I went through 3 interviews with a company whose listing stated that 3-5 years of Marketing experience was required. The job had a hefty list of responsibilities and the company is definitely a place that rakes in a lot of money.
Anyway, I ended up really liking company #1 and I had a job offer on the table from another company so I told company #1 that they were my first choice and that my timeline was now shorter because I needed to give company #2 a decision on whether I was going to accept the job offer or not. They sped up the hiring process for me and I got an offer from company #1 within 2 days.
They told me that the starting rate was $20/hour. I was floored. I have 4.5 years of experience and I had no idea what to say to this guy. What did they think I was making right now at my current employer????
Anyway, I told him that we were on completely different pages and that my other offer was nearly double what he was offering me. Accepted the other job immediately after.