I am in the middle of weighing several offers from companies. On the first call the recruiter said the base salary is around $83k for the position, which is around the target I am looking for. After some interviews, the recruiter got back to me saying I’m a good fit for the role but that they would offer $80k instead. After the weekend, I reached out to the recruiter and explained they had originally said $83k base and asked if they could meet me there. They seemed positive and said with my experience and skills, they were confident they could get it approved. Later in the afternoon, I received a call from them and they said the HR department could not approve my negotiated salary of $83k, and also that they regret to inform me that the salary offered is now $77k for the position.
I thanked them for asking, and said I would still consider it and to send the paperwork, but I can’t help but feel off about the situation. I later realized that they never posted the salary ranges on the job posting, which is in direct violation of my state’s salary transparency laws. I am unsure of what to do here as they said they would not budge on the offer. It’s a bummer because it seemed like a really cool job/company, that fit my skills naturally. Any suggestions?