[A note from the editor: We’ve often highlighted the successes of our customers over on the Pinnacle, our blog for Top Echelon Network members. But now, we’ve decided to run a case study series on our public Recruiter Training blog, too. Our hope is that these recruiters’ stories will give you inspiration for your own success! If you’d like to be featured in this series, please contact us.]
Debbi Reiger of Reiger Technical Search, Ltd., an Ohio Recruiter’s Association member, is based in Columbus, OH. She has been a Top Echelon Network member since 2008, with a 20+ year recruiting niche of Information Technology. Since joining, Debbi has cashed in more than $270,000 in split placement fees through the Network–over a quarter of a million dollars!
Let’s take a look at Debbi’s five-step blueprint for long-term recruiting success:
#1—Start small and expand from there.
Debbi learned the recruiting ropes at another well-established executive search firm for 8+ years prior to opening her own firm. Once she made that switch in 1988, she built out a solid niche IT client base in Columbus. Only in later years did she begin expanding her client base throughout the nation.
As Debbi says on her website, she has “weathered the ups and downs of the hiring market and is not in the business for the ‘quick’ money of the market upturns.” She takes the slow and steady approach to recruiting success, and it is certainly keeping her in the race.
#2—Take your time and ramp up when you’re ready.
Debbi has been making between four and six placements in the Network per year for the past five years. However, she joined in 2008, which means she didn’t make her first split for three years.
While she took her time getting started, she was “all in” once she began, making 27 split placements with seven trading partners in a five-year period. That’s over a quarter of a million dollars that she would not have made, if not for her Top Echelon trading partners!
#3—Be a niche specialist, but also a career generalist.
Debbi focuses exclusively in the IT niche. However, she places those professionals at all levels of their career, from hands-on technical positions to project managers and C-level executives. How does she find success? By focusing across the board on building “solid, long-term client and candidate” relationships.
She spends the time necessary to understand her clients’ needs and candidates’ interests so she can match the two successfully. She also knows that unless it’s a good match for both, it isn’t the right match. This is clear in her Top Echelon placement statistics–she supplies the candidate for a split just as often as she supplies the job order.
#4—Treat people well and make great connections.
Debbi attended her first Top Echelon conference in 2010, and made her first five Network placements the very next year. Coincidence? Unlikely. Debbi has been attending conferences and making splits regularly ever since, and she shows no signs of slowing down. As a result, she is well-respected and connected in the Network. Let one of her trading partners tell you directly:
“After nearly two years with the Network and regular communication with my Core Group, I had two offers accepted and one candidate placed through the Network in the month of April. All three splits were with Debbi Reiger.
“She has been so great to work with and truly a ‘partner’ during the recruiting and placement process. Each placement had its own set of complications, but in the end, we combined our experience and came to a win-win situation for everyone. Thanks, Debbi!”
#5—Make use of ALL your resources.
Debbi has been a Top Echelon Network member since 2008, a Big Biller recruiting software user since 2009, and a Big Biller Job Board website plug-in user since 2009. The integration of these products saves her time and helps her make more placements, and Top Echelon has been happy to assist in Debbi’s success over the years.
This case study was originally published on the Ohio Recruiters Association website.
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