These days, if you have the candidates, you’ll make the placements . . . and that statement pertains to Top Echelon Network, as well.

Let’s face it: within some industries and some niches (the majority of them, perhaps), superstar candidates are difficult to find—and superstar candidates are who your clients want.  If they’re going to make the leap of hiring a full-time employee, they want that candidate to be as close to perfect as they can possibly be.

Which, of course, means that you have to find candidates who are as close to perfect as they can possibly be.  The recruiters below were tasked with doing just that, and they turned to other recruiters in the Network for help.

They got the near-perfect candidate they were searching for, they presented that candidate to their client, their client made an offer to the candidate, the candidate accepted it, and now the recruiters involved are splitting a big placement fee.

And they lived happily ever after . . .

But split placements are no fairy tale. Quite the contrary: they’re real, and they’re alive and well in Top Echelon Network.

Now share every candidate you have with the rest of the Network.  There are more placements to be made!

If you’d like to compliment a Trading Partner for providing you with a near-perfect candidate for your client’s job order, then submit your comments with your Completed Placement Form or send them to marketing@topechelon.com.  The end.

— — —

“Great candidate, Roni!  Thanks for finding him and getting him on Top Echelon Network.  And as always—it was great working with you!”

Submitted by Chuck Sissom of Sissom & Associates regarding his split placement with Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc.

Position Title—PROCESS ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the first split placement that Sissom and Snyder have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Bob is a delight to work with.  He ‘gets’ the job order and accurately forwards well-qualified candidates.”

Submitted by Susan Stone of SAP Recruiters regarding her split placement with Bob Ferris of Ferris & Associates, LLC

Position Title—SAP BUSINESS ANALYST

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the first split placement that Stone and Ferris have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

It might be an understatement to say that Top Echelon Network recruiter Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. is on a roll.

Stuck was named the Recruiter of the Month in the Network for the month of March.  For another, he’s made nine split placements in the Network already in 2013.  For yet another, he’s currently ranked fourth in the Network in terms of overall production during the past 12 months.

Stuck joined Top Echelon as a Preferred Member recruiter in 2004, but his Network production has grown by leaps and bounds during the past couple of years.  Consequently, we wanted to feature him in our “Recruiter’s Resume” segment in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog . . . so we are!

We asked Stuck some questions, and he was gracious enough to answer them.  So thanks and congratulations go to Michael Stuck.  May he make at least nine more Network split placements during the rest of 2013!

— — —

What have been the keys to your success in Top Echelon Network?

“My keys to success are really simple.  I have found a few key Trading Partners I can trust to provide me with candidates who match what my client is looking for, and when I receive their candidates, I typically look at them quickly and get them right over to my client for review.

“I basically look at my Top Echelon Trading Partners as an extension of my firm, Gables Search Group.  So when I receive a candidate from a Trading Partner, I view it as if it were one of my own recruiters submitting the candidate, and I trust them the same as my own recruiters.  This makes the recruiting process run quickly and efficiently, and it allows for more submittals of good, quality candidates for my clients.”

Who are the Trading Partners you’ve been working with?

“I have worked with a number of quality Trading Partners with in Top Echelon.  There really are too many of them to mention here, but lately I have worked closely with and made placements with Sean Napoles, Mario Linale, Harry Anderson, Bill Law, Steve Strickland, Kevin Bautista, Trey Cameron, and Laurie Gillespie.

“Others who I’m currently working with, but we haven’t quite made a placement are Angela Marasco, Dave Sgro, Bob Small, Kristy Bellingham-Jones, Catherine Bateman, Justin Bidwell, Matt Dahm, Brenda Richardson, and Colleen Switala.  Other talented recruiters in Top Echelon I have worked with in the past, but not recently include Maria Hemminger, Joanna Spaun, and Jim Folger.  While I haven’t made a placement with any of them to date, I’m confident that one day I will.  That’s the beauty of TE.”

How would you describe the activity level in your niche?

