Jacob Wells: I made it to the second interview but haven't heard back / want to discuss proposing a way to achieve certain goals in the first three months to command a higher salary.

• Use your intuition that the test is not their way to exploit you as 2 days of test is a bit long.
• Treat the test like a two way interview and quietly assess culture, expectations, leadership, and whether it matches your long term goals.
• A startup can accelerate your growth or consume your entire life, so use trial periods to observe working hours, team dynamics, and leadership behavior.
• Set hard boundaries around edit tests before they begin so “roughly one day” does not quietly become unpaid endless revisions.
• Give them exactly what they asked for first, then surprise them with an optional creative version that expands their thinking without challenging their authority.
• Staying level is already progress because many experienced professionals are taking steps backward just to keep working.
• Set realistic expectations on your timeline to avoid burnout. Take yourself out for a walk without audiobooks, podcasts or any pressure that you need to solve everything.

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