For the past month and a half I’ve been going through the process of applying and interviewing for a position. It started with a recruiter reaching out to me on LinkedIn and I have a boundary for myself that I won’t even make a phone call with a recruiter unless I know that the position is within my desired salary range and has the same amount of WFH days that I have in my current position, if not more. I am open to being fully in office as long as it pays more. So I always ask from the beginning what’s in budget for the salary and if the job is remote/hybrid/in person. In this case I was told the salary, that they are flexible about the amount, and that the role is hybrid with two days in office. Since this role has the same amount of WFH days as I currently have and pays more I proceeded with the process.
I went through multiple phone calls, multiple interviews, an employment verification, and a credit check and they extended the job offer to me. I’ve been working with a professional career coach this entire process and she helped me with my response and helped me initiate negotiation.
The offer letter didn’t include if the job was hybrid so I asked about that (even though we did discuss hybrid in my interview). They told me that training is 100% in person and after I’m done I would be ELIGIBLE for the hybrid schedule that MOST the office is on. I also found a job posting on indeed that says the position is in person. I got the feeling that they would keep me 100% in office the entire time I work for them. It’s also an hour drive each way so an extra three days a week makes a huge difference and for the salary they were offering I would be losing money. However, I did not call them out on this in my negotiation.
I handled the negotiation properly. In my interview I made sure to ask what important skills they are looking for and cited that I have those skills in my negotiation, plus years of industry experience. I also cited various websites with the average pay for this position and used that to provide a number to negotiate with. Their offer was below even the low end of the salaries I saw. I stated that I would be okay with an alternative such as a starting bonus, additional PTO days, or another incentive. And I reiterated that I was excited about the job opportunity and phrased it as a request and not a demand. This was not an entry level role. I didn’t throw out a ridiculous number. I never mentioned a number before it came time to negotiate. I was told they were flexible. I was professional and enthusiastic. I didn’t mention any personal reasons about how I need the increase in salary. I swear I handled this the proper way. (And before anyone comes for me, no, it is not greedy to negotiate. Companies do not provide sufficient raises to retain their talent so the time to get the salary you want is in the beginning when you’re negotiating for a new job. This is part of advocating for your value.)
They responded and let me know they not only couldn’t meet my negotiation, but that they were also withdrawing the original offer.
“After much consideration for your proposed changes to the terms in the original offer letter, we are unable to meet your salary requirement of XX nor any of the additional proposals for starting bonus, additional vacation days or other incentives. Therefore, it is with great disappointment that I inform you we must regretfully withdraw your job offer for the position at Company.
This email serves as formal communication to let you know that our job offer is no longer available with our company. Company is under no obligation to give you compensation or employment moving forward. Our initial job offer did not serve as a binding contract, as this job offer was at-will.
We wish you the best in your future endeavors and hope you can find a role that serves your interests.”
I understand there is a risk to negotiating but this came off so petty! Usually companies are willing to participate in some sort of negotiation or at least say that their original offer was the best they could provide. My career coach thinks this company wanted a yes man and freaked out when I came back to them with research and to advocate for my value. I had a weird gut feeling about this company ever since my interview with the hiring manager so I most likely dodged a bullet with this one. But I am pissed off that they lied about hybrid and wasted hours of my time on interviews, paperwork, etc. I really want to blast them on Glassdoor. And honestly I feel so discouraged with my job hunt now. I was told companies rarely ever rescind offers like that but is this the new norm? Has anyone been through this?
Tl;dr: I received a job offer and negotiated properly. The company also lied about the role being hybrid and didn’t tell me until I had a job offer. After I initiated negotiation the company immediately rescinded their offer.