“While we place in a few niches, our hottest niche right now is Information Technology, and the activity has been superb in the first quarter.  It goes back to last year, when it really starting picking up from about July through October.  It slowed down somewhat in November and December, but has been non-stop during the first quarter of 2013.”

What are your goals for future production in the Network?

“My goals are to continue the upward movement I’ve had lately in the Network and to catch Maria Hemminger for third place overall before the year is out.”

What advice would you give to a new Preferred Member just starting out?

“I have given advice to Mario Linale and a few other new Members in the past and love to help lead them in the right direction.  I tell each of them to make sure they research who works their niche and then actually call that Member and introduce themselves and see how they can help, as opposed to just sending an email.

“I also highly recommend attending the Top Echelon conventions.  I attended my first one in Nashville back in 2004 or 2005 when we first joined the Network, and I haven’t missed too many since then.  I’m attending the convention in Florida this month and can’t wait.  I’ve found that you do create lasting relationships at these conventions, and whether you’re making splits with the Members you meet or not, it makes the Membership in TE seem more ‘real’ and worthwhile.”

Of course, not every recruiting firm in Top Echelon Network is attending next week’s National Convention.  (Although . . . they should be.)

And not every recruiting firm in Top Echelon Network is on Twitter.  (Although . . . they should be.)

However, if you’re NOT attending the convention and ARE on Twitter, then you SHOULD follow me on Twitter.

That’s because I’ll be posting updates and photos on Twitter throughout the duration of the National Convention—before, during, and after, as a matter of fact.

Twitter is currently the best way to find out what’s happening at the convention in real-time (without actually being in attendance, of course).  While there will be updates posted to Facebook, they will be fewer, farther between, and more “after the fact.”

The Facebook mobile app is just not as easy to use as the Twitter app.  Not only that, but Facebook is a better vehicle for posting a large number of photos, which I’ll do after the convention has concluded.

You can follow me on Twitter here: @MattDeutsch.

You can follow Top Echelon Network on Twitter here: @TENetwork.

One more thing to remember: the official hastag for the 2013 National Convention is #TENAT13.

Include this hashtag with every one of your tweets regarding the National Convention.  You can use the hashtag while tweeting from any place at any time about any aspect of the event—and you don’t even have to be there!

Later, if you conduct a search in Twitter using #TENAT13, Twitter will find and present all of the tweets that include that hashtag.

So if I don’t see you in Florida next week, I’d better see you on Twitter!

What would The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog be without a pop culture reference?  And this week, we’re referencing that classic game show The Price is Right, which rewarded contestants for correctly guessing the price of products (or at least for coming the closest).

But for us, it’s not “Come on down, you’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!”

It’s “Come on, Downs!”  Why?  Because Network recruiter Greg Downs of Downs Associates has two split placements in the newsletter this week.

Downs joined the Network in 2008.  He’s made 20 placements as a Preferred Member of the Top Echelon recruiters network, including five in 2012 and three already in 2013.  Downs works primarily in Environmental Health & Safety, as well as in Engineering and Manufacturing.

So yes, winning a “Showcase Showdown” would be nice.  However, nothing compares to making two placements in a row.

So that means . . . the placement’s right!

While you mull that over, below are the positions that were recently filled by Top Echelon Network recruiters:

• EHS Manager (two of them!)
  
• Casting Furnance Engineer
  
• Process Engineer
  
• Multicultural Marketing
  
• Operations Manager
• Process/Project Engineer

If you work within the industries represented by the positions listed above and want to know how you can make split placements in the Network, contact Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Mark Udulutch of Markent Personnel

Candidate recruiter: Greg Downs of Downs Associates

Job title: EHS MANAGER

Fee percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Jan Hudson of Apple & Assoc. Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Greg Downs of Downs Associates

Job title: EHS MANAGER

Fee percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: “Greg saw our [job] order and sent the candidate over.”

