Q:
I have recently been given the job of interviewing several candidates for an assistant position for someone who will be working as my assistant at my office. My boss handed me several resumes of people he is interested in me interviewing. One of the people is a friend of mine, whom I really don’t want to work with, however it’s not that I think she would be bad at the job; I just don’t think she would work well with me. However, I don’t know if telling my boss that I don’t want her to work under me is taking away from her parnasa or speaking lashon hara or anything else that I shouldn’t be doing according to halacha. Please help me with this situation!
Rabbi Yehonoson Dovid Hool answered:
Your boss expects you to interview candidates for the job, that will be best suited to work as part of the team that already exists. If you genuinely feel that any particular candidate would not work well with you, you are obliged to point this out to the boss. This is part of the responsibility that he has charged you with, and it would not be right to withhold this information from him. However, you may not exaggerate or add any uncomplimentary features that are untrue. You should include in your report all her advantages, but nonetheless point out to your boss your assessment that she would not work well with you. Then your boss has the necessary information that he requested, and he can make an informed choice as to what is best for his business.
