The New & Improved (Worker) You

It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: When (and if) I get another job, what kind of worker will I be?

It’s a question I’m sure a lot of unemployed people think about (mostly because we don’t have much else to do with no job). That’s because after a layoff, an extended jobless period and serial rejections, your perceptions of the workplace and your place in it are unalterably changed.

I’ve read articles quoting unemployed persons saying that when they get another job, they will be perfect employees, working overtime and doing everything that is asked of them.

Whenever I read a statement like that, I think to myself, “Well, you were a perfectly good worker before the layoff and where did it get you?”

If this recession has proved anything, it’s that no one is safe from a layoff. It doesn’t matter how long you have worked for a company or the quality of your work. If revenues are down and the powers-that-be decide you have to go to save the company or themselves and their handpicked puppets, you are gone.

At my prior job, I did no less than two jobs simultaneously within the company. I was the second most senior person in my department. I even came into work everyday while I was undergoing treatment for a serious illness. Many years I never used all my vacation days.

I always did what was asked of me, took work home on the weekends and helped out colleagues when called upon to do so. I got good performance reviews. I had never worked as hard I did in the two months before I was laid off.

None of that mattered. I was laid off anyway.

Yet, looking back, I was stupid to think my hard work and seniority would protect me from a layoff.

Despite articles that advise you how to avoid a layoff (http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/111150/tips-for-staying-off-the-chopping-block?mod=career-worklife_balance), I’m not so sure there is anything you can do to prevent an involuntarily termination. If your company is downsizing or the work you once did for the firm is no longer considered vital, you’re a goner.

As my former boss told us in a meeting before I was laid off, there is no such thing as job security. Wow! What a stirring motivational speech! Surely that qualifies in the annals of great management practices. Why none of us didn’t run out of the door then still amazes me. Of course, by terminating any staff member that could possibly threaten his position, he certainly has managed to make his job secure.

But he is right. Job security in any profession is a thing of the past. The sooner we realize that the less heartache we’ll deal with later when we are told to pack up our desks and leave.

There is no way I’m going to be the same employee I was before my layoff. I’ve learned some hard lessons. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In a new job, you can use those lessons to become a better worker and colleague, or at least one with a healthier perspective on the workplace.

In the interest of full disclosure, yes, I‘ve made mistakes in my work. No one is perfect and I certainly am not. But I always owned up to my mistakes and try to make amends.

One of my biggest problems is my tendency to put my foot in my mouth. I sometimes think I was born with shoe leather between my teeth. Again, I always apologized and tried to keep my mouth shut. And if I ever overstepped my bounds, there was always someone there to put me in my place—and rightfully so.

Overall, I always strived to be a good, respectful co-worker. And I can say with assurance that I took more lumps from nasty workers and bosses than I ever gave out. If anything, I should have complained more about the abuse I received.

All this has helped me come up with The New Rules for the New & Improved (Worker) You:

Two Years and Out. Looking back in hindsight, I wonder why I stayed for 16-plus years at my prior job. What an idiot I was! I deluded myself into thinking I mattered to the company, when in reality, my bosses treated me horribly at times. I gave so much to the company and in the end I was just a deck chair on the Titanic to them, something that could easily be thrown overboard when they wanted to save themselves as revenues fell.

Before I took that job, the longest I stayed in any job was six years. I worked at one job for only two years and another one, four. Never again will I work for one company for an extended period of time. It’s certainly not to anyone’s benefit. Seniority doesn’t matter anymore, so why stay longer than two years at any one workplace?

Therefore, I would definitely think about leaving after two years. It could be sooner, or later. But two years is a long enough time to get a lay of the workplace and learn the skills you can transfer to another company. Two years is also long enough that hiring executives at other companies won’t see you as someone who is simply hopping from job to job after brief periods.

Now, any HR executive reading this might think, Why should we expend the time and effort training someone who will leave after two years? Well, my answer to that is: Can you guarantee me that the company will keep me employed for one year, let alone two years? Loyalty is a two-way street. If companies want the freedom to lay off workers at will, then we employees have the freedom to say, Bye-Bye at any time we choose.

Be Friendly, but Don’t Make Friends. Yet another trap I fell in to repeatedly. No matter how nasty co-workers were to me or how many times they stabbed me in the back, I persisted in thinking they were my friends. They were not and I was wrong to think otherwise. They were simply looking out for themselves and their own careers. Nothing wrong with that.

