For context, I applied to a job and had 3 separate interviews over the past couple of weeks. The position requires 2 years of experience in this niche, I have 1, but this never came up in the interview. Each interviewee was more excited and optimistic about my future with this company than the last and I was feeling good about being offered close to, if not more, than I was making doing the same job with a different company. Today I received their offer and not only was is less than what I was making at my previous job (doing the same job), but it’s for a lesser title. They cited lack of experience and “internal equity” as the reason for the lower offer. I countered and negations are at play.
I felt a little… disappointed. Regardless of a lesser title and pay, I will still be doing the same job as the advertised position, with the advertised range, so why would I accept the position at a lower salary than previously discussed? Nothing changes aside from having to climb the ladder and rely on yearly merit increases to make close to what I was making at my previous job.
Does anyone have any guidance? I could use some because I was/am really excited for this role, as it’s a reputable and respectful institution where I can probably have a life long career. But I have to admit, this experience has left a bad taste in my mouth.