Next year, we’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Top Echelon Network!  That includes celebrating at the 2013 National Convention.

As part of that celebration, we’re heading back to the Trade Winds Resort Hotel in St. Petersburg, Fla., site of the very first Top Echelon Network National Convention.

Also as part of that celebration, we’ve secured industry trainer Danny Cahill as the main speaker for the convention.  It’s been quite a while since Cahill has participated in a Top Echelon event, and we’re glad to have him back, especially for something as momentous as our 25th anniversary National Convention!

Cahill is, in short, a legend in the recruiting industry.  He started at Hobson Associates right out of college.  He became its Rookie of the Year, top producer, and general manager by the age of 26.  At 27, he bought the company and has since built it into one of the country’s largest search firms specializing in Software Sales, Bio Tech Sales, and Industrial Sales talent.

Cahill was the Educational Chairperson of the Pinnacle Society, 75 of the highest achievers in the industry, and he personally mentors many members.  He also owns and runs AccordingToDanny.com, an online training and mentoring company dedicated to enhancing the skills and jumpstarting the spirits of recruiters worldwide.

Remember, the dates of the 2013 National Convention are Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April 27. The last weekend in April has traditionally been the “sweet spot” for the convention, especially in terms of attendance.

Speaking of which, we’re looking forward to a considerable amount of people attending the 2013 National Convention.  We had around 120 recruiters at the recent Fall Conference, and we believe that we can get at least that many recruiters to the Trade Winds (and maybe even 150).

So stay tuned for more information regarding our 25th anniversary and the 2013 National Convention, including registration dates, registration prices, and a preliminary agenda of activities.

We look forward to seeing YOU in St. Pete!

— — —

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Preferred Member Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group was “Recruiter of the Quarter” in Top Echelon Network for the second quarter of 2012.  He made nine split placements to earn that honor.

Pretty good production, wouldn’t you say?

Well, Cameron increased his Network production by 33% in the third quarter, making a whopping TWELVE split placements combined during the months of July, August, and September.

How good was Cameron’s third quarter?  Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc. enjoyed a great third quarter in the Network, making six split placements . . . and Cameron still doubled that.

How good was Cameron’s third quarter?  His cash-in for the quarter was nearly $100,000.  That total represents his half of the fees that those 12 split placements produced.

Can Cameron make another 12 split placements in the Network during the fourth quarter?  Can he break the Top Echelon Network record for split placements in a calendar year?  Stay tuned.

Below are the winners of the recognition awards for the third quarter.  We’d like to congratulate those recruiters who earned them and thank them for their efforts.

For more information about the placements and cash-in totals associated with these recognition awards, please login to the Members’ Area and view the profiles and placement details of the recruiters involved.

— — —

Recruiter of the Quarter
Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Seven split placements in the first quarter, nine split placements in the second quarter, and now 12 split placements in the third quarter.  At this rate, Cameron might make 15 in the fourth quarter.

Napoles was second with six split placements, while a handful of recruiters made three split placements apiece, led by Gail Williams of Williams Recruiting, Inc., whose cash-in total for those three gave her third place.

— — —

Highest Split Placement Fee of the Quarter
Denise Milano Sprung of JA Pharma, Inc. and Stephanie McGinty of Ives & Associates, Inc.

This placement was for a Director of Medical Communications-Early Oncology.  Milano Sprung was the job order recruiter, and McGinty was the candidate recruiter.  The action causing this split placement was listed as, “Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter in my specialty area.”

— — —

Our criteria for these recognition awards:

Top Echelon Network is a split placement recruiter network.  As such, we place an emphasis on split placements, and that emphasis constitutes the basis of our criteria for these recognition awards.  We determine the quarterly award winners based upon two factors, which are listed below in order of importance:

1.) The number of split placements made
2.) The amount of cash-in dollars earned as a result of those split placements

In other words, the number of split placements that recruiters make is our first consideration.  In the event of a tie, the cash-in total earned from those split placements is the deciding factor and serves to break the tie.  Obviously, the recruiter with more cash-in dollars in the event of a tie is the recruiter who wins the recognition award.

— — —

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The recruiters highlighted in this week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments” are veterans of the recruiting industry.  They’ve been extremely successful, both inside and outside of the Network.  In fact, one of them is a Million Dollar Producer in Top Echelon.

However, they’re receiving recognition because they recently made their first split placement with another Preferred Member recruiter.

Because it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a recruiter.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Preferred Member of Top Echelon’s recruiting network.

It doesn’t even matter how many split fee recruiting placements you’ve made.

You can ALWAYS find new Trading Partners in the Network, and those Trading Partner relationships can result in split placements, more than likely representing placements you would not have made without their help.

So it really is true that the split placements below indicate that this could be the beginning of a beautiful (and prosperous) relationship . . .