That doesn’t mean I will be nasty to co-workers. Just the opposite: I will be kind, cordial, respectful and helpful. I am not a backstabber and never will be. I just won’t be their friend. I won’t bring in bagels or candy. If you want to get a coffee and doughnut, go to the nearest Dunkin Donuts. It ain’t coming from me.

No longer will I generously give out birthday and holiday gifts to co-workers. If a loved one of a colleague passes away, I will be sure to give a sympathy card. But that’s about as much as they will get out of me.

It’s always tricky to make friends at work. Professional jealousy can make it difficult. If that person wants a promotion, and you are in the way, he or she will trample over you in a nanosecond. A few of my co-workers knew I as well as others in the office were going to be laid off. But did they try to save my job? Nah. They saved another colleague, but threw me under the bus. Gee, thanks guys.

One thing that you should never do is complain about a co-worker to a superior. Most bosses don’t want to be bothered. Even if you feel justified in your complaints, you will look petty by complaining to your boss. You will be seen as a troublemaker, a whiner, and the situation may not change. If someone is truly a lousy worker, he or she will eventually be found out without any help from you. In my experience, I've found whenever I complained about a co-worker, it backfired on me and I got screwed. And if you don't want colleagues talking about you behind your back, then don't do it to them.

Now, if someone is truly being abusive, then you can always go to the HR person for mediation. But always be professional and never make personal attacks. Yet be aware that your complaints may not alter the circumstances.

And how often after you have left a job do you keep in touch with former co-workers? Not very often, particularly when you live far away from each other.

Better to make friends out of the workplace. There is no professional jealousy between you. Plus, someone outside the office provides an objective sounding board for whatever problems you may be having in the office. And there is no danger of them tattling your comments to bosses or co-workers. Sweet.

In general, the best tactic is to be cordial and respectful to your colleagues, mind your own business and never discuss politics and religion in the workplace. If you do that, you’ll do fine.

Take Your Vacation Days! I was one of those employees who always had at least a week of unused vacation days by the end of the year. Since my company didn’t allow us to carry over more than three days and we would not be paid for unused time, I lost those days. On one hand, the company wanted us to use our vacation time, but trying to schedule days off was like planning a military mission. If the production schedule didn’t permit it or if someone else, like my boss, wanted to take that day off, I couldn’t take it. I was screwed. All I did was give the company more extra work for no reward. I'll never make that mistake again. Ever.

Never Make Your Office Your Second Home—Unless You’re Prepared to Get Evicted at a Moment’s Notice. How many of us junk up our desks with useless bric-a-brac? Although my brown thumb prevented me from bringing in plants, I was as guilty of desk clutter as the next person. Since I knew my layoff was eminent, I started taking my stuff home three days before I got the boot. Three days to clean out my desk! Really, I had too much junk on my desk, and I think by having all that stuff gave me a false sense of permanence. I’ll never make that mistake again. All I need is my coffee cup, a calendar and maybe one personal photo. (Okay, maybe a picture of Mark Sanchez.) That’s it. Next time I get laid off I’ll be able to take all my stuff home in one bag.

Always Do Your Best. This sounds simplistic, but it’s worth saying again. Do the best job you can, never complain, be respectful of bosses and colleagues. You certainly don’t want to get terminated for poor performance or silly tiffs with co-workers. But just be aware that good work alone will never save you from a layoff. Never. Yet at the very least, if you do a good job, you can hold your head high even as your superiors treat you shabbily.

Remember, work is work, it’s not your life.

The One That Got Away

My job search took an odd turn this week, one that underscores the main themes of this blog: the frustrations unemployed people confront, the emotional roller coaster we have to deal with on a daily basis, as well as the un-freakin’-believable incompetence of hiring executives.

Earlier this month, I went on an interview for a job at a health-related website. I spoke with the editor and the HR person, and if I do say so myself, the interviews went well. I took an editing test, which took me two days to complete.

So imagine my elation when I got an email inviting me back for a second interview. Wow! I must have done okay on the test. I might have a real shot at this job.

So I go to the office at the appointed time. The editor comes out to greet me and says, “Oh, I already spoke to you.” Uh-oh. This can’t be good.

