Long story short, someone reached out to me via LinkedIn to see if I was interested in a job. We had an initial call and she asked for my salary requirements. There was no way I was giving her a number, so I told her what I make now and that it would take a “significant raise” to get me to switch companies. She said that was no problem.
I went for an in-person interview and she was impressed with my qualifications and wanted to move forward. She scheduled a Teams interview with the Business Relationship Manager and he straight up told me at the end of the interview that I was his pick. She called 2 days later and offered me the job, at $10k less than my current salary and 2 fewer weeks of vacation. I was shocked and told her I would think about it and get back to her the next day. She sent an e-mail later that day telling me what a great opportunity this was for me.
I responded the next morning with a polite, professional e-mail telling her I was not going to take the job, and that I wished her well in her search to fill the position. She didn't respond at first, then 3 days later I got an e-mail saying she was disappointed I didn't counter and was I still interested in the job.
My feeling is the low ball offer is a sign they are not serious. So, do I bother to respond? If I do, how do I tell her, in a professional way, that her offer was ridiculous and that is why I am no longer interested in working for them?