About a month back, I applied for a corporate position for a job I believe I was suitable for. You know hitting some of the marks while hitting above the marks on other fields that they were looking for. I got the call to schedule a different call with the corporate recruiter and I got right into how to handle interviews mode. You know these corporate recruiters are, more so personality fit over any technical aspect of the job and I was ready for it.
I would like to think I was a pretty great-fit as I didn't even flinch when they were tip-toeing over the idea that I would have to be at the beck and call of any executive, even if I was off the clock. I asked questions and made sure that I seemed like I was extremely into the position and everything that came along with it. We hit a wall when the interviewer asked, what I would like to be paid for this position. The recruiter then assured me that no matter what response I gave him, it wouldn't affect my chances in the job running. “I've been trained for this,” I thought to myself, flip the table on him, tell him that you thought it was strange that there wasn't a salary range added to the job posting and that you would want to know that first. I did exactly that, and the man just said, “Um no, I'm not going to tell you that until after you tell me how much you would want to make.”
If I were to say that I was a bit miffed, that would be an understatement. I've seen horror stories of people being undervalued in corporations because they let themselves be, and recruiters being more than happy to give them 10k under what they were willing to pay. I thought to myself, screw it, you want to play that game, fine. I'll overvalue myself and see how that goes. I said “I'd love to be paid 100K for my work but I know that's not likely to happen, so what's the salary range.” This man meagerly muttered out, oh well its a 70k to 85k job, so I'll put you down for 80K. After that the tone was black and white, no more colorful conversation just looking like he was hitting the last few checklists before putting down a dog.
Thrilling conclusion, they didn't want a second interview. They ghosted me, not even a sorry you didn't get the job or hey we're moving on with other candidates, just radio silence. Here's the kicker: I applied for a different position in the company and one of their recruiters wanted to schedule a phone call with their corporate recruiter. Tomorrow, I have an interview with the same guy that ghosted me. Any tips and tricks to make it out alive would be appreciated. The culture (at least in the hiring aspect) might be god awful, but this would be a great opportunity for me.