Then she gets the HR lady, who tells me to sit in a meeting room. She then comes back and tells me, Opps, sorry, you were called in by mistake. I said I got an email from her and even confirmed it. She apologized—somewhat—and told me she would see if I was still a candidate for the job via email as I was quickly ushered to the door.

I, being the desperate job seeker, was polite and said it was okay. I didn’t live too far from the office, so it was no problem coming in for what turned out to be an unnecessary trip. Hey, money is tight and my gas tank was near empty, but no problem. I don’t mind wasting my time for a job I was obviously not going to get.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. When I said I didn’t have to drive too far, she said: “Well, at least it got you out and about.”

WHAT THE …!

Listen, honey, contrary to popular belief, jobless people don’t spend all day in their pajamas, eating junk food in bed and watching TV. (Well, okay I do watch some soaps, but most of the time, I’m actively looking for a job on the Internet, doing freelance work, running errands, visiting doctors, and yes, even going on interviews for which I’m not called in by mistake.)

Although I don’t rise at the crack of dawn as I once did when I had to commute into the city, I do get out of bed in the morning hours, exercise, shower daily and put on decent clothes.

What really hurts is that I wanted the job. The office was in easy commuting distance from my home and the job would have utilized my prior experience while giving me a chance to learn some new skills.

When I got that email for a second interview, I was so hopeful. And then….

So I waited a day, and finally wrote an email saying I was sorry for the confusion (although it wasn’t my fault) and reiterating my interest in the job.

After that, I got the standard “we are pursuing other candidates for the position” email from said HR lady. Never did she say she was sorry for calling me in by mistake, her mistake, by the way. Must be nice to be totally incompetent yet still have a job. Considering it was her mistake, she should have contacted me first, not the other way around.

I’m sure she is busy, but her only job is to schedule interviews. That’s it. And she can’t do that without messing up!

But I don't regret going after the job, despite the hurtful outcome. As any unemployed person would do, I pursued a viable employment opportunity and acted professionally every step of the way. The same cannot be said of the moron of an HR person I encountered. I lost out on the job, but the company also missed hiring a skilled, experienced, hard-working individual.

Yes, I’m disappointed, but more than that, I feel jerked around. Did it ever occur to her that my feelings might have been hurt by what she did?

It’s not like I have any recourse. I wasn’t hired at the company, so who do I complain to? To her, I’m just another unemployed loser not worth the most basic of common courtesies: an apology for hurting my feelings and inconveniencing me because of her mistake.

Alas, jobless people don’t have feelings or rights, according to HR people and most politicians.

I guess I’ll never know why I wasn’t chosen for the job. Did I flunk the test? Did I have too much experience for the job? Or too little experience for what the company was looking for in this particular position?

Unemployed job seekers face many disappointments and frustrations in their search for new employment. If I hadn’t been contacted—mistakenly—for what I thought was a second interview, I don’t think I would have felt so crushed. At some point, continual disappointment turns into despair. Intentional or not, what that HR women did was cruel, simply cruel, to someone who has been out of work for nearly a year.

And people wonder why it’s hard for unemployed people to feel optimistic. Try being enthusiastic during an interview while you are still trying to recover from the sting of another rejection email. It's not easy.

Most sinister of all, is she one of those HR people who reject applicants simply because they were laid off and are currently out of work? (See: “No Unemployed Need Apply.”)

Well, bitch, I worked at a company for 16-plus years. One day, I was taken into an office, told the company’s revenues were down (not my area of responsibility, but, hey, someone else has to take the fall for management’s stupidity); therefore, my position was being eliminated, so pack up your desk and leave.

I did nothing wrong. I was a good worker. But unlike someone who can’t make interview appointments correctly, I had to suffer the consequences of someone else’s incompetence.

People Say the Darndest Things!

Growing up, I remember a book we kept in our house. Put out by the same company that published Mad Magazine, it was titled, “Mad’s Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions.”

It went something like this: There would be a picture of somebody talking on the phone. Somebody else in the illustration would then ask, “Are you on the phone?” To which the person on the phone would reply, “No, I’m digging wax out of my ear with this lovely scoop.” In another one, a couple goes to a restaurant. The maitre d’ asks, “Table for two?” The man replies, “I don’t know. I can’t count that high either.” You get the drift.

I bring up the book now because I sometimes would like to have a snappy—okay, sarcastic—answer to some of the mind-numbing, un-freakin-believably stupid things people have said to me when I tell them I’ve been laid off.

