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A man in a suit holds a clipboard while interviewing a job candidate.
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"Walked out of an in-person interview after the hiring manager laughed at my salary expectation
Had an in-person interview today for a senior project manager role at a mid-sized tech company. Got through two rounds of phone screens no problem, both recruiters hyped me up and said I was a strong candidate.
I show up, meet the hiring manager, and the first 20 minutes actually went really well. Good conversation, seemed engaged, asked solid questions about my experience.
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Then we get to compensation. I gave my range, which was exactly what was listed on the job posting $95k-$110k. He literally laughed. Not a chuckle, an actual laugh. Then said, 'Yeah, that's not going to happen here, we were thinking more like $62k for someone at your level.'
I paused for a second and asked him why the posting listed a range that was $30k higher than what he just said. He shrugged and said ‘Those ranges are just to attract applicants.’
I closed my notebook, thanked him for his time, and walked out. He called after me, saying we could ‘negotiate’ but I just kept walking.
Life is too short to work for people who think lying in job postings is just a normal recruiting strategy. Know your worth and don't let anyone lowball you into settling."
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If you were in the position of this candidate, would you stay and hear the hiring manager out? Would you also leave on the spot? Or would you try once more to justify why you do have the level of experience that would make you worthy of that higher salary?
Truth be told, there was likely nothing this candidate could say that would convince the recruiter otherwise. The point about experience was likely a line and a pathetic excuse to justify a pattern of lowballing employees. We've seen it before. Kudos to this candidate for knowing that the deception and mistreatment during this interview process would likely reflect a toxic workplace environment in the long term.
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A man in a suit holds a clipboard while interviewing a job candidate, smiling awkwardly.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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A man in a suit points to a document as a woman stands next to him, looking over his shoulder.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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