As I announced recently, Early Bird Registration for the 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention starts on December 5 (that’s next Wednesday, for those of you keeping track at home).

As always, the convention will be sensibly priced for the Preferred Membership.  We haven’t raised the price of our National Convention in years.  In fact, we’ve even dropped the price.  That’s how much we believe in the value that the convention offers.

However, we’re not the only ones who believe in that value.  There are plenty of Preferred Member recruiters who believe, as well, and that’s because, as the saying goes, “seeing is believing.”  Specifically, these recruiters have seen the results in the form of split placements and additional revenue for their recruiting firms.

Two of those recruiters—Cindy Szajkovics of Bulldog Recruiters and Pete Oettinger of Front Line Solutions—are featured below.  They met for the first time this past spring at the 2012 National Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

As a result of that meeting, they recently made a split placement together, a placement they might not have made otherwise, and that means they could make even more splits in the future.  (Where there’s one, there could be many.)

— — —

“Pete has helped us by sending qualified candidates, and we look forward to more splits.  We met him at the Nashville convention, and it’s a relationship we will continue!”

Submitted by Cindy Szajkovics of Bulldog Recruiters, Inc. regarding her split placement with Peter Oettinger of Front Line Solutions, LLC

Position Title—POWER GENERATOR FIELD TECHNICIAN
Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

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!

And yes, next year marks the 25th anniversary of Top Echelon Network.  And yes, we want you to attend the National Convention.  And yes, it’s going to be fun.  And yes, if you attend, you could make money with people you’ve never met before.

So when when I ask if you’ll register for the convention next week, I hope your answer will be “Yes!”

— — —

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drea@topechelon.com
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As we’ve already established, it seems as though the Thanksgiving holiday has snuck up on us this year.

That would mean that the December Virtual Core Group (VCG) teleconference call meeting schedule has snuck up on us, too!

(Not really. NOTHING sneaks up on me . . . but you get the idea.)  And like last month, there’s a change to the schedule of which you should be aware.

Because of our annual Christmas party, the Top Echelon offices will be closed on the afternoon of Thursday, December 13.  That also means there will be no VCG teleconference call meetings that day.  And THAT means I’m pushing a set of meetings up by one day, to Wednesday, December 12.

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 December (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 Thanksgiving holiday.  Be safe and come back ready to work and make split placements . . . and attend a Virtual Core Group meeting!

— — —

330.455.1433, x156
drea@topechelon.com
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Here at Top Echelon, we’re excited about the Network’s 25th anniversary.  This is especially the case after the robust attendance that we enjoyed at the recent Fall Conference in Chicago.

I say “robust” because attendance at that event represented the most recruiters we’ve had at a National Convention or Fall Conference for a few years.  Six or seven years ago, it was normal for anywhere between 150 and 180 recruiters to attend one of our events.

With that in mind, it might not surprise you to know that our goal is to get that many Preferred Member recruiters to sign up for the 2013 National Convention.  The convention is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April 27, at the Trade Winds Resort Hotel in St. Petersburg, Fla.

As we’ve mentioned before, this our 25th anniversary convention, so we’re going to blow it up “Gangnam Style”!

Okay, that was a joke.  There’s no way we’re doing THAT.  However, now that I have your attention, I’d like to inform you that “Early Bird Registration” for the 2013 National Convention will be available on Wednesday, December 5.

That might seem like that’s way off . . . but it’s.  It’s only a month and a couple of days.  So if you plan to join us in Florida next April for the convention, be sure to register during the Early Bird period, because that’s when you can take advantage of the best price for the convention.

(And we haven’t raised the price for our National Convention in years.  In fact, we’ve dropped the price.  That’s how much we believe in the value that these events provide.)

If you haven’t already made plans to join us in Florida next April, you should seriously consider doing so.  It’s going to be one of our best events ever—and it will be even better if YOU are there to join in the fun and networking.

