The “dog days of summer” are almost here.

While it might be argued that the “dog days” have been with us since the beginning of summer in the form of ridiculously high temperatures and corresponding drought, I’m talking specifically about the month of August.  (That’s the month traditionally associated with the “dog days of summer.)

And a new month brings with it a Virtual Core Group (VGC) schedule in Top Echelon Network.

As I’ve mentioned before (and will undoubtedly mention many times again), 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 August (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time).

As you can see above, the first two Thursdays of the month and the second slot of the third Thursday are filled with conference calls.  That second slot is for the Energy/Oil & Gas group.  Please remember that the time for that call is from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on August 16 and not noon to 1 p.m.  I’d hate for you to call the number at the wrong 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.  You have no excuse.

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330.455.1433, x156
drea@topechelon.com
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Believe it or not, July is almost here.  I would say something about how quickly time flies, but by the time I did, it would be August.  Better just to embrace the present, rather than comment on the rapidly aging past or the accelerating future.

Speaking of that future, I have for you the Virtual Core Group (VCG) schedule for the month of July.  Yes, I know: summer is here.  Yes, I know: many of you are on vacation or will be on vacation.

That is irrelevant.  I STILL want you to attend a VCG teleconference call during the month of July.  Why?  Because I’m an oppressive Membership Development Coordinator who enjoys ruling with an iron fist?  Partly, yes.

But the other reason is that I know for a fact just how valuable these teleconference calls can be for recruiters who are interested in maximizing their Top Echelon Network Preferred Membership and putting the resources of their Trading Partners to good use for the purpose of making more split placements.

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

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.

As you can see above, the first two Thursdays of the month and the first slot of the third Thursday are filled with conference calls.  That means the second and third slot of the third Thursday are open, as well as all three slots of the fourth Thursday.  It ALSO means that we have plenty of room for growth.

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

That means YOU.

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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How in the world is it already June?  I have no idea.  The year is flying by.

What I do know, though, is the date of this year’s Top Echelon Recruitment Network Ohio Golf Outing.  That date: Thursday, July 19.

This outing has been held for the better part of a decade now, and the benefits of attending this event have been proven time after time after time.  Recruiters have golfed together, networked together, and made split placements together—that’s the perfect blueprint for success.

With that in mind, I’d like to take a moment to thank Preferred Member recruiter Debra L. Stitt, CPC of Quality Source Inc. of Ohio for all the work she’s put into this event over the years.  She helped to build the outing into what it is today, and we’re truly grateful for her efforts.

Below are the specifics regarding this year’s outing.

Location:
Bunker Hill Golf Course
3060 Pearl Road
Medina, OH  44256

Cost: $30 per person
Date: Thursday, July 19
Format: scramble
Time: 10 a.m. shotgun start

Note that food is NOT included in the cost of the outing.  If you desire sustenance, you can always run up to Bunker’s Grill and order something off their menu.

If you’d like to participate in this year’s Top Echelon Network Ohio Golf Outing, please contact me as soon as you can.  You do NOT have to work or live in Ohio to participate in this event!  All are welcome, regardless of origin (even people from Michigan).

Let’s network, share job orders, take a break from our busy desks, and have some fun together . . . before this year passes us by.

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330.455.1433, x156
drea@topechelon.com
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There are many different ways that you can make split placements in Top Echelon Network!

Many of them are covered in this week’s installment of Completed Placements.  However, there’s one that’s not covered, and I’d like to do that now.

That way is through participation in Regional Core Group meetings.

Meeting recruiters on a face-to-face basis at these meetings is a great way to make splits with other recruiters.  And I’m not just talking about placements within your niche, but also about placements outside your niche, as well.

However, before we get to how YOU can benefit from participating in these groups, I’d like to present the most recent placement resulting from a Regional Core Group meeting.

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“The NE Ohio Core Group puts up another one!  Linda provided the perfect candidate for my job.  We communicate regularly and openly share our jobs.  That is why this placement happened.  Thank you, Linda!”

