Recruiter, speaker, and trainer extraordinaire Jennifer Lambert, CPC brings a fresh approach of proven techniques that can elevate your effectiveness on your desk in this ever-changing recruiting environment.

After she rocked the NAPS Conference with fantastic reviews, Top Echelon Network is pleased to promote her participation as the keynote speaker at the upcoming Wisconsin Association of Personnel Services (WAPS) Conference!

• When: Wednesday, November 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Where: 2300 North Mayfair Road, 2nd Floor (Kaplan offices), Milwaukee, WI 53226
• Cost: For WAPS members, $129/person for the first three people in an office and $59/person for additional members. For non-members, $159/person ($30 can be applied to membership at that time).
• How to register: Send an email to patrick@alliancestaff.com, or click this link to register via PayPal or to pay with a check. If you have any questions, call Patrick Collins at (414) 607-1700.

This is a full-day event and an excellent opportunity to recharge your batteries through training and networking! This conference also qualifies for Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits toward Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) certification.

We hope that you’ll take advantage of this valuable event and that the rest of 2012 is great for you and your firm!

A funny thing happens when Preferred Member recruiters in Top Echelon Network attend events like the National Convention, or more recently, the Fall Conference.

They make split placements.

Well, maybe that’s not a funny thing.  It is a profitable thing, though, to which the majority of the recruiters below can attest.

Those recruiters include Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries, who took her entire office to the Fall Conference.  She has not one, but TWO split placements listed in this week’s issue, and one of the two was with another recruiter who attended the conference.

In all, over half of the recruiters below attended the Fall Conference, and some of the ones that didn’t have attended other Top Echelon Network events in the past.

It’s a tried-and-true formula: Top Echelon recruiters + attendance at conferences and conventions = split placements. Even if you hate math, that’s one equation you just have to love.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries

Candidate recruiter: Greg Downs of Downs Associates

Job title: SAFETY MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Job order recruiter: Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries

Candidate recruiter: Chuck Szajkovics of Bulldog Recruiters, Inc.

Job title: FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Job order recruiter: Jane H. Ko, CPC of Staffing Partners, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Ed Nathan of Systems Search

Job title: PC SUPPORT TECHNICIAN

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Job order recruiter: Kathryn Shepherd, CPC/CSP of The Focus Agency

Candidate recruiter: Nick Stoia of ASAP Search and Recruiters

Job title: SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT

Fee Percentage—Flat

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching the Members’ Area.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Dan Funke of Johnson Resource Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc.

Job title: POLYMER SCIENTIST

Fee Percentage—Flat

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

<Job order recruiter: Angela Marasco of A. Marasco Recruiting, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Peter Oettinger of Front Line Solutions, LLC

Job title: SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Job order recruiter: Pamela Ratz Deville, CPC of Managed Medicaid Services

Candidate recruiter: Don Fredrick of Executech, Inc.

Job title: VP OF COMPLIANCE

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Job order recruiter: Clay Johnson of Clifton Johnson Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Bob Wick of Career Center of Cincinnati, Inc.

Job title: APPLICATIONS ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

 — — —

330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Follow Matt on Twitter.

A couple of weeks ago, I invited everybody to check out our “25th Anniversary Facebook Photo Extravaganza.”  That’s because we’ve been posting photos of Top Echelon Network conferences and conventions from the past 25 years, and we love taking a “stroll down memory lane.”

Well, now I bring news of a new batch of photos.  These are from the recent Top Echelon Network Fall Conference in Chicago, and you guessed it—I’m inviting everybody to check these photos out, too!

Click here to access photos from the 2012 Fall Conference!

Keep in mind that these represent a “starter pack of pics” for the conference.  We’ll be posting even more in the future, so be on the lookout for them.

Oh, and if you have time, would you be so kind as to “like” Top Echelon Network on Facebook?  I mean, what’s NOT to like, right?.

— — —

330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Follow Matt on Twitter.

Okay, before I get into my regular spiel about this year’s National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Conference, let me take a moment to make a personal appeal.  Well, maybe not a personal appeal, but you know what I mean.

The NAPS Conference is a great opportunity for you to increase the productivity on your recruiting desk and within your firm overall.  There is going to be SO much packed into these few days in the way of training and networking that it would be impossible to not come away with something of value.

Sure, there’s an investment of time, energy, and money involved, but there’s also an excellent chance that you’ll receive a return on that investment—and that it will exceed the investment that you made.

And besides, if you attend, you get to see ME there. (Enough said.)

Okay, now for the spiel . . .

This year’s NAPS Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, through Saturday, September 22.  The location will be the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

Four tracks anchor this year’s lineup of speakers: (1) Direct-Hire Back to Basics, (2) The Direct-Hire Master’s Program, (3) Temp Staffing, and (4) Best Practices and Technology.  Running concurrently with the event on Friday afternoon wil be the owner and manager’s retreat, as well as an executive leadership track.

