[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":286},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-know-your-worth-part-2":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":273,"description":274,"extension":275,"featured":276,"meta":277,"navigation":278,"part":267,"path":279,"seo":280,"series":20,"stem":281,"tags":282,"tldr":284,"__hash__":285},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fknow-your-worth-part-2.md","How to Spot Bad Deals and Break the Cycle",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":265},"minimark",[9,22,27,30,37,43,53,59,65,71,80,84,91,102,105,121,124,138,149,152,156,159,166,173,179,185,192,196,199,202,239,246,249,252],[10,11,12],"p",{},[13,14,15,16,21],"em",{},"This is Part 2 of the ",[17,18,20],"a",{"href":19},"\u002Fblog\u002Fknow-your-worth","Know Your Worth"," series. If you haven't read Part 1 on the desperation spiral and contract red flags, start there.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"how-to-spot-a-bad-deal","How to Spot a Bad Deal",[10,28,29],{},"I've been around enough to smell these from a mile away. Here's what to look for:",[10,31,32,36],{},[33,34,35],"strong",{},"The salary is \"competitive.\""," This means \"we don't want to tell you what it is because you'll stop talking to us.\" Real companies quote numbers. Bullshit artists use adjectives.",[10,38,39,42],{},[33,40,41],{},"They mention \"projections\" before you're profitable."," Projected revenue in a startup that hasn't found product-market fit is a lottery ticket.",[10,44,45,48,49,52],{},[33,46,47],{},"They ask about your current salary."," Standard trap. They want to anchor negotiations to your ",[13,50,51],{},"previous"," bad deal, not the value of the role. Answer: \"I'd prefer to discuss what the role is worth.\"",[10,54,55,58],{},[33,56,57],{},"The job description is a wishlist."," \"Looking for a rockstar who can go from 8-5pm (obviously they'll forget to add a boundry to the workdays), manage a team, build a CRM, analyse how much they got and wont pay you, and also make coffee.\" They want one person to do the work of three. You will burn out.",[10,60,61,64],{},[33,62,63],{},"Interview process is chaotic."," If they're disorganised in the hiring stage, imagine what the day-to-day is like.",[10,66,67,70],{},[33,68,69],{},"They rush you."," \"We need an answer by Friday.\" High-pressure tactics are a red flag. If the role is good, it'll be good next week.",[10,72,73,76,77],{},[33,74,75],{},"\"We're like a family.\""," No you're not. ",[13,78,79],{},"My family doesn't PIP aka Performance Improvement Plans when revenue is down.",[23,81,83],{"id":82},"the-fix-is-stopping-being-desperate","The Fix Is Stopping Being Desperate",[10,85,86,87,90],{},"I know. \"Just stop being desperate\" is the ",[13,88,89],{},"most"," useless advice when your bank account is at zero. I get it.",[10,92,93,94,97,98,101],{},"But there's a difference between ",[13,95,96],{},"feeling"," desperate and ",[13,99,100],{},"acting"," desperate. And the acting part is what kills you.",[10,103,104],{},"Here's what acting desperate looks like:",[106,107,108,112,115,118],"ul",{},[109,110,111],"li",{},"Accepting the first offer without negotiating",[109,113,114],{},"Not asking about benefits, growth, or expectations",[109,116,117],{},"Signing anything put in front of you",[109,119,120],{},"Ignoring every red flag because you're scared the offer will vanish",[10,122,123],{},"Here's what it looks like to not act desperate even when you are:",[106,125,126,129,132,135],{},[109,127,128],{},"\"I need a few days to review the offer\"",[109,130,131],{},"\"Can we discuss the salary band for this role?\"",[109,133,134],{},"\"What does career progression look like after the first year?\"",[109,136,137],{},"Walking away when the terms don't work",[10,139,140,141,144,145,148],{},"The paradox is that ",[33,142,143],{},"not acting desperate makes you more attractive as a candidate",". Recruiters ",[13,146,147],{},"want"," someone who seems like they have options. It signals competence. It signals that other people value you.",[10,150,151],{},"When you crawl for the job — begging, pleading, accepting anything — you're telling them \"I have no other options.