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Kansas City Star columnist Mike Hendricks recently learned the hard way what not to do when looking for a job.

Earlier this month, Hendricks wrote a job query to Topeka-based Ogden Publications, expressing his interest in a public relations opening and declaring that he was overqualified for the position.

His approach backfired after his e-mail exchange with the company was made public last week on the Bad Pitch Blog.

The chain of events no doubt serves as a cautionary tale for journalists who are searching for jobs outside the news business. It's a reminder that not everything that's intended to be confidential remains so.

Hendricks, who was moved from full-time to part-time last March, e-mailed Brandy Ernzen, brand manager at Ogden Publications, to say that as a journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he considered himself to be "eminently qualified" for the position, despite not having any PR experience.

"Frankly, if there's a PR person above the PR specialist, I'm probably qualified for that job, too," he wrote, noting that for three decades he has dealt with public relations folks, many of whom "don't have a clue how to sell a story."

He went on to say that, "I would be happy to submit an application, but I'd hate to be wasting your time and mine if it turns out this is some minor league position with a paltry salary."

Ernzen responded that she did not think he would be a good fit for the job and said that public relations encompasses more than pitching journalists. "Our pay may be equivalent to the minor leagues, but I can assure you that we are major-league caliber in every other way," she wrote. "And, by the way, I *am* the person above the PR specialist."

Hendricks, who before this year had not applied for a job since 1984, agreed in a written response to Ernzen that he wasn't suited for the position and said he'd rather be a journalist than a PR specialist.

The Bad Pitch Blog, which generally features lousy story pitches from PR folks and advice on public relations, called Hendricks' initial note to Ernzen "the crown jewel of all bad pitches."

Hendricks acknowledged that the tone of his note was arrogant. And he's not sorry he sent it. "I make no apologies for the letters I sent," he said. "While the Bad Pitch Blog seems to be offended by my remarks, what I said was, while candid, a reflection of my feeling that newspaper work qualifies one to work in the field of public relations."

Hendricks found out about the blog post after looking up his name on Google's blog search. He then contacted Ernzen, and later her boss, to express his frustration that the exchange had been made public. He also notified his editor at The Kansas City Star, Jesse Barker, about what had happened.

"Mike and I talked," Barker said. "I was supportive and that was the end of it. We've moved on." The paper declined to comment further.

One of Hendricks' colleagues, reporter Scott Canon, came to his defense in the comments section of the post, saying, "Assuming what's posted here is authentic, it appears, at worst, that Mike made the mistake of being candid in sending out a feeler for a job opening. God forbid." A Kansas City firm, Bottom Line Communications, called the attacks on Hendricks unethical and unfair.

The McClatchy Watch blog, which has lambasted Hendricks in the past, featured a post about the incident that said: "Hendricks may be pompous, and he has made his share of enemies, but his treatment at Bad Pitch Blog seems abusive to me."

Ernzen told me that she regrets putting Hendricks' reputation at risk by sending his e-mails to Richard Laermer, one of the people who runs the Bad Pitch Blog. She said she did so because she wanted to "vent" to someone about the e-mail exchange.

"I was shocked at the way [Hendricks' e-mail] was presented to me, in part because I felt like it was kind of putting down our industry as a whole," she said. "But from the moment the blog went live I was nauseous. I didn't like it at all and I realized I made a major judgment error."

Laermer, founder and CEO of RLM Public Relations in New York City and a former journalist, wasn't as sympathetic toward Hendricks. After Ernzen sent him the exchange, he started looking into Hendricks' background and reading what bloggers had written about him. Much of what he found, he said, wasn't complimentary.

He published Hendricks' name but withheld Ernzen's because he saw her as the victim in the situation. Laermer found the e-mail exchange insulting and said he doesn't regret publishing it, regardless of criticism that it was unethical.

"For years there's been this inequality between journalists and PR people, and I don't have a problem with it," Laermer said in a phone interview. "It's one thing to make fun of the tactics people use and it's another thing to make fun of an entire industry, and that's exactly what he was doing."

He added that the blog, which typically gets about 10,000 views per post, saw a 70 percent increase in traffic after the Hendricks post went up last Friday. Such spikes often happen, Laermer said, when someone is called out on the blog.

Hendricks expressed his concern over sites that publicly criticize people using information that is otherwise intended to be confidential.

"Anyone applying for a job or even sending out feelers for a job should expect that his correspondence be kept confidential," he said. "I also feel that the blogger shirked his responsibility as a blogger by failing to even verify whether I sent the e-mails ... or to seek any reaction from me."

When Hendricks applies for future jobs, he won't be as trusting. "I think it's like the 'X-Files'; trust no one," he said. "I'm tired of this idea of whatever you put up electronically could end up on someone's else's blog."

Hendricks said he has no plans to blog or write a column about what happened with his foray into public relations. The PR job, by the way, is still available.