Due to the success of the 2011 event, NAPS will hold a Wednesday evening “Kick-Off Event and Keynote” with Danny Cahill.  Jon Bartos, Joanie Ruge, and Jim Bleech will each host the morning keynotes.  Overall, there will be four days of education and networking from 25 speakers presenting over 45 sessions.

In addition, there will be two pre-conference credentialing/educational specials.  These include NAPS’ well-known certification programs (CPC and CTS), as well as its new CERS (Certified Employee Retention Specialist).

Not only that, but during the Thursday evening party, there will be a live band, a mechanical bull riding contest, and a live auction complete with a Texas auctioneer.  (Now, really . . . how can you beat THAT?)

NAPS has been the staffing industry educator since 1961 and enjoys its reputation as the oldest industry association.  It continues to maintain the position as the search and staffing industry educator through its certification program, continuing education initiatives, eLearning, and annual conference.

Both Hiring Hook recruitment website design and Big Biller, the leader in online recruiting software, are pleased to be sponsors of this year’s event.

So . . . join me and hundreds of other recruiters at the NAPS Conference.  Don’t make me come find you.

The end is near!

The end of Early Bird Registration for the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference, that is, and what could be more devastating than that?  (Well, maybe a few things, but let’s not discuss those.)

Instead, let’s focus on the fact that this year’s conference features sourcing guru Shally Steckerl as its main speaker; it includes Big Biller recruiting software training by Internet Strategies Manager Todd Bossler; and most importantly, it offers plenty of opportunities for you to meet and network with other recruiters so you can find more Trading Partners and make more placements!

This year’s Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.

BUT there’s only a little more than a week left until the end of Early Bird Registration, which is Friday, September 7!

Don’t wait until the deadline, though.  Deadlines have a way of passing you by, and this is one deadline you do NOT want to miss.

Register for the conference now, and not only save yourself a headache, but save some money, too!

— — —

View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the Fall Conference.

In last week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, we talked about how Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries is taking her entire office of recruiters to the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference in Chicago this October.

This week, we’re highlighting Jim Petitpren and Pam Petitpren of The PRA Group, Inc., who are also planning to attend the Fall Conference.  However, their story is a bit different, and this is why:

• They joined Top Echelon Network as Preferred Member recruiters in February of this year.

• They immediately registered for the National Convention, which was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn.

• So far, Jim has already made two split placements.  He made those splits with Eric Berg of JN Adams & Associates, Inc. and Judy Kaplan of Prof’l Recruiting Consultants.

• When online registration for the Fall Conference went live, Jim and Pam were among the first Preferred Members to sign up.

Recently, we asked them why they were so anxious to attend another Top Echelon Network event, and this is what Pam had to say:

“Top Echelon Recruiters are the best of the best.  We met so many great new Trading Partners and began so many great new relationships, the [National Convention] was an event that gave us energy and a new perspective on how we do our recruiting, in and out of Top Echelon Network.

“The content of the recruiter discussions was extremely valuable and the speaker was great.

“Besides, it’s nice to get out of the office and get fresh ideas and perspectives from other recruiters whose business models are similar to ours.  There’s so much to talk about and learn from one another.”

The Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.  Early Bird Registration for the conference is currently underway. The price of Early Bird is just $210 per person.

However, this price won’t be around forever.  Sign up now and plan to join us in Chicago for a great training and networking event!

View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the Fall Conference.

We talk all the time about how Preferred Member recruiters should attend events like the Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.  However, this week we’re going to let other recruiters do the talking.

In this case, that recruiter is Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries, who’s bringing ALL of the recruiters in her office to the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.  Below are her thoughts about the upcoming conference and why she’s attending:

“The Big Biller training is really helpful for the rookies.  So much slips through the cracks, and I always learn something new from the upgrades that come up.  My senior recruiters also need updated on the changes and the added features.

“The Icebreaker [Reception] is good for team building and networking within the industry and helps recruiters to run ideas past other recruiters and build relationships with future split partners in their area.

“This year’s training by Shally [Steckerl] is huge for developing recruiting search skills that I can never keep up on, and [our recruiters] need to know it!  This type of recruiter training was what tipped the scale in bringing everyone.

“I like the Lightening Rounds, so the rookies can learn from the veterans other than myself about the topics important to the industry.  I want them to build relationships with recruiters in our niche so they can find candidates quicker and make more placements!

“I want [our recruiters] to see and hear how much money certain recruiters are making and see themselves doing that.

“The whole experience: driving up, eating together, and going out with the gang, is great for team building and morale and building loyalty.”

The Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.  Early Bird Registration for the conference is currently underway. The price of Early Bird is just $210 per person.

However, this price won’t be around forever.  Sign up now and plan to join us in Chicago for a great training and networking event!

View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the Fall Conference.

At Top Echelon, we’re advocates of continuous education and training . . . which makes us big fans of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) and its annual conference!

This year’s NAPS Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, through Saturday, September 22.  The location will be the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

Four tracks anchor this year’s lineup of speakers: (1) Direct-Hire Back to Basics, (2) The Direct-Hire Master’s Program, (3) Temp Staffing, and (4) Best Practices and Technology.  Running concurrently with the event on Friday afternoon wil be the owner and manager’s retreat, as well as an executive leadership track.

Due to the success of the 2011 event, NAPS will hold a Wednesday evening “Kick-Off Event and Keynote” with Danny Cahill.  Jon Bartos, Joanie Ruge, and Jim Bleech will each host the morning keynotes.  Overall, there will be four days of education and networking from 25 speakers presenting over 45 sessions.

In addition, there will be two pre-conference credentialing/educational specials.  These include NAPS’ well-known certification programs (CPC and CTS), as well as its new CERS (Certified Employee Retention Specialist).

Not only that, but during the Thursday evening party, there will be a live band, a mechanical bull riding contest, and a live auction complete with a Texas auctioneer.  (Now, really . . . how can you beat THAT?)

NAPS has been the staffing industry educator since 1961 and enjoys its reputation as the oldest industry association.  It continues to maintain the position as the search and staffing industry educator through its certification program, continuing education initiatives, eLearning, and annual conference.

Both Hiring Hook recruitment website design and Big Biller, the leader in online recruiting software, are pleased to be sponsors of this year’s event.

We’ll be there for the 2012 NAPS Conference—and we hope you will be, too!

Are you in a “sourcing slump?”  Can you just not seem to find the candidates you need to find for your clients’ job orders?  Do company officials keep asking you for another candidate, over and over again, until you wonder what the point of it all is?

Well, then you’re in luck!

That’s because industry trainer Shally Steckerl is the main speaker for the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference, and the title of one of his sessions is “The Top Four Cures for Your Sourcing Slump.”

Below is the official description of that session:

Break through your LinkedIn barriers, speed up your sourcing with search shortcuts, and get social without wasting time!

Use tools such as Social CSE, Cloud Doc CSE, Wink, Pipl, peekyou, big-boards.com, and LinkedIn Hack to make the most of your social sourcing.

Quick and simple search shortcuts via numrange, intext, Gigablast, Blekko, DuckDuckGo, and filetype CSE allow you to be more efficient.

Want to know how to “pimp your profile”?  Keywords, meta tags, and adwords make the distinction.  Enhance your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and About.me profiles through differentiation.

Wondering how to break through those LinkedIn barriers?  Alumni search, skills beta, sperse, and Bing first name last intial, along with find members of ANY group will be sure to get you out of your sourcing slump!

The Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.  Early Bird Registration for the conference is currently underway. The price of Early Bird is just $210 per person.

However, this price won’t be around forever. Sign up now, save money, and plan to join us in Chicago for a great training and networking event!

View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the Fall Conference.

For Preferred Member recruiters who are awash in job orders right now, getting their hands on qualified candidates is a top priority . . . and they can do just that at the upcoming Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.

The Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.  How are you going to find the candidates you need at the Fall Conference?

First and foremost, you’ll be meeting and greeting other Preferred Members, who will be bringing their hot job orders and candidates with them.  Second, the main speaker for the conference is Shally Steckrl, one of the recruiting industry’s leading sourcing specialist.

Below are the titles and descriptions of the three sessions that Steckerl will be presenting in Chicago:

‘Simple Search Shortcuts’

Quick and simple search shortcuts via numrange, intext, Gigablast, Blekko, DuckDuckGo, and filetype CSE allow you to be more efficient.

‘Break LinkedIn Barriers’

Wondering how to best break those LinkedIn barriers?  Alumni search, skills beta, sperse, bing first name last initial, along with find members of ANY group will be sure to get you out of your sourcing slump!

Enhance your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and About.me profiles by differentiation.

‘Sourcing Time Savers’

Learn how to use tools such as Social CSE, Cloud Doc CSE, Wink, Pipl, peekyou, big-boards.com, and LinkedIn hacks as time-saving methods to make the most of your social sourcing.

Early Bird Registration for the Fall Conference is currently underway.  The price of Early Bird is just $210 per person.  However, this price won’t be around forever.  Sign up now, save money, and plan to join us in Chicago for a great training and networking event!

And of course, find the candidates you need . . .

Register for the Fall Conference.
View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.