Found out I was significantly underpaid for my position and started job hunting (30/hr, industry is 45-65 for my experience and location).
Anyways, one of my interviews went really well for a company that is “desperately in need of people”, I nailed the technical portions and personal portions. They started asking about my finances which I thought was weird and kind of rang up a flag in my head.
“So you live over in —– and willing to commute?”
Me: “Yes, it's within an hour and I have no problem of doing so”
“How much do you make currently?”
Me: “30/hr, which is significantly less than the industry for this role”
“Considering your location, I don't think you necessarily need more than 37/hr.”
Me: “I'm going to be blunt, I have have several job offers over 50/hr. I was under the impression you were lacking personnel so I thought I'd check to see what you're willing to offer.”
“Unfortunately the company can't afford to pay more than 37/hr but we can offer you a lot of overtime. You should be able to afford getting by with 37/hr, right? I can't imagine your monthly expenses being more than —–?”
Me (very confused): “37 is way too low. I apologize but I don't think I will be after this position after all.”
“Hold on a minute, let me see if I can work something out.”
Manager returns after a few minutes of what I assume was a phone call.
“So we can't offer 50/hr but surely you'll reconsider for 41?
Me: “Thank you for your time, but unfortunately that's not going to work out for me.”
“You don't even need 37 though, why do you need so much? It seems like everyone expects a lot more these days”
Well fuck man. Inflation? Also, why is the bar a matter of what I “need” and not what I'm worth? That was a weird fucking interview.