I am a hcw with 4 years experience in multiple settings so I know my worth. If I am going to be responsible for human lives, I deserve to be compensated enough that I can afford to live. Today I had a phone interview set up for 1 pm. The time comes and goes and there are no texts or calls. I text the interviewer at 1:18 pm and say “Just wanted to confirm our 1 pm interview.” I immediately get a call where she says “oh sorry I had an unexpected visitor” as if that's an excuse for wasting someone's time. She did not know my name or the position I was applying for or my certifications because apparently reading my resume wasn't important enough to her. This was a private duty position and when I responded to her question about how much I was hoping to earn (18 to 20/hr), she said “Unfortunately we don't pay that much. We pay 15/hr.” For private duty home health care??? I immediately said “Thanks for your time. Have a good one” and hung up. I know this isn't a “cool” story and it wasn't a snappy response, but it felt really good to stand up for myself to someone who wasted my time, didn't even read my resume, and then lowballed me. I just knew I wasn't going to waste one more second of my time being polite and listening to a spiel from someone who wasn't going to pay me a living wage to keep other human beings alive which is such a slap in the face. Don't take less than you're worth and let's all stop being polite to companies/people who want you to slave away for pennies.