Submitted by David M. Sgro of True North Consultants, Inc. regarding his split placement with Linda Gutekunst of LR Solutions, LLC

Position Title—IT SECURITY ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

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

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The bottom line is this: Regional Core Group meetings = split placements.

I want you to participate in Regional Core Group meetings, namely because I want you to make more split placements and make more money.  To that end, if you’d like to participate in such a group (or start your own), contact me immediately.

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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A few months ago, I announced that we were adding a new Virtual Core Group to the monthly teleconference schedule.  That group happened to be Aerospace/DOD.

Well, I’m happy to announce that I’m adding yet another group to the mix.

That group is Energy/Power/Oil & Gas.  That group is now part of the Virtual Core Group schedule for the month of June, and I’ve included the schedule in its entirety below.

As always, 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.

That being said, below is the Virtual Core Group conference call schedule for the month of June (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

As you can see, the first two Thursdays of the month and the first slot of the third Thursday are filled with conference calls.  That means the second and third slot of the third Thursday are open, as well as all three slots of the fourth Thursday.  It ALSO means that we have plenty of room for growth.

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

I’d also like you to contact me if you have questions about other things you could be doing to maximize your Network Membership.

And when I say “maximize your Network Membership,” I mean “make more split placements!”

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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We’ve been running our Virtual Core Group (VCG) conference call meetings for quite some time now, and they’ve been quite successful.

As a result of these meetings, recruiters have exchanged job orders and candidates, they’ve formed Trading Partners relationships, and most importantly, they’ve made split placements together.

This week in The Pinnacle, I’d like to make an announcement regarding the VCG meetings that I believe will help to foster even more participation and activity within these groups.

That announcement is as follows:

Meeting minutes will no longer be distributed to Preferred Member recruiters who do not attend the Virtual Core Group meeting.

In the past, if you didn’t attend the meeting, I still forwarded the meeting minutes to you.  I will no longer be doing that.  That’s because I believe very much in the benefit of attending these meetings and networking with other recruiters.

Yes, you’re busy.  So is everybody who attends the meetings.  Active Participation is one of the Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network for a reason: active participation is a precursor to production, which is a precursor to split placements.

We want you to make more placements.  We want you to be more productive.  We want you to actively participate in Virtual Core Group meetings.

If you have any questions about this new policy, I encourage you to contact me.

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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Last month, I announced that we were starting a new Virtual Core Group for the month of April.  That group was for the Aerospace/DOD industry, and I’m glad to say that group will be sticking around.

In fact, if you look at the chart below, you’ll notice that the Virtual Core Group schedule for the month of May looks remarkably similar to the schedule for April.  There’s a good reason for that: the schedules are the same (although the dates have been changed to protect the guilty).

As I’ve mentioned before, 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.

And of course, participating in Virtual Core Groups is one of the things that leads directly to making more split placements!  I can’t emphasize that fact enough.

Below is the Virtual Core Group conference call schedule for the month of May (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

The first two Thursdays of the month are filled with conference calls and the third and fourth Thursdays are open.  If you don’t see your industry or niche represented in the chart above, I am ALWAYS willing to start a new group.

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

I’d also like you to contact me if you have questions about other things you could be doing to maximize your Network Membership.

Let’s make 2012 a great year.  It’s almost halfway over.  Let’s make some split placements!

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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I have great news: the dates AND the location for the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference have been set!

Those dates are Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12.

The location, of course, is Chicago.  More specifically, though, the location is the Sheraton Gateway Suites.  We’ve held the Fall Conference at the Suites countless times in the past, but last year we deviated from that routine and the site of the conference was the Embassy Suites.

However, we’re excited to be back at the Sheraton, and we’re excited to invite you to join us in Chicago for another great event.  There was a healthy turnout recently at the National Convention in Nashville, and we anticipate that attendance at the Fall Conference could be even higher.

