“Top Echelon TV” is back after its summer break.  No more leisurely walks along the beach and drinks with umbrellas sticking out of them . . . it’s time to get down to business!  (Editor’s note: he would never, ever drink anything with an umbrella in it, miniature or otherwise.  In case you were wondering.)

And “TV” returns with a hot topic for recruiters right now: background checks.  Checking a candidate’s background can mean the difference between making sure that you present quality candidates to your clients and quite possibly tainting your reputation and losing business.  (Click here for a “crazy recruiting story”) that illustrates this point perfectly.)

For this episode, we invited Jen Grimes of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution, to join us.  Top Echelon Contracting has been conducting background checks on all of their contract candidates since 2004, and Grimes is responsible for coordinating all of the background issues for Top Echelon Contracting.

If you have any additional questions regarding background checks, you can contact TEC at 888.627.3678, or visit the Top Echelon contract staffing solutions website.

Whether you know it or not, if you’re a Preferred Member of Top Echelon Network, you’re branding yourself to other recruiters every day—through the things you do and the things you don’t do.  This is important, because how you brand yourself helps to determine which recruiters want to work with you and how often they want to work with you.

In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti and Communications Coordinator Matt Deutsch discuss the three ways in which Preferred Members can brand themselves in a positive fashion and increase the chances that they’ll make split placements in the Network.

What are your thoughts?  What can recruiters do to brand themselves more effectively as Preferred Members of the Network?  What are things that recruiters do that brand them in a negative fashion, perhaps things they don’t even know they’re doing?

A rather sizeable percentage of Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiters use job posting measures in order to gain more exposure for the their job orders.  Do you know what day is the most popular day for job seekers to apply for jobs online?  Well . . . we do!

In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” Top Echelon President Mark Demaree and Internet Strategies Manager Todd Bossler not only reveal the day of the week that’s the most popular, but they also disclose the time of day, as well.  They also present some action steps that recruiters can take based on this information.

If you use job posting, when do you typically post your jobs to the Internet?  When do you update them?  Have you found that you experience more success with one day over another?  Has job posting been successful for you overall in terms of making placements?

Why do we hold events like the recent National Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.?  Because they bring recruiters together to network with one another, to form relationships and friendships, and ultimately, to make split placements.

In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti and Membership Development Coordinator Matt Deutsch discuss the National convention, specifically the human scavenger hunt that served as the gala event.  Nothing brings recruiters together quite like fun, and that’s exactly what this year’s event did.

Don’t forget—the Top Echelon Network Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 20, and Friday, October 21, and the location will be Chicago.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Just how do you get your job postings to stand out and get attention?

Well, one key to accomplishing that is the job title.  The job title is often overlooked and sometimes used in the wrong way.  However, in this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” President Mark Demaree and Communications Coordinator Matt Deutsch share six ways in which recruiters can ensure that their job title can help their job posting garner the attention they want.

What are your thoughts regarding the job title in job postings?  How important is it?  Do you agree with the six methods we’ve advocated in this episode of “Top Echelon TV”?

Just where are the job orders in Top Echelon Network? We have the answer! In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” President Mark Demaree and Communications Coordinator Matt Deutsch present the numbers and then analyze what they mean. The short version: more job orders in more industries than there was a year ago . . . and that’s good news.

If you have any questions about these job order numbers, feel free to contact Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti at (330) 455-1433 or via email at Drea@TopEchelon.com.

At Top Echelon, we’re looking for every way possible to help Preferred Member recruiters network with each other for the purpose of enjoying more success and making more placements.  One way in which we do this is through the Discussion Forum.

In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” President Mark Demaree and Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti discuss the Discussion Forum (no pun intended . . . really), pointing out the advantages and benefits that this valuable networking tool holds for Preferred Members. They also address Discussion Forum etiquette and how recruiters should conduct themselves.

From time to time, Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiters find that they’re having trouble making the Network work for them.  What should they do?

In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” President Mark Demaree and Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti discuss the steps that recruiters need to take when that’s the case.  (Oh, and they unveil a new set design for “Top Echelon TV,” too . . . can’t forget about that.)

Do recruiters use video resumes?  How about video interviews?  In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” Internet Strategies Manager Todd Bossler delves into the word of recruiters and just how much they use video technology.  Some of his discoveries may surprise you . . . and some may not.

How about you?  How much do you use video technology?  Do you plan to use it more in the future?  Your feedback is always appreciated.

Success in Top Echelon Network is predicated upon the building and fostering of relationships . . . and there are some things that don’t contribute positively to that process.  Like pressuring a Trading Partner about a split placement, or specifically, about the check associated with that split placement.

In this episode of “Top Echelon TV,” we take a look at why you shouldn’t pressure another recruiter about a split placement.  And of course, we use a “dramatization” to prove our point more colorfully.  “Who loves ya, baby?”  We do!

Pressuring another recruiter about a split placement is the topic of Top Echelon Network Policy #13, which Preferred Member recruiters of the Network can access in the Members’ Area.  If you have any questions about the policy, or any of the other Top Echelon Network Policies, contact Drea Codispoti at 330.455.1433, Ext. 153.