Top Echelon Network’s 2014 Fall Conference will be here before you know it (namely because the event is in September this year), and that’s why we’re pleased to announce that the keynote speaker for the conference is . . . Mike Gionta of RecruiterU!

I and other members of the Top Echelon team have had the opportunity to hear Mike present sessions at seminars and other events, and we believe that he is a good fit for this year’s Fall Conference.  One of the reasons is that his training is geared toward independent recruiting firms, and those are exactly the types of agencies to which we cater.

Below is the official bio for Mike Gionta:

Mike helps recruiting firm owners and solo recruiters explode revenue, hire great recruiters, and become a “trusted adviser” (vs. annoying vendor) to their clients by getting them out of their own way and systematizing their businesses.  Mike’s clients are able to “leap-frog” other recruiters by learning from his techniques that have resulted in annual desk-level production of $1 million to $2.1 million, as well as a firm that consistently produced $2 million to $3 million and was the 11th-fastest growing IT search firm in the country.

The dates for the 2014 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference are Tuesday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 24, and the location is the Sheraton Suites O’Hare in the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois.

Early Bird Registration for the Fall Conference is just $199 per person!  We’ve kept the cost of attending our conferences and conventions practically the same ever since we started holding these events.  We want to make it easy for you to attend so that you can meet new Trading Partners and grow your business.

We want to see YOU in Chicago.  We believe that this year’s conference offers plenty of value for your firm and will help you enjoy a great year in 2014!

Drea Codispoti, CERS

Summer is here!  This is a cause for celebration.

If you remember, I’m the guy who did a snow angel in sub-human temperatures back in the winter to drive attendance for the 2014 National Convention.  I know just how cold it can get here in the great state of Ohio.

But all of that is in the past.  In the future is the Virtual Core Group (VCG) teleconference call schedule for the month of July in Top Echelon Network.

As I’ve stated before, during Virtual Core Group meetings, Network recruiters share hot job orders and candidates, information about the activity they’re seeing, and ideas for increased production on their desk and within their firms.  These are the activities that lead most directly to making more placements.

If you’re a newer Preferred Member in Top Echelon Network, I especially encourage you to join one of these existing Virtual Core Groups for recruiters . . . or start a new one.

Please note, though, that the Healthcare Virtual Core Group has been suspended for the time being.  I will, of course, let everybody know if that group resumes its meetings.

Below is the full VCG teleconference call schedule for the month of July (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

To join an existing Virtual Core Group or to start a new one, contact me at 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

By DREA CODISPOTI, CERS, Membership Development Coordinator at Top Echelon

Drea Codispoti, CERS

Our Virtual Core Groups for recruiters are back, and they’re better than ever!

Okay, they’re back.  I’ll let you decide if they’re better than ever.  (I just like saying stuff like that.)

Actually, I’m borderline frightened by the fact that it’s already June.  The first half of 2014 has flown by, and that is hardly an exaggeration.  Since that’s the case, it’s time to shift gears with your Network Membership and maximize it before the year is over.

And a great way to do that is to attend a Virtual Core Group meeting!

During Virtual Core Group (VCG) teleconference calls, Network recruiters share hot job orders and candidates, information about the activity they’re seeing, and ideas for increased production on their desk and within their firms.  These are the activities that lead most directly to making more placements.

If you’re a newer Preferred Member in Top Echelon Network, I especially encourage you to join an existing Virtual Core Group . . . or start a new one.  Participation in these groups for recruiters is one of the best ways to enjoy success in Top Echelon more quickly, so that you can start earning a return on your Network investment.

Below is the full VCG teleconference call schedule for the month of June (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

To join an existing Virtual Core Group or to start a new one, contact me at 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

Just as there were no Virtual Core Group teleconference call meetings during the second week of September, there will be no VCG meetings during the first week of October.

In September, the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Conference was to blame.  And now?

The 2013 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference, of course!

