Hello! I’m a long time lurker but first time poster. I’m looking for some insight on whether this is normal or something that someone else has experienced before?
Some background about me: I have worked pretty much non-stop since I finished college in 2011. I only left a company when I was recruited to another except for a 2-week gap. During that time, I moved from one state to another where that company actually insisted on re-hiring me at their office in the new state. That was in 2014.
I left my previous job due to extreme stress and typical boss-related nonsense (I can get into this but I think these are details for a different post) back in May. I moved cities within the same state and had been applying to jobs since April.
I was confident that with my work history and credentials, I’d be picked up in no time. I was woefully incorrect. I went from having 0 prospects to having some interested companies, to being ghosted to finally having some serious interest. This brings me to the issue.
A company contacted me and was very enthusiastic about getting me to interview (please don’t ask, I cannot disclose as they will be able to identify me and you: them. It’s a highly unique company). I did a preliminary interview with the company’s recruiter and he was impressed with my credentials. He asked my salary range, and he agreed my salary range matched up with theirs. I was scheduled for a virtual interview with the people I’d be working with and they seemed enthusiastic as well. I was scheduled for an in-person interview with the two previous people and their supervisor. This interview lasted 2 hours. Everyone (including myself) seemed pretty confident with the outcome.
The next day, I was asked for my references which I gave. One of my references mentioned that they did ask why I left my previous company without something else lined up, “that’s not strange?” She confirmed she did the exact same thing for the same reasons. (Thankfully, I didn’t lie and say I was caring for a sick family member as another friend advised.)
Fast forward to yesterday, the recruiter calls with an offer. I am pretty excited until I hear the salary. They offered me multiple thousands of dollars below what I was originally quoted weeks before. Think “our salary range is $70k-$75k” but they actually offered $65k even after I explicitly told them what my salary expectations were with a decade of experience. I countered to $72k because wtf? I’m livid and feel incredibly insulted.
I understand companies have some weird thing about punishing people for leaving the workforce but has anyone else experienced this? How did you handle this? Did you decide to take the offer and start at the company anyway?
At this point, I have 2 other interviews lined up and am willing to take my chances elsewhere.