— — —

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Drea@TopEchelon.com
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As many of you are aware, we hold a training session every Friday for users of the Big Biller recruiting software.  This session is designed to cover the basics of Big Biller for anybody wanting to know more about how to use the software (and use it correctly, I might add).

I’m pleased to announce that starting next month, I will be conducting a weekly “Network Basic Training” session, modeled after our Friday Big Biller training.

Like the Big Biller training, this session will cover the basics of your Top Echelon Network Preferred Membership.  In other words, it will help you to get the most out of your Membership in the Network—what things you should be doing, when you be doing them, and how you should be doing them.

The Big Biller training on Friday starts at 1 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST).  My Network Basic Training session will take place immediately after that, at 2 p.m., EST.

The procedure for this training will be the same as that for the Big Biller training.  There will be a link in the news section of the Members’ Area containing a link for joining my session.  There’s no need to register; all you have to do is join the session right before it begins or while it’s in the progress.

The first Top Echelon Network Basic Training session is scheduled for 2 p.m., EST on Friday, November 2, and every Friday thereafter.  (However, there won’t be a session on Friday, November 23, since that’s the day after Thanksgiving and we won’t be in the office.)

If you have any questions about this upcoming training, please contact me by either phone or email.  In the meantime, I hope that you’ll join me on Friday for the first Top Echelon Network Basic Training session!

— — —

330.455.1433, x156
drea@topechelon.com
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The Central Ohio Regional Core Group is meeting again!

Why are they meeting?  Because the members of the group find value in these meetings, including making split placements together . . . which is why YOU should consider joining a Regional Core Group, too.  (If you haven’t already, that is.  I’ll cut you some slack then.)

Below are the specifics for the next Central Ohio Regional Core Group meeting.

Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Location: Catering by Design

Address: 6465 Busch Blvd., Columbus, OH 43229

Phone number: (614) 436-1234

Speaker: TBD (an announcement will be made once a speaker is selected)

Cost: $18 per person, payable at the door

Make your checks payable to “Drea Codi—“ . . . no, scratch that.  Make your checks payable to “Top Echelon Network.”  Or, if you’d like, we can just add the total to your monthly Top Echelon invoice.  We’re flexible like that.

If you’d like to join this meeting, please RSVP to me by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com. I also encourage you to contact me if you’d like to join an existing Regional Core Group or start a new one.

I strongly encourage you . . .

— — —

330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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“Early Bird Registration” for next week’s Fall Conference may be over, but there’s still plenty of time for you to register for the event.

There’s still time for you to meet other Network recruiters just like you, recruiters who work in the trenches every day and some who work in the same niche or industry that you do.

All it takes is meeting one recruiter at one of our recruiter conferences who becomes a Trading Partner.  That one Trading Partner relationship can have a tremendous impact on your recruiting desk.

Take, for example, Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc. and Mark London of Command Consultants, Inc., who met at the 1995 Top Echelon Network National Convention and are STILL making split placements together.  That’s right—their Trading Partner relationship is over 17 years old and it’s still a profitable one.

They made the commitment to attend a Network event, and now they’re the ones who are benefitting from that commitment.  Make a similar commitment and join us next week in Chicago for the Fall Conference.  There will be 120 other recruiters there just like you, who want to share information, who want to exchange hot job orders and candidates, and who want to Network.

Not only that, but some recruiters in attendance will be celebrating split placements they recently made together, like the one below by Robert Gabor of The Gabor Group and Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting.

You can register for the Fall Conference in the Members’ Area of the website or by clicking on the link above.  I certainly hope that I see you in Chicago next week, so that attending Top Echelon Network events can be every bit as beneficial to you as it’s been to these recruiters.

— — —

“I met Mark at the [National] Convention in 1995, and we’ve been friends ever since.  He understands the job orders and always sends us qualified candidates.  We speak on a regular basis, and this placement is a result of our weekly conversations.”

Submitted by Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc. regarding his split placement with Mark London of Command Consultants, Inc.

