Last week, we announced our holiday hours for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.  However, you may have missed the fact that we WILL be in the office on Monday, December 31.  (We were NOT in the office on Monday, December 24.)

Below is our official announcement on the matter:

The Top Echelon offices will be closed on Tuesday, January 1, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.  The offices will re-open for business as usual at 8 a.m., EST on Wednesday, January 2.

Keep in mind that the Top Echelon offices encompass Top Echelon Network, Big Biller, and Hiring Hook.

However, we realize that you might not be in the office on Monday, December 31.  But if you are, you won’t be alone—we will be in the office, too.  (Not your office, in case you were wondering.  We’re not going to surprise you or anything.)

In the meantime, we hope that you enjoy the rest of this week AND the rest of this year, not to mention a festive and fun New Year’s Day holiday.  After it’s over, we’ll pick up where we left off, helping you to make split placements and grow your business.

(With an emphasis on more split placements and more growth.)

There are a lot of reasons to attend the 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention.  In fact, I recently published a blog post about three of them.

However, in this particular blog post, I’d like to address one reason in particular: putting the cost of the convention on this year’s expenses.

Now, I’m NOT an accountant, nor do I play one on television.  However, for years recruiters have traditionally registered for our National Convention during the previous year for the purpose of putting the cost of that convention on the current year’s business expenses.

(Once again, I’m not giving you financial advice.  As I stated, I’m NOT an accountant.  Please consult an actual accountant for details.)

As we’ve stated previously, Danny Cahill of AccordingToDanny.com is the keynote speaker for the National Convention.  In addition, the site for the event is the TradeWinds Resort in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the dates are Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April, 27.

Also as we’ve previously stated, Early Bird Registration for the National Convention is currently underway.  If you sign up now, you can take advantage of the Early Bird price, which is the lowest price we’re offering: $495 per person.

As anybody who’s been in the Network for any length of time can attest, we haven’t raised the price of attending our events in quite some time, “quite some time” being another way of saying “forever.”

We’re not looking to make money off the convention.  All we want to do is get Preferred Member recruiters together so THEY can make money . . . and that includes you!

So register for the 2013 National Convention!

(Editor’s note: Drea Codispoti is not a Certified Public Accountant.  Any resemblance to a Certified Public Accountant is purely coincidental and does not represent the views of the staff and management of Top Echelon, Inc.  Please consult an actual Certified Public Accountant if you have any questions.  All rights reserved.  Results may vary.  Void where prohibited.)

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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AThe year 2013 is rushing up to greet us!  (I hope it doesn’t greet us rudely, but I’m not sure we can afford to be choosy.)

And with a New Year—and a new month—comes a new Virtual Core Group (VCG) conference call schedule for Top Echelon Network.

And yes, the New Year already brings with it some unique challenges, starting with the fact that January 1 falls on a Tuesday.  That means your first day in the office, at the earliest, will be Wednesday, January 2.

With that in mind, I came to the conclusion that many of you might not be ready to participate in a VCG conference call on Thursday, January 3.  As a result, I’ve pushed the conference call schedule for the month of January back a week!

Virtual Core Group meetings are regularly scheduled conference calls for Preferred Member recruiters who work in the same industry or niche.

During these calls, recruiters share information about the activity they’re seeing, they share hot job orders and candidates, and they also bounce ideas off one another.  These are the activities that lead most directly to making split placements.

Below is the Virtual Core Group teleconference call schedule for the month of January (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time).

If you think you’d like to start a new Virtual Core Group—or join an existing one—please contact me!

I hope you all enjoy a great New Year’s holiday.  If you can, try to stay out of the snow as much as possible, try to stay warm, and try to attend a VCG conference call meeting next month!

I mean it.

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Drea@TopEchelon.com
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It’s that time of year again!  Yes, that’s right—it’s the END of the year.  (Even if it’s not the end of the world.)