Number one on the list: “When one door closes, another one opens.” Yeah, I know what you mean: When one opportunity comes to an end, another one will show itself.

True enough, I guess. But to a recently laid-off person, it sounds hollow, like a cliché is supposed to make us feel better about our situation. The door was unexpectedly, painfully slammed in our face and when another one will open is far from certain, especially with a near-10% unemployment rate and employers still not hiring.

So what’s my snappy answer? How about: “I sure hope that other door opens soon. Otherwise, I’ll be hitting you up for money when I’m homeless.”

Oh, all right, a bit nasty, I agree. But why do people who are employed throw clichés in our faces when we are facing financial ruin?

That’s why I talk to only those people who are also unemployed about my feelings. They understand, but they also urge me not to give up.

Yet in my experience, I’ve found that people rarely know what to say when someone has just told them of an unfortunate event. It’s like they want to separate themselves from the bad news lest it could happen to them. Case in point: I once told a co-worker my mother had been diagnosed with cancer. And she said—no lie: “Well, there’s no history of cancer in my family,” and walked away from me. Maybe she thought she would catch the disease from me. A bit cold, don’t you think?

Nevertheless, in this economy, I certainly can understand a person’s fear and need to distance him or herself from something as unsettling as a job loss, which could happen to anyone, at anytime. Just hearing about it makes them jumpy and tongue-tied, like they are thinking to themselves, “Oh, no! Let me get away from this unemployed loser before I get laid off too!” It’s like we’re lepers.

Speaking of tongue-tied, here are some more stupid statements…and the snappy answer I should have retorted.

“Everybody gets laid off.” Jeez, in that case, why work at all? Maybe I should start robbing banks.

“Most people are out of work for a year or more.” On that cheery note, pass me the razor blade.

“You’ll find something.” Will it happen before I’m homeless?

“They laid you off to save the company.” Call the Vatican! Since I no longer have a job, I want sainthood. (For more on that ridiculous response, see “Sacrificial Lambs.”)

Instead of stock clichés or some meaningless bromide, how about a little empathy? Why not say something like, “Sorry to hear that. It’s tough, but you are not alone. Best of luck in your search for a new job.”

Or better yet, rather than offering up some stupid statement, give a jobless person something concrete, like a job lead or help writing a resume. Tell them where they can go to get new training or help in their job search. In this instance, actions speak louder than words.

Ch-Ch-Changes

My current jobless state has me thinking a lot about the nature of change.

Ah, change. A small word with so many meanings.

Some look at a layoff as a path to reinvent themselves, find their true passion, learn a new skill, find a new career or even start their own business. For example, my sister has gone back to school to study culinary arts. Good for her.

Going back to school is an option I have considered. I just need to decide what to study, and, most important, if a new career will guarantee me a job that will be as fulfilling to me as writing. Oh, and how will I pay for it?

For now, I’m just trying to cope with being unemployed, and it doesn’t get any easier as time goes on.

To me, there are two kinds of change. There’s the kind of change that you make yourself, and there’s the change that is hoisted upon you through no fault or action of your own.

Within the latter category are such life-changing events as a serious illness, death of a loved one, divorce and yes, a layoff. You have no control, or limited control, over those changes, which makes them particularly stressful and frustrating.

It’s said that while you cannot change such events, how you react to them is within your control. You can either let them defeat you, or you can persevere.

In that regard, I admit I have not handled my layoff particularly well. So far.

Then there is the change you make yourself: finding a new job, or direction to your life, moving to a new city, getting out of a bad relationship—all worthy endeavors. At least you have control over your fate in those instances.

But sometimes I think our society pushes people to make a change for change’s sake. Anybody who appears contented with their routine in life is said to be a stick in the mud and boring. They are mocked and told to get out of their comfort zone.

Instead, it’s the person who makes a Big Change that is applauded, even if that change is rather risky, ill advised, not well thought out, or possibly even unnecessary.

Yet I’m being judgmental and I shouldn’t be. It’s a personal choice. Some people want stability and security; others crave drama and volatility. Nothing inherently wrong with either of those choices. All we can do is support those around us who are going through a major life change.

Whether to make a change or not also depends on where you are in life. When my mother was terminally ill, I visited her in the hospital every day after work. It was emotionally draining and stressful. Not only did I have to take care of her financial affairs, I had to watch her slowly die day after day for nine months.

