The story of Elvis Dumervil, has gotten a lot of press lately...but no one has really discussed it as a great example of a few things you can learn during your job search. You can find a full description of what happened here, but basically the came to a verbal agreement with the Denver Broncos but didn’t get the paperwork to the NFL league offices in time...so they cut him, making him a free agent and likely costing him several million dollars.
So, what can we as job seekers or recruiters learn from Elvis Dumervil?
Get it in Writing - I’ve said this for years and I’ll say it for as long as I recruit. Until the deal is in writing....it’s not a deal. The old phrase “It’s not worth the paper it’s written on” comes to mind as people say things all the time, at the end of the day, a verbal agreement won’t hold up.
Deadlines Matter - Apparently the team and Dumervil’s agent were supposed to come to an agreement by 2pm EDT.......that didn’t happen, the paperwork was like seven minutes late and the deal expired. When a company or recruiter tells you a deadline, stick to it......if not, you could find yourself wondering what happened to your offer.
Brinkmanship Fails - The biggest lesson for me is that both parties here, the Broncos and Dumervil played a game of chicken and both of them lost. Rather than sitting down and hammering out a deal, the waited until the very last minute and the whole thing fell apart over logistics. When you’re negotiating an offer, just suck it up and get it done. Games of brinksmanship end up being a lose-lose and that’s not way to start a new job.
Keep an eye on this story, it will be interesting to see how it ends. This move has cost the Broncos about $4M.....what will it cost Dumervil? Stay tuned as it’s going to be fascinating to watch.
More soon and good luck out there....
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