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It cant have been an easy weekend for Katy Zacharia. After being appointed to her dream job of White House Press Secretary, she lasted only five days. There’s no doubt she made some mistakes, and was at best cagey about her legal qualifications. But I have to admit to feeling a dose of sympathy for a woman whose reputation has been so completely and publicly shredded by the world’s media. Zacharia’s plight points to a regular pattern. Recruiting is a tricky business and inevitably some appointments go wrong. When things don’t work out, we instinctively blame the employee and point the finger at them. But what about the people who actually did the hiring in the first place? They hold the power. They are the ones who configured the post and made the choice. And surely with that power should come some responsibility. My job involves a lot of recruiting and so I draw inspiration from the Bible which is filled with stories of a God who calls people and gives them tasks. And by any human standard, God makes some very weird appointments. The murderer Moses to lead his people out of slavery. The harlot Rahab to protect his people in Jericho. The impulsive and boastful Peter to be the rock upon which to build his church. But even when everything seemed to be going wrong, God did not abandon those he had called. He remained responsible for the choices he had made and it was his faithfulness that enabled such people to use their gifts to the full and make a difference. For me, this demonstrates that those who choose and appoint others need to pay attention to how they use the power they hold. Many recruiters do this well, but in recent months I have spoken to countless young adults who are disillusioned by the employment market. Their problem is not that it is competitive - they expect that. What drives them to despair is the way some recruiters seem to them to abuse their power. Young people tell me they apply for jobs and never hear back. They labour over CVs only to find their precious work judged only by an AI bot. They attend interviews but are never informed of the result. The whole process undermines their gifts and leaves them feeling humiliated and despairing. But work should be for everyone a place of dignity. Behind every job application, there lies a precious and beloved human being. If we want a society to which all can contribute, then those who hold power over the lives of others need to use it with wisdom and compassion.