— — —

Job order recruiter: Carey Towe, CPC of Southern Recruiters

Candidate recruiter: Justin Bidwell of Bidwell & Associates, LLC

Job title: CASTING FURANCE ENGINEER

Fee percentage—15%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was sent to me via the automated email alerts.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Chuck Sissom of Sissom & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc.

Job title: PROCESS ENGINEER

Fee percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Amy Lock of Ives & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Frank Chavira of HG Arias & Associates

Job title: MULTICULTURAL MARKETING

Fee percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: “He was recommended due to a prior split placement.”

— — —

Job order recruiter: Emily Brown of Management Analysis & Utilization, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: David Wick, CPC of Career Center of Cincinnati, Inc.

Job title: OPERATIONS MANAGER

Fee percentage—20%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: PROCESS/PROJECT ENGINEER

Fee percentage—15%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook web design for recruitment agencies.

It’s all about the candidates, isn’t it?

Your clients want the right candidates, so YOU want the right candidates, so you look for the right candidates, because that’s what you do.

But sometimes, they’re just more difficult to find . . . and that’s why you rely upon the resources of other Top Echelon Network recruiters.  Because when you rely on their resources, they provide you with the candidates you’re looking for (and more importantly, the candidates your clients are looking for.)

The result is a filled position and a placement fee—a split placement fee, to be more precise.

The Network recruiters below relied upon one another, and that’s why they’re sharing a placement fee, as well as the spotlight in this issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

If you’d like to be in the Pinnacle spotlight (along with a Trading Partner, of course), then submit your comments with your Completed Placement Form or send them to marketing@topechelon.com.

— — —

“Ron sent me several good candidates who were interviewed, and Steve was just the right fit.  Without Ron’s help, this would have been a much harder position to fill.”

Submitted by Mark Udulutch of Markent Personnel regarding his split placement with Ronald L. Puibello of Ronald L. Puibello Search, Inc.

Position Title—PRODUCT ENGINEERING MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

“Laurie, thank you for your hard work and the excellent candidate you provided!  Hopefully, this is the first of many splits!”

Submitted by Melinda O’Neil of Enterprise Search Associates, LLC regarding her split placement with Laurie Gillespie of Dayspring & Associates

Position Title—RISK MANAGER

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the first split placement that O’Neill and Gillespie have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

By now, you probably know that Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. is the Recruiter of the Month in Top Echelon Network for the month of March.

However, you might not know that one of the reasons he earned that honor is because he was part of the Highest Split Placement Fee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2013.  That makes sense, since after the number of split placements made, a recruiter’s cash-in total is the second criteria that we consider when determining who wins our monthly and quarterly Network awards.

What makes this particular placement special is that its fee is so high that it’s currently in the running for the Highest Split Placement Fee of the Year.  Fees that have won this award in the past have actually been smaller than the one that Stuck and his Trading Partner, Steve Strickland of American Career Search, Inc. recently made.

So don’t be surprised if you see Stuck’s face in the future (in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, that is).  You might also see him in person at a Top Echelon Network conference or convention or at a Regional Core Group meeting . . . or if you and he are good friends, you might cross paths on a social basis.

You get the picture.  Move along.

— — —

HIGHEST SPLIT PLACEMENT FEE OF THE QUARTER
Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. and Steve Strickland of American Career Search, Inc.

This placement was for a Chief Executive Officer.  Stuck was the job order recruiter, and Strickland was the candidate recruiter.  The action causing this split placement was listed as, “Regular phone communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter in my specialty area.”

