I was employed in West Virginia as a graphic designer for $36,000 with 8 years of experience at my place of employment (I had worked there since right out of college basically). Been looking for a job since August after they refused to get my salary to at least market rate. I had a few interviews and one job offer that wasn't good enough so I just kept applying anywhere I could up through January.
Starting in March I was dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety and could not fathom doing an interview. Later that month I got an invite to interview for a remote graphic design position in another state. I accepted it reluctantly, then REALLY wanted to cancel it completely because I was worried if it went badly I would spiral even further into a mess. But thankfully my husband encouraged me to do it even if it goes bad "just to have the practice." Again I reluctantly decided to do the initial interview.
I thought I interviewed ok and I had a great chat with the HR person and they sold me on their company - the best part was that they said the salary range was $60-65,000. I honestly never thought I'd make more than $50,000 anytime soon. (In WV we rank #5 for lowest median incomes - I had very low expectations haha.) Anyway - I didn't think I'd hear back from them.
1 month later I got an email for a second interview, by that time I had my depression under control (ty meds) and was feeling better. That interview went well and led to 3 more interviews with different people and I got a job offer for a starting salary of $70,000! I accepted and I start next week!
So yeah - always do the interview I guess?
Side note - Shout out to the /jobs discord for helping me out with my different interview questions :)
JobAdvisor:
Congratulations!!! That's so fantastic! Take care of your health, doing graphic design, you need an awesome new padded and supportive chair. Maybe get a desk that lets you stand and sit. Take some breaks to move around. Wow, this money will change your life and you deserve it!!!!👍😊