[cushychicken]

> everyone will have bad experiences at some point and that's a growth opportunity in and of itself.

That's a really great point to bring up. Lousy professional experiences are opportunities to learn, or grow. Doesn't make them fun, but it does make them valuable.

>good candidates are apprehensive about bad companies regardless of their experience level.

I'm not certain this is true. There are plenty of smart, motivated people who don't necessarily have the career experience to notice red flags at a potentially negative employer.