Applying for a Job Shouldn’t Be Humiliating

Everyone has a job-search horror story or knows someone who does. After flying my husband to Chicago for a day-long interview, one company told him the position had been filled the day before — but that they’d interview him anyway to be “nice.” Another relative was retrieved an hour late from a 60-minute computer test in an empty conference room — and flunked because the company couldn’t verify that she finished on time. Other bad experiences are far too common: Job applications elicit zero response; companies ghost applicants after multiple rounds of hours-long interviews.

Employers, it seems, aren’t as motivated as they should be to respect job applicants’ time, effort and dignity. Hence, a proposal: Set minimum federal standards for the treatment of people looking for work.