— — —

SECOND PLACE
Job order recruiter: John Moskonas of The ARGroup of Search Companies
Candidate recruiter: Roy Cope of R. Cope & Associates, Inc.
Position title: Vice President – Assistant Controller

THIRD PLACE
Job order recruiter: Pamela Ratz DeVille, CPC of Managed Medicaid Services
Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group
Position title: VP of Finance

FOURTH PLACE
Job order recruiter: Richard Connors of Vista Technology
Candidate recruiter: Alan Daum of Alan N. Daum & Associates, Inc.
Position title: Automation Engineer – BioPharmaceutical

FIFTH PLACE
Job order recruiter: Maja Munoz of Human Technologies, Inc.
Candidate recruiter: Rob Spaulding of Spaulding Associates
Position title: Key Account Sales – Central

— — —

For more information about the cash-in totals associated with these placements (specifically, the exact amount of the fees), please login to the Top Echelon Network Members’ Area and view the details associated with the placements.

Question: What’s the quickest way to get special mention in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog?

Answer: Make two (or more placements) in one week.

Of course to do that, you just have to send us the checks for two split placements at the same time . . . just like Network recruiter Amy Dunn of Technology Recruiting Solutions in Houston, Texas did recently!

That’s why we’re highlighting Dunn, one of the top recruiters who has made 24 split placements during her time as a Preferred Member recruiter in Top Echelon Network.  That total includes five placements in 2011 and six placements in 2012.

Dunn specializes in the permanent placement of Information Technology, Accounting/Finance, Human Resources, and occasional Sales and Marketing professionals nationwide.  Be sure to visit her Recruiter Profile for more information.

After you do that, we invite you to check out all of the positions that were recently filled through the joint effort of Top Echelon Network recruiters:

• Business Analyst – Financial Systems
• Senior .NET Developer
• Risk Manager
• Maintenance Technician
• Production Supervisor

If you have any questions about how YOU can make more split placements in Top Echelon Network and generate more revenue for your recruiting firm, contact Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Amy Dunn of Technology Recruiting Solutions

Candidate recruiter: Debi Apple of Apple & Assoc. Inc.

Job title: BUSINESS ANALYST – FINANCIAL SYSTEMS

Fee percentage—20%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Amy Dunn of Technology Recruiting Solutions

Candidate recruiter: Doris Painter of Painter & Associates

Job title: SENIOR .NET DEVELOPER
Fee percentage—18%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Frank Sommer of SearchStars, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Jeffrey Gipson of The James Allen Companies, Inc.

Job title: RISK MANAGER

Fee percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: “Amy Simpson, candidate recruiter, saw shared [job] order and responded.”

— — —

Job order recruiter: Kenneth Lowry of Lowry Personnel Services

Candidate recruiter: Thomas Edwards of Front Line Solutions, LLC

Job title: MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

Fee percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Brenda Wylie-Biggs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: SAFETY ENGINEER

Fee percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Don Lewis of The Doepker Group

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

Job title: PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Candidate $ per hour—$20.19

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

There’s no worse feeling than not being able to find the candidates that your client wants you to find.

Okay, I admit—I’m exaggerating for effect.  There IS probably a worse feeling than that.

But when you’re in the midst of striking out and you feel like a zero, the feeling is not good.  Now imagine if the perfect candidate was delivered to you, seemingly out of nowhere.  What would you feel like now?

You’d probably feel like dancing.

That’s the feeling you get when you work with another Top Echelon recruiter network member who gives you exactly what you need.  You turn around, you give that to your client, you make a placement you would NOT have made otherwise, you do a little dance, and you look (and feel) like a hero.

In a nutshell, that’s what this installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments” is all about.  And to top it all off, the split fee recruiting placements below represent the first split placements that the recruiters involved have made with one another.  Everybody dance!

— — —

“This is a search that’s way out of my specialty area, and we’ve been having trouble relocating people to Buffalo.  Jerry came up with a couple of candidates, including this local candidate.  This is after a client tried to fill it themselves by using a local agency.  Needless to say, the client was thrilled that we came through for them with no [relocation costs].   Thanks for all your help on this one, Jerry!”

Submitted by Robert Gabor of The Gabor Group regarding his split placement with Jerry Walter of Walter & Associates, Inc.