As a result, it’s time for us to publish our upcoming holiday hours.  That way, you’ll know when we’re in the office and when we’re not, although we suspect that some of you might be taking time off, as well.

The Top Echelon offices will be closed on Monday, December 24, and Tuesday, December 25, in observance of the Christmas Day holiday.  The offices will re-open for business as usual at 8 a.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Wednesday, December 26.

In addition, the Top Echelon offices will be closed on Tuesday, January 1, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.  The offices will re-open for business as usual at 8 a.m., EST on Wednesday, January 2.

Keep in mind that the Top Echelon offices encompass Top Echelon Network, Big Biller, and Hiring Hook.

We hope that 2012 has been a great one for you and your firm.  We look forward to serving your needs in 2013!  (And every year after that . . . in case you were wondering.)

There is money waiting for you at the 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention.

Let me repeat that: there is money waiting for you.

Am I guaranteeing that you’ll make a split placement if you attend the convention?  No, I can do that.  However, based on the sheer number of recruiters who have done just that down throughout the years, I’m confident you’ll increase your chances of making a split placement dramatically.

In fact, we have another convention success story in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

And as you might have guessed, this is the first split placement that these two recruiters have made together in the Network.  They’re both long-time Members.  They’ve both been very successful.  But the didn’t make their first split until they met each other at the 2012 Fall Conference in Chicago this past October.

If you attend the 2013 National Convention, you’ll meet recruiters face-to-face that you’ve never met before.  You’ll share hot job orders and candidates.  You’ll share business ideas.  You’ll share “war stories” from the recruiting trenches.  And you might just make a split placement with one of them in the future.

Just like these two recruiters . . .

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“I talked to Suzanne about this job in Chicago.  She said she was interested in helping.  She did a nice job of supplying us with qualified candidates.  Thank you, Suzanne!  It’s GREAT to finally do a split with you!  Glad you made the trip to Chicago this year.”

Submitted by Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC regarding her split placement with Suzanne Griffith, CPC of J S Griffith & Associates

Position Title—RESIDENT ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Hemminger and Griffith have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

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The 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April 27, at the TradeWinds Resort Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Remember, the main speaker for the convention is Danny Cahill of AccordingtoDanny.com, one of the most recognized and respected names in the recruiting industry!

So register for the 2013 National Convention!

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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At Top Echelon Network, we’re running a poll in the Members’ Area this week asking if Preferred Member recruiters are planning to re-design or update their firm’s website in 2013.

So far, it appears that a little less than half of recruiters participating in the poll plan to update their firm’s website.

Evaluating your own website can be a tricky business, especially when you’re busy working your desk or running your firm—or both.  Not only that, but technology is constantly changing and evolving, and that includes life on the Internet.

What does a good recruiting website look like?  What should it do?  How should it function?  All good questions and all questions that need to be answered before any re-designing or updating is done.

With that in mind, we’re currently offering FREE website evaluations to recruiting firms.  These evaluations will focus on the basics of what a recruiting firm’s website should look like and what it should do.

Specifically, these evaluations will include two aspects of your firm’s site: its form and its function.

FORM:

The look of the site—Is it clean, crisp, and professional?
The layout of the site—Does it have what’s called a “3-2-1 layout”?

FUNCTION:

The architecture of the site—Is it easy for visitors to navigate?
The functionality of the site—Can you post jobs to it and also to social media?
Whether or not the site has “responsive design”—Does it look good on smartphones and tablet devices?

All we need to conduct a website evaluation is your firm’s website address, which you can submit by clicking on the link below:

Click here for your FREE website evaluation!

Please note that you are under NO obligation and you don’t have to do anything to get your free evaluation other than submit your firm’s website address.  You can take any and all information that we provide and do with it as you see fit.

There are a lot of recruiters planning to re-design or update their site next year, and we want to help them make informed decisions so they can put themselves in the best position possible to make more placements in 2013!

