Ask Amy: A rude awakening looking for work

DEAR AMY: I am one of millions of Americans who are unemployed. Every day there is more discouraging news to make job seekers feel less secure. The last thing we need is to be treated with a lack of common decency and empathy at this difficult time. I am a clean-cut, talented professional with an excellent resumé, and I have been told I make a good first impression. I have had numerous interviews for midcareer jobs. On many of these occasions, I was appalled by the lack of respect for candidates by the interviewer. One manager came 45 minutes late to a one-hour interview. Another executive excused himself halfway through our conversation and left me to discuss the position with a lower-ranking employee who also was in attendance. Someone else took cell phone calls throughout the meeting, and last week, as I turned around to shake a manager's hand, he had already shut the door. Only one company even bothered to follow up the interviews with an e-mail. The job search is undignified and difficult enough without treating job seekers like cattle. Please remind prospective employers that common courtesy can go a long way toward making a stressed-out job seeker feel a little better about himself and the process.Still Looking

DEAR LOOKING: Thank you for your thoughtful assessment of what can be a humiliating process. Looking for work is a soul-sucking experience, and potential employers should be more aware of it. That having been said, your self-esteem is not anyone else's responsibility. It would be interesting for you to find enterprising ways to turn these humiliations to your advantage.

DEAR AMY: I am appalled that you thought it was OK for an 11-year-old nephew to solicit money for baseball camp from relatives as a Christmas gift. That is crass and the height of rudeness.

Well-mannered Reader

DEAR READER: Many readers were appalled at my view, but as an aunt, I'd be completely fine if my younger nieces or nephews sent an e-mail to me saying, "I am eager to have this experience, and if you'd like to donate money toward it as a Christmas gift to me, I'd appreciate it."