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation, send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

— — —

“Chuck is great to work with.  He really understands the position, and then he sends really good candidates.  Thank you, Chuck!”

Submitted by Karen Akbal-Sturgeon, CPC of KLA Industries regarding her split placement with Chuck Szajkovics of Bulldog Recruiters, Inc.

Position Title—FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN
Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

“Frank and I worked together on this same search a year ago.  His candidate was a strong #2 last year, so I was delighted to finally place her a year later!  Thanks, Frank, for sending me such a great candidate!”

Submitted by Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC regarding her split placement with Frank Gregg of Gregg & Associates

Position Title—HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

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With a feature titled “‘Comments’ and Compliments Extra,” you might expect there to be some compliments . . . and that’s especially the case with this week’s installment of the feature.

What we have specifically is a veteran of the Top Echelon recruiters network making a split placement with a recruiter who has only been a Preferred Member for a relatively short amount of time.

What does this prove?  Quite a few things, actually:

1. That a newer Preferred Member can make a split placement with a more tenured Member, no matter the disparity in terms of experience (Network or otherwise)
2. That no matter how long a recruiter has been in the Network, it’s absolutely possible to start making split placements with a newer Preferred Member, so such a possibility should not be discounted
3. That individual differences don’t matter that much if the recruiters involved in the split placement process adhere to the Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network
4. You never, ever know who your next split placement in the Network is going to be with . . . so be on your toes!

Enjoy this week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments Extra,” notice how often the two recruiters involved compliment one another (and what they compliment each other about), and we’re sure that we’ll see you highlighted in this feature soon!

(That’s a compliment.)

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation, send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

— — —

“Great job by Catherine.  First candidate she sent was right on the money.  They talked to none of the others.  Thanks, Catherine!”

Submitted by Robert Gabor of The Gabor Group regarding his split placement with Catherine Bateman of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions

Position Title—SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER
Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

“Bob has been great to work with, especially for a beginner like me.  He is straightforward and timely in his communications and above-board about his job orders and clients.  I guess that’s why he has been a successful recruiter for so long.  It will be my pleasure to work with him again.”

Submitted by Catherine Bateman of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions regarding her split placement with Robert Gabor of The Gabor Group

Position Title—SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER
Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

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The 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference is upon us!

The 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention is next April!  Why bring that up?  Because we’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Top Echelon at that convention, that’s why!

Where am I going with this?  Potentially, it could be anywhere, but let me take a moment to narrow the focus just a bit.  Although the split fee recruiting Network won’t officially turn 25 years old until March, we’d like to celebrate our 25th anniversary BEFORE we celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Because the only thing better than celebrating once . . . is celebrating twice!

That being said, one of the ways we’re celebrating (or pre-celebrating, if you prefer) is by taking a “walk down memory lane.”  Specifically, this walk entails posting photos from past Top Echelon Network events on our Facebook fan page.

These recruiter networking events include the National Convention, the Fall Conference, and other regional conferences.  The events—and the photo albums on Facebook—go back as far as 1993.  (The first official Top Echelon Network event was held in 1990.)

What would we like you to do?  Visit our fan page, browse through the albums, and see if you recognize anybody.  Heck, you might recognize yourself!  And feel free to tag anybody that you would like.  Let’s have fun with this!

Click here to access our Facebook fan page photo albums!

Let’s also make plans to join us for next year’s National Convention, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April 27.

Come to the convention, have fun, enjoy yourself, and then we’ll post photos of YOU on Facebook, too.

— — —

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It’s one of the Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network.  It’s the number-one way in which split placements occur in Top Echelon Network.

Every week, it’s proven once again its importance to Preferred Member recruiters in the Network, and we’re proving it again with this week’s batch of placements.

What am I talking about?  Communication, of course.

It’s a simple formula, really: the more that your communicate with your Trading Partners, the better your chances of making split placements.  Yes, you only have so much time in the day, but it doesn’t take much effort to communicate effectively.

In many cases, it just takes an effort, and the rest takes care of itself.  It’s not just quality communication, either, but consistent communication—before, during, and after the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring process.

The best communicators in Top Echelon Network are also among the Top Producers in the Network, and that’s not a coincidence.  Congratulations to everybody who made splits this week, and we look forward to seeing YOUR face in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog soon.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Lisa Wilczynski of Engineering & Technical Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Job title: TECHNICAL MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Debbi Reiger of Reiger Technical Search

Candidate recruiter: Kim Kirby of Balanced Career Solutions, Inc.