Below are some things you should look for in the weeks and months ahead:

• The cost of the convention—We’ll be releasing “Early Bird Registration” soon.

• The room rate for the hotel—We’re in the process of negotiating that, and we’ll announce that, as well.

• The speaker for the convention and the preliminary agenda—We’ll release this information at the same time we release “Early Bird Registration.”

In the meantime, circle the dates for the Fall Conference on your calendar: Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12.  Make plans to join us in Chicago.

And remember . . . I’ll know if you’re not there.

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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Yes, it’s that time again . . . time to reveal the Virtual Core Group schedule for the new month!

And I have some good news: I’m starting a new VCG for the month of April.  That would be the Aerospace/DOD Virtual Core Group.  The conference call for that group—as you can see by referencing the chart below—is scheduled for noon, EST on Thursday, April 12.

I’m glad that we could add another Virtual Core Group to the rotation.  If you’d like to be part of this group and participate in the conference call on that day, please contact me as soon as you can.  We’ll get you set up and ready to go.

Remember: participating in Virtual Core Groups is one of the things that leads directly making more split placements . . . and we want you to make more split placements!

As I’ve mentioned before, 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 and they also bounce ideas off one another.

Below is the Virtual Core Group conference call schedule for the month of April (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

The first two Thursdays of the month are filled with conference calls and the third and fourth Thursdays are wide open.  If you don’t see your industry or niche represented in the chart above, I am ALWAYS open to starting a new group (like Aerospace/DOD).

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

Participating in Virtual Core Group conference call meetings is just one of the many things that leads directly to making split placements.  I’d also like you to contact me if you have questions about other things you could be doing to maximize your Network Membership.

— — —

330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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Here at Top Echelon Network, we are ALL about networking, and that includes both traditional networking and social networking.

That’s why we’re doing our best to meld the best of both worlds.

Regional Core Groups within the Network have started to heat up again in recent months.  This is not too surprising, since economic conditions in the country seem to be getting better and companies appear more interested in hiring again. (In fact, the economy added over 200,000 jobs during the month of February.)

At one time, we had anywhere from six to eight Regional Core Groups operating within the Network.  While we don’t have that many groups at the moment, they’re making a comeback.  In other words, the recruiters in these Core Groups are meeting, and they’re making plans to meet again in the future.

With that in mind, we plan to create individual photo albums on the Top Echelon Network Facebook Fan Page dedicated to each of the Regional Core Groups within the Network.  That way, every time the group holds an event, we can post pictures of that event in the album for all to see.

By way of illustration, we’ve already started with two Core Groups that recently held meetings.

The Mo/Kan Regional Core Group:

This is short for the Missouri/Kansas City Regional Core Group.  Before, it was known only as the Kansas City Regional Core Group.  This group had a meeting last month in Leawood, Kan., and we have a couple of photos with more information.

Click here to access the Mo/Kan Regional Core Group photo album on Facebook.

The Maryland/D.C./Virginia Regional Core Group:

This group was once known only as the Maryland Regional Core Group before expanding its territory slightly.  What hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that the group holds a special after-holiday party every year, complete with annual awards.  The latest after-holiday party for this Core Group also took place last month.

Click here to access the Maryland/D.C./Virginia Regional Core Group photo album on Facebook.

There are, of course, other Regional Core Groups currently operating in the Network, chief among them the Fort Wayne Regional Core Group and the Central Ohio Regional Core Group.  Facebook photo albums will be created for those recruiters, as well, and the albums will be filled with photos from their events as they are provided.

Which brings me to my next point . . . please send us photos of your Regional Core Group events.  We can’t post photos of events that we don’t have.  So snap some pictures and send them our way, and if you’re interested in joining an existing Regional Core Group—or starting a new one—be sure to contact me.

Oh, and if you’re Facebook Friends with any of the recruiters in these photos . . . be sure to tag them for me, would you?  Thanks.

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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