I had a virtual interview last week, we talked for about 45 minutes. When it came to salary I gave them a range based on what the market is paying, plus experience and qualifications. Hiring manager mentioned it was right on target and had no issues with it. She said HR would reach out to me.
Fast forward to today and the HR rep that couldn’t make the first interview mentioned a starting pay 15-20k less than what we had previously landed on, I mentioned that the hiring manager and I had already agreed to a different number. I could understand the confusion seeing as she was not in the first interview, so she said she would talk to the hiring manager and give me a call back. A few minutes later she calls and is sticking to the offer that’s 15-20k lower.
I told her thanks for letting me know but that wasn’t gonna cut it. She then again said that they would be moving forward with other candidates if I didn’t accept the offer, again I said ok and thanks for letting me know. I think she was a bit surprised that I didn’t budge.
Their offer would have already been on the lower end a couple years ago before the pandemic, and now with inflation and the rising cost of living it’s basically the new entry/no experience wage where I live. Finally I thought if a company pulls a move like this before I even set foot in the door, I can only imagine how things will be later on.
Sure I’m a bit disappointed but a man must stand by his beliefs. That and I’m not in a rush to return to the workforce, I can still wait it out for several more months.