Position Title—SAP BUSINESS ANALYST – FICO

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

“Amy Simpson noticed our job order and took the initiative to call us.  We had only one marginal candidate.  She sent two right-one candidates.  Our client had a hard time deciding which one [to hire].  Thank you, Amy!”

Submitted by Frank Sommer of SearchStars, Inc. regarding his split placement with Jeffrey Gipson of The James Allen Companies, Inc.

Position Title—RISK MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the first split placement that Sommers and Gipson have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

The Top Echelon Network Recruiter of the Year for 2011 and 2012 may have let Recruiter of the Quarter honors slip through his fingers during the fourth quarter of last year . . . but Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group is back to reclaim his spot at the top of the recruiter heap.

That’s because he is once again the Recruiter of the Quarter, this time for the first quarter of 2013.  That kind of start makes Cameron the odds-on favorite to win the Recruiter of the Year honors for the third straight year.

As usual, Cameron had plenty of competition for the award (as you can see below).  The majority of these recruiters will be in attendance at the upcoming Top Echelon Network National Convention in St. Petersburg, Fla., and some of them—such as Cameron—will be receiving awards for their performance in the Network during 2012.

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

— — —

RECRUITER OF THE QUARTER
Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Cameron made six split placements during the first quarter of 2013.  That was the most of any recruiter in Top Echelon Network and two more than the second-place finisher, Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc.  However, Stuck is the Recruiter of the Month for March.

Also making four split placements during the first quarter were Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC; Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.; and Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates.

— — —

2ND PLACE
Recruiter: Michael Stuck
Firm: Gables Search Group, Inc.
# of split placements: four (4)

3RD PLACE
Recruiter: Maria Hemminger
Firm: MJ Recruiters, LLC
# of split placements: four (4)

4TH PLACE
Recruiter: Sean Napoles, CPC
Firm: Career Brokers, Inc.
# of split placements: four (4)

5TH PLACE
Recruiter: Ron Sunshine
Firm: Ron Sunshine Associates
# of split placements: four (4)

6TH PLACE
Recruiter: David Wick, CPC
Firm: Career Center of Cincinnati, Inc.
# of split placements: three (3)

7TH PLACE
Recruiter: John Wharton
Firm: The Garret Group
# of split placements: three (3)

The success that Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. has enjoyed recently in Top Echelon Network has been well chronicled.

But let’s chronicle it again!

Click here to read great stories about three split placements that Stuck made.

Click here to read about Stuck’s three split placements with Trading Partner Mario Linale.

Click here to read what Linale has to say about his Trading Partner relationship with Stuck.

So it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that Michael Stuck is the Recruiter of the Month for March in Top Echelon Network!  (I know it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me.)

Not only is Stuck the Recruiter of the Month, but he’s also part of the other award for March, the Largest Split Placement Fee of the Month Award.

Top Echelon Network typically recognizes recruiters for both monthly and quarterly performance in four categories—“Recruiter of the Month,” “Recruiter of the Quarter,” “Highest Split Placement Fee of the Month,” and “Highest Split Placement Fee of the Quarter.”

For more information about these awards, please login to the Members’ Area and view the profiles and placement details of the recruiters who won them.

 — — —

Recruiter of the Month
Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc.

Stuck was one of three recruiters who made three split placements in the Network during the month of February.  However, his overall cash-in total for those three placements was larger than anybody else’s total, earning him first place.

Other Preferred Member recruiters who made three placements during the month were Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc. and Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group.

 — — —

Largest Split Placement Fee of the Month
Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. and Steve Strickland of American Career Search, Inc.

The position for this placement was a Chief Executive Officer.  Stuck was the job order recruiter, and Strickland was the candidate recruiter.  The action that stimulated this split placement was listed as “Regular phone communication with a Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter in my specialty area.”

 — — —

The Network’s criteria for these awards:

Top Echelon Network determines the monthly and quarterly award winners based upon two things, 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

This explains why, although Stuck was tied with two other recruiters with three placements apiece during the month of March, he won the award based upon his cash-in total for his three placements.