Are YOU afraid of the dark?

Are you afraid of the dark? I remember when I was a young child, I wasn’t just afraid – I was petrified! Every night while I was tucked in and ready for bed, I watched in horror as my parents reached for the light switch. Click! There went the lights. The room was blinding with darkness. That was when the true terror began. There were so many things I couldn’t see, didn’t know, and definitely didn’t trust. The closet sitting in front of my bed could have been fostering a ten-headed monster for all I had known. It was the uncertainty that led to my fear. Like many of you, I feared what I didn’t know.

Let’s fast forward to the present day.

As a high-performance selection Consultant in the present corporate world, I have encountered countless candidates and clients throughout my career. I witness more and more people with the same fear of the dark instilled in their eyes. This fear is not derived from the same form of darkness I encountered when I was young. This fear is brought through the recruitment process.

How does the dark correlate to the recruitment process you might ask? Simply speaking, candidates are left in the dark. More often than not, clients withhold information and feedback regarding the candidates’ application and interview processes, which leads to the feeling of unease and fear of their future.

What intrigues me the most is witnessing how clients treat the recruitment processes and how candidates are handled. It is understandable that clients have a tight schedule and need to use their time wisely. However, it only takes a few minutes to update the Selection Consultant or the candidate regarding the status of the application or interview. Having candidates left in the dark has many effects on various individuals.

Let me elaborate… From a candidate’s point of view, the lack of feedback can ultimately alter their entire career trajectory. Whether or not they are successful in their application or interview, feedback provides them with information that can be turned into knowledge and understanding. According to the response from the client, they can learn from their interview experience. Without adequate feedback, they will never know what went wrong, nor will they know how to improve in future interviews. Furthermore, candidates feel disrespected when they are left in the dark. Without a word from the client often makes them feel that they have been stripped of their right to know. They expect to be treated fairly as they are potentially an asset to the company.

From a Recruitment Consultant’s perspective, one of our biggest fears is clients keeping our candidates’ in the dark. Without adequate information, we are unable fully to understand what the clients desire. This might lead to the failure to select the right candidates for the designated position. Consultants might interpret the lack of transparency as a lack of trust within this partnership. With the lack of communication, Consultants tend to be less motivated to deliver for such clients. There will always be a fear of uncertainty the darkness imbues.

Both, candidates and Consultants, face the same fears of the dark. Communication from the client is key to the recruitment process, especially to the future of the candidates as well as the partnership between clients and Consultants. Regardless if it is a child tucked away in their dark room late at night or a candidate looking for a new career opportunity or even perhaps a Consultant trying to assist in the recruitment process, we all fear the same darkness that looms.

We all fear what we don’t know…

Kind regards,
Jess Lo