Antiwork

I live in Massachusetts and back in 2012 I was asked to do a 12 month contract at a big corporation that makes things that blow up other things (I'll just leave it at that). Don't worry, I don't blow things up. I was a web designer and needed to eat. Still, I regret ever working for them. Anyway… About 7 months into the contract, my Dad died. I had to split immediately and fly down to North Carolina to help my Mom. My coworkers were amazing and covered for me, my boss was understanding. About 3 days later I get a call from a coworker asking when I was coming back. He said “Oh it's cool, I'm just letting you know the boss is wondering what's up, especially since in Massachusetts you really only get 3 days officially”. I told him it's not like I'm getting paid leave. I…

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It is amazing to me that companies would rather spend weeks screening and interviewing candidates without saying what the compensation is and risk a declined offer than just be up front about it. I was exploring other opportunities in my local market not too long ago and came across a position similar to what I have now. Two interviews across 2 weeks, both went great. No pay was discussed by either side. Offer comes and is about 15% lower than my current compensation. I countered at 5% lower and asked if there were room for negotiation. They said they couldn’t meet my counter but there is room for negotiation, and then proceeded to not negotiate, they just left it at that. Not being desperate for another opportunity, I declined and thanked them for their time and that was that. It really does just boggle my mind how companies would rather…