Ugh. I have to do one next week and I am stuck between wanting to "blow up the bridges in broad daylight" as you said or telling them they're a little slice of heaven but someone offered me a bigger slice of heaven of another heaven in a parallel universe, which they obviously want to hear, but regardless will likely go into the bin anyway. Whenever I think of HR I have this pit in my stomach like I'm about to meet Freddy Krueger dressed as defence lawyer. That's not to say all HR professionals instil the same icky feeling. Met some real nice ones over the years as well.