Mark Kaye seems to think a lot of job seekers do themselves a disservice. Some apparently wear hand-me-downs. He doesn’t recommend an interview suit your father (or mother) might have worn.

An aspiring software developer was interviewing by telephone with Jerry Masin, then president of an IT career school. The man was discussing his portfolio in excruciating detail. Almost overwhelmed by this highly skilled person, Masin whisked him off the telephone.

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, The job I finally found more than a year ago isn’t worth having. I grabbed the first thing that came up and have regretted it since almost the first day.

Sleep is supposed to be a friend, but sometimes it works at cross-purposes. Tom Churm, after relocating to Germany from the United States, had run-ins over sleep .

Khaleelah Jones, working with contractors in her first freelance job post-college, opened emails attacking her because of her age. Not willing to put up with it, she blocked the emails and spoke with the person by telephone and face-to-face.

SKILLS

Barry Maher tells the story of the young applicant who was getting through to his interview panel until it was time for him to ask questions (barrymaher.com). He seemed surprised that he was supposed to have any. “Then he furrowed his brow,” Maher says, “thought for a moment and came out with, ‘Cross-dressing isn’t a problem, is it?’ He sounded perfectly serious.”

Anger could be impeding your job search, according to career counselor Deborah Brown-Volkman, president of Surpass Your Dreams Inc. in East Moriches, N.Y. She offers a host of reasons.

Q: Last year I wanted a job so badly that I agreed to rent our house and relocate about 1,200 miles. We’ve rented here and the job has gone all right. Meanwhile, the company has asked me to relocate again, because I worked myself out of a job.

You’re in the heat of tax season, looking for deductions. In a moment of desperation you remember last year’s job hunt and the job that put you in this bind. Surely you can find some write-offs, you think. Perhaps.

Ryan Zagata, founder of Brooklyn Cruiser LLC, needed his first commercial loan to accelerate growth. He was a poster-boy with personal assets, a fine credit rating and a strong earnings history in sales. Small-business owners need to “keep looking.”

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I work in an engineering department in a good firm. My boss knows I’m in school, but he’s never said anything about promoting me.

You know that you’ve learned something about interviewing if you can laugh about how you’ve done it. Steven Savage can.

So you’re 24, 40 or 50-plus and you don’t – or no longer – set the world on fire. Job hunters with low energy need to factor that into their job searches by hunting for more stable industries and functions that don’t require them to take charge of a project or team.

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, It’s time to reinvent myself, because the field I’m in is contracting. Getting an offer in that field hasn’t been the problem. I’ve had two. Something is keeping me from deciding.