When she passed, all I wanted to do was get back to my normal routine of going to work and coming home to eat my dinner. I needed that normalcy.

Now, after the upheaval of a job loss, I’m looking for the stability of employment, or at least some consistent routine or direction to my life.

Of course, nothing is set in stone. If someone is unhappy with a sedate life, he or she can always spice it up. If someone is tired of a chaotic existence, he or she can calm it. It’s up to the individual when and how to make that change.

The subject of change also brings me to the book and movie, Eat Pray Love. No, I haven’t read the book nor do I plan on seeing the movie. But I’ve read enough about the book and movie to get the gist of it.

The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, was unhappy after a divorce and decided to travel to Italy, India and Indonesia. Her travels were the basis of her book, Eat Pray Love. (So where do you think Italy is in that progression?)

From what I can gather, people either hate the book or love it. Some see it as a parable of an unhappy woman seeking spiritual contentment. Others say the book is nothing more than self-absorbed drivel.

Well, the argument is silly. We all want to be happy and have the right to pursue that happiness any way we choose. Just because she was able to finance her quest with a hefty book advance does not diminish her yearning for happiness, a yearning that is universal.

At the time she decided to go on her journey, she needed a change, to find peace of mind. But I find it interesting and instructive to note that she is now happily married and living—in all places!—rural New Jersey.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that are there are times in our lives when we need to make a radical change; other times, we need stability.

Right now, I’m look forward to the stability of a job, but also the opportunity to learn new skills in that job.

That is, of course, if I can get myself hired.

The Job Seekers Manifesto

Throughout my life, I’ve gone through some epic job searches. Searches that have lasted for a year, no lie. And that’s when I had a job. So it should be no surprise that I’m nearing a year with no job in sight after I was laid off.

But this experience has given me an interesting perspective on what it’s like to search for a job. We hear so much about what job seekers should and shouldn’t do. How we should dress and act, what questions to ask. Research the company first. What our resumes should look like, and on and on.

But no one ever talks about how the interviewer or the HR person should treat us, the poor, downtrodden job seeker. Of course, every HR person knows what questions are legally not permissible to ask. What I’m talking about is simply how those HR people treat us as fellow human beings.

Believe me, I’ve met up with some wackos during my job searches. Certifiable nutcases.

The first and worst one that comes to mind is the guy who literally starting screaming at me during the interview over what he thought were inconsistencies in my employment history. Hey, if he thought there was something amiss on my resume (there wasn’t; I’m honest to a fault), why did he call me in for an interview in the first place? Why subject me to his tirade?

I left that interview shaken. I had to sit down and compose myself for 10 minutes. I was younger then, so my self-confidence (never high to begin with) was completely shattered. I thought I had done something wrong, when, really, he should not have called me in if he only wanted to berate me.

What I should have done, instead of just slinking away, was contact his supervisor to complain about his behavior, which was truly unnecessary. I was there for a job interview, not to rob his wallet. Alas, I did not. It took me quite a while to feel at ease again in a job interview after that bizarre experience.

Speaking of bizarre, I once went to an interview where the lady who interviewed me said she didn’t have my resume. So she then proceeded to sit at her desk and stare at me, never asking me a question. Instead, I had to recite my employment history to her, while she sat there like a statue, seeming annoyed and waiting for me to leave. Oh, she told me a little bit about her company, but that was it. It was as if I had no shot at the job simply because she hadn’t taken the time to put my resume on her desk. What a birdbrain!

Yes, I should have brought a copy of my resume (and I might have; it was so long ago, I forgot if I did or not). But shouldn’t she have had a copy on her desk if she knew I was coming in for an interview? She wasted my time…as well as hers.

There’s more. I remember going on an interview where I sat in the waiting room while a company-wide gathering was obviously taking place in a nearby meeting room. What was said in that meeting I do not know. Was the company just sold? Was it downsizing? All I know is the woman who interviewed me afterward was downright nasty to me. Look, I understand if something in the meeting upset her. But she had no right to take it out on me, a perfect stranger whose only crime was that I happened to be the first person she encountered after the meeting. She could have rescheduled the interview or told me the position was no longer open. You know, treat me with a modicum of dignity and respect.