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330.455.1433, x125
MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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Five Network placements in the past two years . . .  a “Success Story” profile in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog . . . part of one of the most successful recruiting firms in Top Echelon Network.  However, that all might pale in comparison to what Betsy Vincent of The Williams Company accomplished recently.

That’s right . . . Betsy won the Top Echelon Network Fantasy Football League!  Below is confirmation of that fact, in the form of an email sent to the Top Echelon Network offices by Jed Davis of Carroll Technology Services, Inc.

“Well, gang, the Top Echelon Network Fantasy Football League wrapped up last week with a new champion—Betsy Vincent of the Williams Company.  Her team, Beezer, was one of the top teams all season long, and she really turned it on during the playoffs beating yours truly (Birdland Bums) soundly, 142-101.  For the bronze medal, Steve Hillman’s Spoilermakers overcame an 0-4 start to finish the season on a high note, beating last year’s champion, Don Walker’s Eagles, for third place.

“Thanks to all who played and managed their teams for the entire season, regardless of record.  Hope to see you all back next year!”

Congratulations, Betsy, from everybody at Top Echelon Network!  (Except maybe those people who have played fantasy football year after year after year and never won anything . . . not that we’re jealous or anything . . . just sayin’.)

Although a good number of recruiters are optimistic about the upcoming year—as indicated by our latest Members’ Area survey—the past year did not reflect those feeling for many recruiters, both inside and outside of Top Echelon Network.

However, 2011 is almost upon us, and there are many reasons to be optimistic.  The economic recovery finally seems to be gaining momentum, and companies appear to be more willing to hire.  (Although in some cases, they seem more willing to hire on a contract basis first, as opposed to direct hire.)

Anyway, as we’ll illustrate in the statistics that we publish in next week’s issue the average number of placements per firm increased in 2010 as opposed to 2009.  That’s good news all by itself, and we believe that the number will continue to grow in 2011.

Before next week, though, the New Year will be here, and I wanted to take this opportunity to once again wish you a happy holiday.  I hope that you have the chance to spend it with family and friends and that you’re able to usher in 2011 in a big way.  That being said, I want to wish you all the happiest of New Year’s from everybody here at Top Echelon.

As a reminder, please remember that the Top Echelon offices will be closed on Friday, December 31, in observance of the New Year’s holiday.  The offices will re-open at 8 a.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Monday, January 3.

We truly appreciate your loyalty as Preferred Members of the Network, and we look forward to the New Year with both optimism and encouragement.  Have a great holiday!

Would you like to attend the 2011 Top Echelon Network National Convention for FREE?

Well, here’s your chance . . . as well as your chance to find out why 2010 has been a good year for Preferred Member recruiter Bob Small of Carroll Technology Services, Inc.  Oh, and let’s not forget that the deadline for signing the new Top Echelon user agreement has been pushed back to Monday, December 6.  That being said, you may proceed . . .

The hard deadline for “electronically signing” the new Top Echelon user agreement has been pushed back to Monday, December 6.

The original deadline for signing the agreement was today—Wednesday, December 1. However, with the recent Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we felt that a little more time was necessary for users to review the agreement.

What does this mean for you?

• All users in your office must sign the agreement by the end of the business day on Monday, December 6.
• On Tuesday, December 7, Top Echelon users will not be able to login to the software without signing the agreement.

The agreement is already available for review when you attempt to login to the software.  You can either agree to it now, in advance of the deadline, or you can bypass the agreement until later.

We’ve stated the reasons for the new agreement recently in The Pinnacle blog, and we’ve also identified how the new agreement is different from the old one.  You can access The Pinnacle blog posts related to these topics by clicking on the links below:

New User Agreement Set for Release on Wednesday, December 6

Once again, the hard deadline for “electronically signing” the new Top Echelon user agreement has been extended to the end of the business day on Monday, December 6.  As always, I’d like to thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter and also for your commitment as a Preferred Member of Top Echelon Network.

MDemaree@TopEchelon.com
(330) 455-1433, Ext. 172

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