist who can help you visualize the perfect “Pro” experience. And did I mention that it’s only 15 minutes?

At Top Echelon, we want to help you succeed. It’s what we’ve done for the past 35 years and we’ll continue to do for the next 35. Let’s make 2024 the best year it can possibly be!

We’re pretty far along with our “Networking Tips” series. We’re down to the nitty-gritty, one might say.

That’s because we’ve reached the point where we’re addressing in what areas recruiters should work. We’re at the point of networking action!

Needless to say, all of the networking tips that we offer in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog have been designed with one objective in mind. That objective: to help you make more placements, specifically split placements.

We want you to succeed. After all, we don’t succeed if you don’t succeed. We have a vested interest in how many placements you make.

The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network play a role in all of our networking tips. Although there’s no specific mention of them in this week’s tip, you can see how Quality, Communication, Trust, and Active Participation are woven throughout. It reinforces the importance of these pillars and how integral they are to your success as a Network recruiter.

Okay, I’m down off my soapbox. Networking Tip #8 is as follows:

Select a niche where there is networking action!

Before selecting a “niche market” on which to focus your split recruiting efforts, review the Network’s statistics. You must make sure there’s enough placement and job order activity.

Do not isolate yourself in a niche where you will not have any trading partners. For example, select a general specialty like “Engineering & Manufacturing.” Then select a sub-specialty like the “Metals Industry” to be your strong suit.

First and foremost, we encourage you to be client driven! Satisfy your clients first, and you will get repeat business. If your clients need you to be a generalist, then be a generalist, for goodness’ sake!

After all, you have a very diversified split network behind you. As a result, you should be able to find a programmer one day and a CFO the next day.

However, when searching for new clients, try to find ones that hire candidates within your general specialty. Or better yet, your sub-specialty.

By writing job orders within your sub-specialty, you’ll save many hours. That’s because you’ll know where to look for candidates and you’ll spend less time learning a new field.

To maximize your efforts, establish working relationships with other Top Echelon Network recruiters who are pursuing the same types of search assignments and candidates. In fact, the more recruiters you network with who work the same areas as you, the better off you’ll be!

You’ll have a larger pool of candidates from which to pull and a larger pool of job orders for the candidates you recruit. Also, your chances of meeting and developing critical working relationships with other recruiters is maximized if you’re regularly working in the same general specialty.

We feel that between being too generalized and being too specialized, there’s an optimum point for networking action. Nobody can tell you where that point is.

However, we suggest that you start by defining a general specialty and sub-specialty. Remember to keep your ears open to everything that your clients tell you.

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

There are many keys to making split placements in Top Echelon Network, but one of the most important is working with a great split recruiting partner.

That’s because a great partner is just that—a partner with you throughout the entire process. You and your partner pool your resources and “tag team” the search, relying on each other’s strengths to bring the recruitment process to a satisfying conclusion.

We see examples of this in action all of the time. In fact, there are probably examples in this very issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

Below are five traits of a great split recruiting partner:

#1—Candidate assessment

They know which candidates are a fit for their partner’s open positions and which ones are not. Because of this, they do not waste anybody’s time. (Least of all their own.)

#2—Collaboration

They don’t just send their candidates and wait for their partner to make the placement. They offer their help, and then they provide whatever assistance is needed.

#3—Persistence

It’s almost impossible to be a good recruiter without being persistent. So it’s almost impossible to be a great split recruiting partner without also being persistent.

#4—Responsiveness

Great split partners are on top of things. They don’t let time lapse and they don’t let things “fall through the cracks.”

And when another TE recruiter leaves a voice message or sends an email, they respond to them in a timely fashion! (Because nobody likes to be ignored.)

#5—Attention to detail

“The devil is in the details,” as we all know. It only takes one miscommunication or misplaced piece of information to derail a potential placement.

The placement process can be bumpy enough. Don’t make it bumpier by ignoring or forgetting facts and/or details.

If you’re looking for a great split partner in Top Echelon’s recruiting network, then you need to contact me immediately.

You can do so by telephone at 330.595.1742 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

We’re continuously updating both the Top Echelon recruiting software and our split placement network software. So we’re pleased to announce the following software updates!

1. Company Merge Fields in Text Messages

Company Name is now available as a Text Message Merge Field. This allows you to merge a related Company name into text messages sent to a company.

2. [PRO TIER] Temporary Activity Edit Screen

When running an Automation, you can now make temporary edits to Logged and Scheduled Activities. This allows you to customize automated Activities on the fly without permanently altering the Automation’s configuration.

3. [PRO TIER] Attachments Listed on Email Edit Screen

When making a temporary edit or reviewing a Send Email Automation, any associated email attachments will now be listed on the edit screen. This helps provide a more complete picture of the email that will be sent.

4. [PRO TIER] Active/Inactive Automations Toggle

You now have the option to toggle existing Automations to an inactive state. This allows you to turn off an Automation without losing what’s already been configured and enables you to toggle inactive Automations back to an Active state at any point in the future.

5. [BETA] Free Job Board Advertising

This new service allows you to easily send a job to all of our free job board partners with a single click.

• If you’re interested in Beta testing this new advertising option, please email us at beta@topechelon.com.

Remember, you can always stay informed about software updates by visiting the official Top Echelon Product Updates page. You can see current and past updates, as well as which updates and upgrades are next.

If you have questions about these updates or about any other aspect of your Top Echelon Network and/or recruiting software account, you can:

→ Send an email to support@topechelon.com.

→ Visit our Help Center for answers to your questions or start a live chat by clicking the “Contact” link in the navigation bar.

Top Echelon offers a free monthly webinar as part of its Expert Recruiter Coaching Series.

These webinars touch upon a variety of recruiter-related topics. These topics deal with both job candidates and clients. As always, our goal with these webinars is to help professional recruiters and executive search consultants just like YOU make more placements.

We record these webinars for recruiters who can’t attend the live presentation, and we’re now pleased to offer the video from our most recent webinar by Henna Pryor, PCC/MSA of Pryority Group.

The title of that webinar (and corresponding training video) is “Your AI Intern: How to Be a Human Seller with a Robot Helper.”

Below is the official description for this training video:

— — —

Henna Pryor

These new artificial intelligence tools enhance our writing, but they don’t replace them. So how can we best use new technologies to write human emails with a “robot boost”?

Find out during the next webinar video in Top Echelon’s Expert Recruiter Coaching Series!

During this recorded session by Henna Pryor, PCC/MSA of Pryority Group, you will learn the top mistakes to avoid when using artificial intelligence and the key techniques to help you understand, leverage, and train your AI intern to help you up-level your messaging . . . FAST.

So watch this FREE recruiter training video and learn all about “Your AI Intern: How to Communicate Digitally as a Human Seller with a Robot Helper”!

Watch this FREE training video!

 — — —

Recorded versions of our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars are posted on our website as free online recruitment training courses in the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Library.

Keep an eye out for the next free webinar in our Expert Recruiter Coaching Series!