I've been contracting as a software developer at a particular company for 17 months. Around 4 months ago, the company made a motion to transition me to direct hire, because they were happy with the work I was providing.
In the process, they pushed off discussions of wages. They got a benefits package (a fair and standard one, nothing terrible but nothing outstanding) set up with HR, but no talk of salary was had for months. That was at the end of last year.
In the second week of January, they finally brought me in to discuss salary. But instead of give me some clue on where they stood, they let me put an “offer” of what I thought was fair.
After a night of consideration, I set on a figure informed by numbers I was getting from recruiters. I'm in I.T. so I get recruiters sending me offers on a daily basis. I understand what type of money I can and should be making.
I let the company know the figure, how I arrived at it, and how I had pushed off any talks with recruiters due to being happy with the job and receptive to the idea of transitioning out of contract work into full time direct hire. I've been tired of my paycheck changing depending on if I take days off, because there's no vacation time with my contract firm (there are only paid holidays but not other forms of PTO). Additionally, the medical was crap but looked a lot better with the company who was paying my contract and wanted to transition me.
Almost four weeks pass, and I have yet to get a response. I'm not only disappointed, but flabberghasted at basically being ghosted by the company. I talk to the supervisor and in particular the department head who was handling the salary negotiations, but they'd act like no letter was sent (the direct supervisor wasn't on the letter so I don't hold him responsible). But I treated them like I do my Tinder matches who decide to ghost. I didn't put another email out or ask why they hadn't responded. I didn't express my dismay at the lack of professionality nor the disrespect.
I just looked elsewhere and reopened my talks to recruiters. One in particular who had talked to me last year asked if the transition ever occurred. I told him what happened and he was surprised it had taken this long. Two weeks later, and I got a job offer in the range I was asking for with better benefits than I was offered. This is after a phone interview, two
in person interviews and a background check. They could do that in a third of the time it's taken for the company to NOT respond to me.
I put in my two weeks' notice, because despite feeling neglected and disrespected through the attempted transition to direct hire, I have a lot of respect for the direct supervisor (again, he wasn't in charge of the salary negotiations).
We talk and he says he thought there was no rush since I was still making contractor money. They were mulling it over, because I had come in 15k to 25k under what I was asking (they didn't know the precise figure but they had an idea what the recruiting agency was paying me). I say I was giving them a figure based on my value told to me by recruiters. He says that recruiters will say any number because they're salesman, but then catches himself and says “well you got it” because I showed him the offer with the value highlighted. Then the supervisor asks if I'd stay if they match it. I say no, because I promised the new company I wouldn't since they gave me the opportunity freely and I don't go back on promises.
Then the supervisor says he just wish I expressed I was so pressed to switch to direct hire. I say it wasn't my responsibility. I was receptive to the offer they put out and despite them taking their time, I was prompt in doing my part. I show the email I sent with the highlighted date and make it clear it's been exactly 44 days to the day and nobody has responded to me.
This mentality astounds me. Like, they think because I was paid a lot less back then, that I wasn't worth the number that has been going around now? I as a developer don't gain value with experience? Not to mention, with the inflation alone, they think I am alright making what I was making almost a year and a half ago while they get raises and bonuses and the everything in society gets more expensive?
I'm just supposed to be happy because I was getting paid… But even if I like working there and the management tries to act like salt of the earth nice people, they still are trying to lowball me because they tried matching so they know I was worth it. They just didn't want to pay.
This whole thing is bittersweet, because I did like working for the place, but corporations gonna corporate. The only value you have to them is what you can do for them and when you want something, they ignore it. If they can keep you around for less, they will.
But I'm glad I waited to get something better. I'll keep growing professionally and skillwise and I'll do it at a place that can regonize my value. And if the time comes that they stop doing that, I'll move to greener pastures instead of waiting around only to be ghosted.