Nepotism and favoritism are now common when it comes to giving jobs. Special favors to relatives and friends by those in high places are especially evident during personal interviews of job applicants. Jobseekers anxiously wait for the moment of the interview which will determine their careers. Interviews are meant as a means of additionally evaluating applicants’ qualifications in order to determine who is best for the job.
In many cases, however, the interview becomes a joke with the interviewer asking irrelevant and sometimes even silly questions. It is unfortunately not always principles and ethics which govern the selection of people for jobs. Some of those in high positions do not hesitate to trample on morals and act unjustly by favoring certain applicants over others.
Employment rules and ethics are meant to guarantee justice and equality by treating every applicant in the same way, regardless of what the applicant’s connection with the interviewer is. Some influential individuals abuse their positions and favor certain individuals over others, even if those favored are neither qualified nor competent to deserve special treatment.
Personal interviews are now used to favor the unqualified over the qualified. I am personally able to document several cases in which nepotism and favoritism have been used to disqualify people so that certain other individuals may be chosen for the job.
I recall a common joke widely circulated among jobseekers. The interviewer asked an applicant how many Algerians were killed during the Algerian war of liberation against the French. The applicant answered that the number was one million — as is well-known by pupils all over the Arab world. The interviewer then asked the applicant to list the names of those killed.
And here is another joke. A manager asked several applicants what one plus one was. All except one answered two and he said, “Sir, the total is the number of your choice. If you say three, then it is three but if you say five, then it is five.” With a big smile, the manager told the young man he had just been appointed office manager. So this is how business is conducted and how rules, ethics and principles count for nothing at all.