Mark Demaree, Todd Bossler, Debbie Fledderjohann, Hannah Laps, and I will be at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare for the conference next week.  (The official dates of the event are Thursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4.)

As a result, there will be NO Virtual Core Group teleconference call meetings during the first week of the month.

Other than that, though, there aren’t any other changes to the Virtual Core Group schedule.  In fact, below is the VCG teleconference call schedule for the month of October (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

There is STILL time for you to register for the Fall Conference.  In fact, we’ve had signups this week! As I write this, there are 106 recruiters planning to attend the conference, representing an equal number of opportunities to make split placements.

So register for the 2013 Fall Conference!  And attend a VCG meeting next month!  That’s an order!

To join an existing Virtual Core Group or to start a new one, contact me at 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

I’m very pleased to announce that the Midwest Regional Core Group has a date and a venue for its next meeting!

While that date isn’t exactly right around the corner, I encourage those recruiters who can attend to take this opportunity to work the date into their appointment books.

The next meeting of the Midwest Regional Core Group is scheduled for Friday, January 31, at the Ramada in Topeka, Kansas.  Not only is there a date, but there’s also a tentative itinerary, which is tentatively listed below:

9:30 to 10 a.m.—Networking

10 to 11 a.m.—“Making Social Media Manageable”

11 to 11:30 a.m.—Break/Networking

11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.—“Lunch and Learn”

12:45 to 1 p.m.—Break/Networking

1 to 1:30 p.m.—Breakout groups for exchanging hot job orders and candidates

1:30 to 2 p.m.—Breakout group for exchanging best practices

2 to 5 p.m.—Open networking time

The tentative cost to attend the event is $50.  That price includes lunch, snacks, beverages, and the training.

Attending a Regional Core Group meeting is a great way to leverage the resources available in the Network and increase the value of your Membership!

If you’d like to attend this upcoming Regional Core Group meeting (or start a new one), please contact me at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156 or via email at Drea@TopEchelon.com.

At Top Echelon, we encourage Network recruiters to get together on a consistent basis, to meet face-to-face.

While we love it when you attend the National Convention and Fall Conference (and we’d REALLY love it if you attended the 2013 Fall Conference), we also love it when you meet each other outside of those events.

One such event was held a couple of weeks ago: the annual “Networking on the Farm” extravaganza at the Hemminger Farm in Tiffin, Ohio.

Hosting the event, of course, was Maria Hemminger and Joanna Spaun, partners in MJ Recruiters, LLC, a Preferred Member agency in Top Echelon Network.

Hemminger and Spaun have completely embraced networking in Top Echelon, and their productivity is a testament to that.  Since MJ Recruiters joined Top Echelon in 2005, Hemminger and Spaun have combined to make 98 Network placements!

Networking and meeting other recruiters face-to-face works, plain and simple.  The National Convention and the Fall Conference are evidence of that fact, as are events like “Networking on the Farm.”

Check Out the ‘Networking on the Farm’ Photos!

We’re always looking for recruiters to form new Regional Core Groups or to get together on a consistent basis like the recruiters who attended “Networking on the Farm.”  If you’d like to start a new Regional Core Group, please contact me as soon as possible.

Call me at 330.455.1433, x156 or send an email to drea@topchelon.com.

At Top Echelon, we like to feature recruiters who are doing things the right way in the Network.  This, of course, means that we highlight a heck of a lot of recruiters.

After all, split placements in Top Echelon Network are up nearly 25% over this time a year ago.

The Trading Partner relationship that we’re featuring this week is comprised of one of the Network recruiters who started in the industry in 1991 and one who started in 2006.  One recruiter has made 181 Network placements, and the other has made 19 Network placements.

Together, they’ve made 14 split placements in Top Echelon Network during the past four years.  Not only that, but the fee for their most recent split placement (highlighted below) totaled $47,500!

Once again, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the recruiting business, how long you’ve been in the Network, or what industry you work: you can make split placements with another recruiter, regardless of their tenure or their experience.  And not just a few splits, either—14 of them!