\" And that's exactly the candidate who gets the lowball.",[23,153,155],{"id":154},"the-ripple-effect","The Ripple Effect",[10,157,158],{},"This is the part that keeps me up.",[10,160,161,162,165],{},"Every time a graduate accepts an exploitative offer — unpaid internship, ludicrously below-market salary, \"exposure\" instead of payment — they're not just hurting themselves. They're creating a data point that says ",[13,163,164],{},"this is acceptable",".",[10,167,168,169,172],{},"The company goes to market research next quarter and says \"well, we filled the role at BWP5000 last time, so the band is BWP5-6000.\" And the next candidate, who might have commanded BWP10,000 somewhere else, now has to fight uphill against ",[13,170,171],{},"your"," acceptance.",[10,174,175,176,165],{},"You're not competing against other candidates. You're competing against the ",[13,177,178],{},"ghost of the last person who settled",[10,180,181,182,165],{},"The only way to break the cycle is to stop accepting deals that shouldn't exist. This means more candidates need to say no. It means more candidates need to walk. It means more graduates need to realise that ",[13,183,184],{},"not every job is better than no job",[10,186,187,188,191],{},"Taking a shitty job because you're desperate does not fix your desperation. It just moves the timeline. Now you're six months in, miserable, underpaid, and ",[13,189,190],{},"still"," looking. But now you have less energy to interview, less confidence in your skills, and a gap on your CV that you'll have to explain.",[23,193,195],{"id":194},"so-what-do-you-do","So What Do You Do?",[10,197,198],{},"I don't have a perfect answer. The market is genuinely rough right now. Jobs are scarce. The system is designed to exploit your uncertainty.",[10,200,201],{},"But here's what I know:",[203,204,205,211,217,227,233],"ol",{},[109,206,207,210],{},[33,208,209],{},"Know the market rate."," Talk to people. Check levels. FYI, ask people, you claimed you've been networking ask your network. Walk in with a number.",[109,212,213,216],{},[33,214,215],{},"Negotiate everything."," The worst they can say is no, and you're already considering the offer as-is. There's no downside.",[109,218,219,222,223,226],{},[33,220,221],{},"Read the contract."," Not as a legal document. Read it as a ",[13,224,225],{},"vibe check",". If you see clauses that feel predatory, ask about them.",[109,228,229,232],{},[33,230,231],{},"Talk to someone who's been in the industry."," Your parents don't know what you should make in this market. Find someone who does.",[109,234,235,238],{},[33,236,237],{},"Say no."," It's terrifying. Do it anyway. The offer you're afraid to lose is often the offer you should have walked from.",[10,240,241,242,245],{},"And remember: every time you accept a bad deal, you're not just setting your own floor. You're setting ",[13,243,244],{},"everyone else's"," ceiling.",[10,247,248],{},"The next graduate who comes after you deserved better.",[250,251],"hr",{},[10,253,254,257,258,261,262],{},[33,255,256],{},"PS:"," If you're a graduate reading this and you've already accepted a deal you're not sure about — you're not stuck. Contracts can be renegotiated. Jobs can be quit. ",[13,259,260],{},"Bad decisions can be unfucked."," ",[33,263,264],{},"The only irreversible mistake is believing you have no choice.",{"title":266,"searchDepth":267,"depth":267,"links":268},"",2,[269,270,271,272],{"id":25,"depth":267,"text":26},{"id":82,"depth":267,"text":83},{"id":154,"depth":267,"text":155},{"id":194,"depth":267,"text":195},"2026-06-18","How to spot a bad deal from a mile away, why not acting desperate makes you more attractive, and the ripple effect of every graduate who settled.","md",false,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fknow-your-worth-part-2",{"title":5,"description":274},"blog\u002Fknow-your-worth-part-2",[283],"career","How to spot predatory offers, why saying no makes you more attractive, and the ripple effect of settling. Every bad deal you accept becomes the ceiling for the next grad.","z9WJ-m-mjLS-4IS5BxjAl3H_K6UUxkLGpmHwQL23slg",1784119588342]