Recruiting? Do your DUE DILIGENCE!

Yes, I did exactly what I always say to NOT do! And now I'm PAYING FOR IT!!

 

A few weeks ago we bought a travel trailer to enjoy the upcoming summer season with the family outside of the city. The process to find one that was light weight, in good condition and had enough space was long, but good things come to those who do their due diligence ...... (remember this!)

 

Although the trailer we found could be pulled by our SUV, I did think it might be easier to have a truck (despite the current gas prices lol). Without actively searching for one, I did come across a truck not too far from my home that had just been listed on Marketplace. It seemed in decent condition and (here's the catch), had a very attractive price .....

 

Immediately I contacted the owner and asked if we could come see it. He mentioned he had a lot of interest but was selling it because they were moving and because of gas prices they didn't use the truck anymore.

 

Initially he wasn't going to hold it for anyone but when I mentioned that my neighbour was a mutual friend, he agreed to hold it so we could come take a look at it. And so we did ......

 

I drove out the next day, and nothing seemed off. Yes there was a little bit of rust and a cracked bumper as mentioned. Unfortunately there were no license plates on the truck so I couldn't take it for a real spin but did drive it down the street ....... and it seemed fine. The engine ran smooth (from what I could hear).

 

The seller also showed me some previous maintenance work that had been done on the truck so that did give me some confidence I wouldn't buy a lemon. (or so I thought)

 

Since I'm not a Mechanic I asked if it would be ok to have the truck checked out to which he responded that he needed it gone ASAP and had other people lined up so the answer was NO, he did not want to wait for that. (🚩🚩🚩)

 

However, he was willing to give a discount for the cracked window if I would buy it. AND I FELL FOR IT .......

 

We signed the paperwork, and agreed I would pick it up in the coming week.

 

All said and done, I transferred the 💲💲 and picked up the truck a few days later and brought it to the shop to have it checked out.

 

And that was the end of the truck ......

 

During the inspection it became clear that the maintenance that supposedly had been done on the truck apparently wasn't actually done. The issues still existed and things were even worse. (According to the shop, the seller would have known 😡 …..)

 

Long story short, it seemed like it pretty much needed a new engine. Of course, despite the fact I purchased the truck as is, I contacted the seller and told him about this to which his response was ........ "I assumed they had done the work but maybe they missed something?" And he went dead silent after that .....

 

So here I am, having a truck that is of no use and costs too much money to fix for us at this moment. So, I listed it as a MECHANICS SPECIAL with the honest truth about its condition hoping to regain a little bit of money that I invested.

 

🤞 that works ;-).

 

My lesson:

 

When a deal seems too good to be true, do your due diligence and don’t be too 🇳🇱 😉.

 

What does this have to do with Recruitment you might wonder?

 

Let me explain.

 

Recruitment is a very competitive industry. There are many capable, trustworthy professionals who can help organizations locate and attract potential employees (or contractors). The flip-side is, there are also many incapable, untrustworthy service providers who talk a big game but have unethical business practices.

 

For example:

 

• They promote your position with candidates so they can introduce them to you without have an actual agreement with your organization;
• They send resumes of potential candidates without their approval
• They successfully place a candidate with your organization and re-engage them for a new search later with another organization
• They withhold information about a candidate that is critical for you to know in order to make a conscious decision whether said candidate is someone you want to hire or not etc.

 

Knowing all this, why do organizations still engage service providers like this? That is a very good question and I dare to say, PRICE often is the main motivator.

 

Despite the fact I know our service should be valued at a certain price because of the quality service and value we provide, I did fall for it myself being on the other side of the table.

 

Yes, I certainly am pissed off at the seller for not giving full disclosure on the truck and not being honest. And it sucks having to deal with this but this sure isn’t giving me any positive energy.

 

So I will deal with this consequence and know that I will NEVER sacrifice my integrity to make some quick cash. Plus, I will for sure do my due diligence in the future. Especially when it is related to a product or service I am not overly familiar with.

 

Our tips for you:

 

If you’re hiring and (interested in) working with an external service provider, do your due diligence - (who is the best partner for you):

 

• The cheapest price doesn’t always give you the best value and  neither does the most expensive one;
• Make sure you understand what service you are paying for;
• Ensure the service provider has ethical business practices;
• Focus on building long(er) term relationships with your service provider(s) - that is how you build true Brand Ambassadors;
• Recruiting isn’t just about volume, in today’s market it’s more about finding the needle in the haystack to add value to your organization;

 

Lastly, if you don’t actually want to engage one specific recruitment service provider but rather have 5 different agencies go to market to help you find potential new employees, be aware they might all be fishing from the same pond. As a result, potential employees might hear from several recruiters about the same opportunity which can come across as desperate. Do you want to be remembered as a desperate employer?

 

We sure hope you don’t!

 

If you have any questions, comments or would like to know how Next International operates, feel free to give us a call or send us a message.

 

Our promise, if we can’t help you, it’s likely we can refer you to someone else who can!