In the world of employment, there is one thing we should never forget: behind every job application is a person who has invested time, money, hope, and effort.
Thousands of candidates apply for the same position through proper channels. They spend hours filling out lengthy application forms, preparing CVs, writing cover letters, attending assessments and interviews, travelling long distances, and sometimes even walking under the scorching sun just for the opportunity to be considered.
They spend money on transportation. They take time away from their families. They prepare themselves mentally for interviews. They wait anxiously for phone calls and emails. And many of them face rejection after rejection.
Yet they continue trying.
So, please think twice before using your influence to get someone a job simply because you know them.
There is nothing wrong with recommending a genuinely qualified person when the recommendation means, “Please consider this candidate.” A referral can help someone get their CV noticed. But there is a very different line between referring someone for consideration and using your position or connections to guarantee them a job regardless of the competition.
When you use your influence to bypass a fair recruitment process, you are not simply helping one person.
You may be taking an opportunity away from someone who earned the right to compete for it.
Think about the candidate who spent days preparing for an interview.
Think about the person who travelled across the city, sometimes in extreme heat, just to attend an interview.
Think about someone who borrowed money for transportation because they desperately needed a job.
Think about the candidate who completed every assessment honestly.
Think about the experienced professional who met every requirement but received a rejection because the position had already been informally decided for someone else.
You may never see their disappointment.
You may never know their circumstances.
You may never know how many times they have already heard, “Unfortunately, you were not selected.”
But they feel it.
Every rejection takes a little more energy. Every unsuccessful interview can affect someone’s confidence. Every wasted journey costs money. And every unfairly awarded position can make people question whether their qualifications, experience, and hard work actually matter.
That is why we need to be careful with our influence.
If someone you know is qualified, help them by encouraging them to apply. Help them prepare their CV. Share the vacancy with them. Tell the recruiter about their qualifications. Give them advice about the interview.
But after that, let the recruitment process decide.
Do not pressure someone to hire them.
Do not ask someone to ignore better-qualified candidates.
Do not manipulate the process.
Do not make promises that you cannot ethically justify.
And most importantly, do not turn your connection into someone else’s shortcut at the expense of hundreds or thousands of candidates who followed the rules.
A referral should open a door.
It should not close the door on everyone else.
There is also another side to this issue: sometimes the person receiving the “wasta” may not even realize what has happened. They may simply be grateful that someone helped them. But if they were given a position without genuinely competing for it, they may unknowingly be standing in a place that another deserving candidate worked extremely hard to reach.
Real success should come with the confidence that “I earned this.”
Not:
“Someone I know got this for me.”
We should build workplaces where qualifications, competence, experience, integrity, and performance matter.
If you have influence, use it responsibly.
Use your connections to create opportunities, not to destroy fairness.
Recommend people.
Mentor people.
Guide people.
Encourage people.
But never forget the thousands of other candidates who are also someone’s son, daughter, father, mother, husband, wife, brother, sister, or friend—people who are also trying desperately to build a better life.
Before you use your influence to help one person get a job, remember the thousands of people who may have spent their last money, their last energy, and their last bit of hope trying to earn that same opportunity.
A job is not just a vacancy.
For someone, it could be rent, food, education, family responsibility, dignity, and a chance to rebuild their life.
So if you have the power to influence a hiring decision, use that power with fairness, responsibility, and humanity.
Because helping someone should never require hurting someone else who worked just as hard—or harder—to earn the same opportunity.