So congratulations to these two Top Echelon Network recruiters for splitting that large fee, for building and sustaining such an awesome Trading Partner relationship, and for doing things the right way.

— — —

“This is the 14th split placement that Rebecca and I have made in the last four years.  Continued communication between partners in an industry pays off.”

Submitted by Dan Simmons, CPC of Continental Search & Outplacement, Inc. regarding his Network split placement with Rebecca Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Position Title—MARKETING DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the 14th Network split placement that Simmons and Kohn have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

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Every once in a while, there’s a “bump in the road” as far as the Virtual Core Group schedule is concerned.  Just such a bump will happen during the second week in September.

It’s not really a bump, though.  It’s the 2013 National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Conference.

As many of you know, Top Echelon officials (including myself) will be in attendance at the NAPS Conference.  Since I can’t—as of yet—be in two places at the same time, there will be NO Virtual Core Group teleconference call meetings during the second week of the month.

However, outside of that “bump,” there aren’t any other changes to the Virtual Core Group schedule for the month of September.

In fact, below is the VCG teleconference call schedule for September (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

So, since there won’t be any Virtual Core Group meetings during the second week in September, I certainly expect to see you at the NAPS Conference.  Then I certainly expect to see you at the upcoming Top Echelon Network Fall Conference in Chicago.

Then I expect you to attend a Virtual Core Group teleconference call meeting!  (Needy, aren’t I?)

To join an existing Virtual Core Group or to start a new one, contact me at 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

— — —

Visit Top Echelon on Google+.
Connect with Top Echelon on LinkedIn.
“Like” Top Echelon on Facebook.
Follow Top Echelon on Twitter.

This is it!  Early Bird Registration for the 2013 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference has arrived!

For many Network recruiters, it couldn’t arrive soon enough.  There are already 26 recruiters signed up for the conference, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4, at the Sheraton Suites O’Hare.

Below are the dates and prices of our three registration periods for the Fall Conference.

Early Bird Registration
Dates: Now until Thursday, September 5
Price: $225 per person

Regular Registration
Dates: Friday, September 6, through Monday, September 30
Price: $295 per person

Late Registration
Dates: After Tuesday, October 1
Price: $325 per person

As you can see, there’s quite an incentive to sign up during the Early Bird Registration period, a $70 incentive, as a matter of fact.  There’s another incentive, though, and this one is much more lucrative.  That incentive involves finding new split Trading Partners at the Fall Conference and making split placements with them.

Just like these recruiters!

— — —

“This is the third split placement we’ve made since first meeting at the Chicago Top Echelon Conference in the fall of 2012.  Anjela has consistently provided candidates who are right on target.”

Submitted by Joe Noto of Regency Search Group regarding his split placement with Anjela Mangrum of Mangrum Career Solutions, LLC

Position Title—ERP SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER
Fee Percentage—Flat

(Editor’s note: This is the third Network split that Noto and Mangrum have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

Remember, the Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4, at the Sheraton Suites O’Hare.

Register for the 2013 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference!

— — —

Review the preliminary agenda for the Fall Conference.
See who already registered for the Fall Conference.

This is it!  Early Bird Registration for the 2013 Fall Conference will be available by the end of this week!

Actually, registration will probably be available in the Members’ Area at the end of the business day tomorrow, July 25.

Remember, the Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4, at the Sheraton Gateway O’Hare in Chicago.  And as many of you may already be aware, Greg Doersching of The Griffin Search Group is the keynote speaker for the conference.

More details about the Fall Conference will be forthcoming in The Pinnacle, as well as in the News Section of the Members’ Area.  I know for a fact that many of your are looking forward to the conference and to registering for the event, so please be on the lookout in the Members’ Area tomorrow.

And I’ll be on the lookout to see you in Chicago in October!

— — —

330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
Connect with Drea on LinkedIn.
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