Then there are hiring practices that simply defy any rational explanation. Like the time I was told by a supervisor that I would not be hired unless the receptionist outside his door approved of me. Just to be clear, I did nothing more than pass by this woman and she gets to decide whether I was qualified or not for the position! Need I tell you how that turned out? I didn't get the job. Guess she didn’t like the clothes I was wearing.

Looking back, the thing that makes me most angry is that I sat there and took their appalling behavior without question.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have gone on a couple of interviews where I was ill prepared and not at the top of my game. It happens, but in my case, very few times. I get nervous at job interviews and come off, in some instances, like a stammering space cadet. But never, ever have I been rude to the interviewer. I come well dressed and strive to act polite and professional. Wish the same could be said for the aforementioned HR people.

Think about it: If I blow an interview, I lose out on a job. If the HR person acts unprofessionally to an applicant, nothing happens to him or her. Where's the accountability?

Above all, job seekers do not want to waste time going on an interview where they have no hope of getting hired. That also wastes the time of the interviewer. So both sides have something at stake.

Speaking of a waste of time: I once interviewed for a job at a publication where they called me back twice and made me take a test. No problem with that. But then I get a letter saying that while I was an attractive candidate (God, I hate that phrase!) the editor decided to hire a former colleague. Well, if you knew you wanted to hire your BFF in the first place, why call me in for two interviews and make me take a test? And that was when I had a job, so getting the time off wasn’t easy.

And it’s not just me who has met up with unprofessional HR people. A former colleague told me of an interview she went on where the interviewer was quite rude. As my former co-worker was leaving the office, she asked the interviewer when she should expect to hear back. This is a rather innocuous question and one that the HR person usually answers without being prompted. Instead of being told in a couple weeks (again, a standard response), the interviewer pointed to a stack of papers on her desk and said with a sneer, “See all those papers. That’s everybody who has applied!” My former colleague replied, “Well, hire one of them.” She was a much braver person than I, but she was right to call out the interviewer on her unwarranted testy response.

I’ve read that we job seekers should not expect companies to inform us if we don’t get a job after we’ve interviewed for it. Of course, if we don’t hear from a company within a certain time period we understand we did not get the job. We’re not that stupid.

But sometimes it’s nice to get an email. If we’ve taken the time to travel to your office, sometimes taking off from our jobs, then the least you can do in return is send an email. It’s as if a near 10% unemployment rate gives HR people the right to forego common courtesy.

Sometimes, however, those emails can be a double-edged sword. Like when you find out the person they hired once worked for the New York Times. That’s right, the HR person sent me the hiring announcement. Wonderful, just wonderful. I am sooooo screwed if I’m going up against former NY Timers.

Other times, I found out whom the company did hire. In some instances, the person simply had the knowledge base they were looking for that I lacked. Then there was the intern right out of college they hired on the cheap. Oh, well…

To an HR person, we are just one more name on their daily to-do list. But for long-term unemployed, getting an interview is like winning the lottery. We get our hopes up, and to have them dashed in such a rude and unfeeling manner hurts.

So what is the right attitude a job seeker should take when faced with such blatant disregard for our humanity? What about what WE want and expect?

Here it is—the Job Seekers Manifesto:

• Don’t waste our time interviewing us for a job we have no hope of getting. You can see our experience from our resumes. I, for one, only apply for jobs where my background matches up as close as possible to what the company is seeking. Only call in those candidates who have a reasonable shot at getting the job, especially if we are forced to undergo numerous interviews and tests. We don’t like being disappointed any more than you like wasting your time interviewing us.

• Please don’t ask us stupid or silly questions that have no bearing on whether a person can do the job. Are we being interviewed for a job or undergoing a psych evaluation? My favorite: Where do you see yourself in five years? Well, in five years I hope to be alive. Is there any other answer to that asinine question?

• Be on time. Yes, I understand unforeseen meetings can delay you, just as traffic or other circumstances can delay an interviewee. But to be forced to cool our heels for 30 minutes or more in a lobby is unacceptable. Just because we are unemployed doesn’t mean our time is less important than yours.

• But most of all, show us respect. It’s not easy finding a job these days, and unemployed people face an uphill battle. If after meeting with me face to face, you do not believe I would be a good candidate for the job for whatever reason, that’s acceptable. What isn’t acceptable is rude and downright nasty behavior toward someone who simply wants to work.

In today’s job market, employers hold the upper hand and seemingly have the all rights. But job seekers still retain their right to be treated with dignity as human beings.