You would be surprised at just how poorly managed some businesses are, I think. A prior employer has such a bad reputation around the city that even the local

You would be surprised at just how poorly managed some businesses are, I think. A prior employer has such a bad reputation around the city that even the local IT school refuses to acknowledge that one of their graduates runs the IT department there, and this school is desperate to wave the "We have a successful course!" flag so they can compete with the CS course at the neighboring university. This business hires a few graduates from the course each year, requiring 40 hours a week minimum. The standard of work required immediately would be expected of someone with 5 years experience, and there's no budget for software or hardware, but here's the kicker: the job is actually an internship. There's no pay, but the project is a high-end one. The business is simply getting free labor, and does so regularly. The internships don't lead to a job, although they do provide a professional reference from a business with a terrible reputation. There are no guaranteed bargaining chips.