Position Title—MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE
Fee Percentage—Flat

(Editor’s note: this is the fourth split placement that Radzely and London have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Thanks for the good work.  We’ll drink to this one in Chicago!”

Submitted by Robert Gabor of The Gabor Group regarding his split placement with Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting

Position Title—MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: this is the second split placement that Gabor and Sandifer have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

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drea@topechelon.com
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During the second week of October, I’ll be in Chicago for the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.  Because I haven’t yet figured out to how to be in two places at once, I won’t be in Canton on the second Thursday of the month.

That’s significant because Thursday is typically the day that I hold Virtual Core Group (VCG) teleconference calls for Preferred Member recruiters of Top Echelon Network.  As you might have already guessed, the Fall Conference is going to push back the upcoming VCG schedule.

The groups that normally have their calls on the second Thursday of the month (in this case, October 11) will now have them on the third Thursday of the month (October 18).  Those groups are Aerospace/DOD, Software Sales, and Information Technology.

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 in the market, 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 October (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!

And I sincerely hope that I’ll see you at the Fall Conference next month . . . if I don’t, you can expect to hear about it from me.  No kidding.

— — —

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drea@topechelon.com
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How do you enjoy success in a short amount of time in Top Echelon Network?

Jim Petitpren of The PRA Group, Inc. knows how.

Jim and his wife, Pam, joined Top Echelon Network as Preferred Member recruiters in February of this year.  Since that time, they’ve both attended the 2012 Top Echelon Network National Convention at the end of April, and they’re both registered to attend the upcoming 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference in Chicago.

(By the way, Regular Registration for the conference is still going on.  If you haven’t signed up yet, all I can say is shame on you.)

Not only did Jim and Pam Petitpren enjoy the National Convention, but Jim has made two split placements in the Network since The PRA Group joined Top Echelon.  The way in which he made one of those placements is the focus of this blog post.

That’s because Jim Petitpren did exactly what we ask new Preferred Members to do when they want to know who to work with: he called Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

Drea provided Jim with a list of recruiters in the Network who could possibly help him with his job order.  One of the names that Drea gave him was Eric Berg of JN Adams & Associates, Inc.  Jim reached out to Berg, and the two of them eventually made a split placement together.

Both of the split placements that Jim Petitpren has made this year have been associated with rather large fees.  (Login to the Member’s Area and visit Jim’s profile to check them out.)  While they’re fees that he split with his Trading Partners, the fact of the matter is that he might not have made the placement at all it wasn’t for the help of other Top Echelon Network recruiters.

So if you want to know who can help you with a job order or who else works in your niche, then call Drea Codispoti at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156.

However, Drea is currently at the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas . . . so leave a message.  Or call back next week.  But call!  And tell him I sent you to receive 10% off your order.  Wait, that’s not right.

That’s how you enjoy success in a short amount of time in Top Echelon Network.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Jim Petitpren of The PRA Group, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Eric Berg of JN Adams & Associates, Inc.

Job title: SUPPLY CHAIN QUALITY, ENGINEERING MANAGER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: I called Drea and asked who to work with on this specific job.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Jim Petitpren of The PRA Group, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Judy Kaplan of Prof’l Recruiting Consultants

Job title: EMBEDDED DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER-MIDWEST

Fee Percentage—30%

Action causing split placement: Regular phone communication with a Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter in my specialty area

— — —

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mdeutsch@topechelon.com
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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.

I’ve got the new Virtual Core Group schedule!

See how I’m trying to inject some excitement into Virtual Core Groups . . . that’s because there’s a lot to get excited about, people!

Virtual Core Groups help recruiters in Top Echelon Network make placements.  It’s happened in the past, and it’s most certainly going to happen again in the future.  I want YOU to participate in these groups, and I want YOU to make more splits.

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.  (Did I mention that?)

Below is the Virtual Core Group teleconference call schedule for the month of September (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!

My contact information is below. Yes, I’m talking to you.  Don’t make me turn this blog post around.

— — —

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