Just did an interview with a potential employer for a job for which I am very (overly?) qualified. They posted their salary as 100-160K and it's a fully remote job (!!). Not bad right? Only asking for 5 years of experience and a BS in IT. I've got a Master's, 11 years of relevant experience for this role, a ton of certifications, etc.
Interview is going great, lady is super impressed, kept knocking her questions out of the park, asked some relevant ones; overall a great interview. Then she drops the bomb “What I'm concerned with is that at your experience level, what are you expecting for compensation?” So I tell her, well, I see your posted range is 100-160 and I think I bring a lot to the table (degree, YoE, certs, business knowledge, etc) so something near the 150 mark in addition to whatever your benefits package is should be good; we can work through it and see how it goes.
She responds by telling me “Yea, we don't usually initially bring people in at that high of a salary.”
Then why the fuck is it listed that way? If that's not the range, then that's not the range. What's your real range?
And I'm extra pissed because the job seems like a lot of fun doing something I really enjoy doing in a sector I'm experienced in. How aggravating. I don't know if she's telling the truth or if this is some sort of weird negotiation tactic where I mentally lower my expectations when / if an offer comes through and get excited to see what I asked for. “Oh well we did as much as we could and we're willing to offer 135. You're super experienced but it's the best we can do.” Is it? I feel like a game is being played here and I don't like it. Surely this posting had to have been approved to include the salary band. Can they just lie like that (obviously yes, this is a rhetorical question)? But come on. Why are you baiting me like this.
Gr.