Job title: IT SERVICE DESK DIRECTOR

Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

<Job order recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Bill Quackenbush, CPC/CTS of QCI Technical Staffing

Job title: DESIGN ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—Flat

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Mike Ehlers of Ehlers Recruiting Partners

Candidate recruiter: <a href=”http://www.recommendedrecruiter.com/Recruiter/91108/Jeff_Gilbert” title=”Jeff Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC” target=”_blank”>Jeffrey Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC

Job title: SALES

Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

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In The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, we’ve talked at length on numerous occasions about how once a Preferred Member makes a split placement with another Network recruiter, it gets easier to make another one with that same person.

They’re kind of Lay’s Potato Chips—you can’t eat just one (sort of).  Or they’re like television re-runs . . . except these are re-runs that you WANT to see.

If this week’s installment of “Comments and Compliments” was a TV show about split placements, it would star Preferred Member recruiters Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting and Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.

After all, they’ve made six split placements together, and all of those have occurred within the past 15 months.  Here’s one of their placements, and here’s another one, and here’s a third.

We’re highlighting yet another of their placements this week in The Pinnacle, as well as a pair of Preferred Member recruiters who recently made their first split together.  Who knows?  Maybe that placement will be the first of many for those recruiters, and they’ll also make six splits in the span of 15 months.

Because in the world of recruiters, split placements, potato chips, and television re-runs, you never know what’s going to happen.

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation, send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

— — —

>“Larry and I have really had such good successes with this particular client.  He supplies great candidates (hooray!) and is so much fun to work with!”

Submitted by Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting regarding her split placement with Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.

Position Title—SENIOR ELECTRICAL CONTROLS ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—22.5%

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

— — —

“Thanks for a GREAT candidate, and finally we make a placement together!”

Submitted by Chris Ramsay, CPC of Corporate Resources, LLC regarding her split placement with Joanna Spaun of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Position Title—MATERIAL MANAGER
Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

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We’ve highlighted Preferred Member recruiting firm MJ Recruiters, LLC before in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

But you know what?  We’re going to highlight them again.  You know why?  Because they keep making placements, that’s why!

And this week, MJ Recruiters has three split placements in The Pinnacle.  Not only that, but two of them are direct-hire placements, and other one is a contract placement, showing the firm’s versatility and the different ways in which it strives to meet the needs of its clients.

So if you want to stop seeing MJ Recruiters in the newsletter, tell those at the firm to stop making placements.  But I doubt they’ll listen.

In the meantime, it’s time for “MJ Recruiters-palooza”!

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc.

Job title: IT SYSTEMS SUPPORT SPECIALIST

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: PROCESS ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook website.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Bill Quackenbush, CPC/CTS of QCI Technical Staffing

Job title: DRAFTER

Recruiter Per/Hr—$2.14

Action causing split placement: Top Echelon Contracting will handle this contract placement.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Chris Ramsay, CPC of Corporate Resources, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Lee Fierman of Gables Search Group, Inc.

Job title: SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching Top Echelon’s split databases.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Doris Painter, CPC of Painter & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Amy Dunn of Technology Recruiting Solutions

Job title: OUTSIDE SALES REP

Fee Percentage—Flat

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Randall Hardwick of Avalon Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook website.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Rob Spaulding of Spaulding Associates

Candidate recruiter: Hani Mussa of KnowPeople, Inc.

Job title: SENIOR ELECTRICAL TEST TECHNICIAN

Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Ron Magnusson of Norseman Recruiting Services

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

Job title: INSPECTION ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching Top Echelon Network’s split databases.

— — —

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Why do Preferred Member recruiters like to work with one another in Top Echelon Network and make split placements?

The reasons are numerous, but one of them is highlighted in this week’s installment of “Comments and Compliments.”  That reason is simply this: because of the high-quality candidates that they present.

However, as you can see by the comments below, good candidates are just one half of the equation. The other half is the proper qualifying of those candidates, making sure that they’re still interested in a new opportunity and that they’re highly “place-able.”

And of course, this is also an example of two of the Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network—Quality and Active Participation.  If you actively participate in the Network and you do so in a quality manner (like sharing top-notch candidates in the Split Database), then you give yourself a much better chance of making split placements.

And of other recruiters wanting to work with you in the future.

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation, send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

— — —

“Mike continues to have an amazing number of good candidates in the shared database.  More than half of the candidates in any given search I run seem to be his, and he’s always happy to update the candidate for me.  It seems to be paying off!”

Submitted by Carolyn Barcus of Barcus Associates regarding her split placement with Mike Cirner, CPC of Fowler Placement Services, Inc.

Position Title—SALES DEVELOPMENT INSURANCE VERTICAL
Fee Percentage—Flat Fee

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

— — —

“Rhonda, thanks so much for a great lightweight engineer!”

Submitted by Chris Ramsay, CPC of Corporate Resources, LLC regarding her split placement with Rhonda Dove of KB Search Team, LLC

Position Title—PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

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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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