Companies refuse to tell prospective employees how much money they’ll be making. They list jobs online with “competitive” salaries but never state the range, and if they do, they’ll do everything they can to lowball any potential worker.
They’re so secretive about their salaries that they won’t even divulge them to candidates who’ve already passed the first round of interviews, and sometimes they’ll even make those candidates guess the range, allowing them to pass on workers who might want too much.
One scorned candidate came to the internet lamenting this ridiculous guessing game after they were denied a position for guessing too high.
Getting a Job Out of College
The Original Poster (OP) said they have a bachelor’s degree in finance and implied that they’ve recently graduated.
They made it to the third round of interviews, receiving high marks and praise from the previous rounds. All the hiring managers said OP would be an ideal candidate.
Let’s Play Guess the Salary
In this final interview, OP asked for the salary range. However, the interviewer said they couldn’t divulge that information, calling it “confidential.” They wouldn’t want their competition to know how much they pay employees. That could cause everyone to pay a bit more to remain competitive!
Instead of sharing the range, the hiring manager asked OP what salary they’d be comfortable with.
The job requires 60 hours per week and a bachelor’s degree in finance, so OP guessed what they thought was a reasonable amount.
“I responded that I’d like $60K/yr,” they shared.
Wrong Answer, OP
The hiring manager didn’t like that answer.
“Immediately, the interviewer’s face turned sour and she said that won’t be doable,” recounted OP.
OP just wanted a job in their field and told the interviewer they’d be happy with less.
Too Late, No Job for You
The hiring manager didn’t care. They didn’t want to hire someone who wanted more money than they were willing to pay.
“The problem is, you already gave your number, and you can’t take that back. I can tell this won’t work out, so we’re going to be pursuing other candidates at this time,” OP reported, sharing what the hiring manager told them.
Frustrated OP Vents Online
OP came online to vent their frustrations. Why would a hiring manager ask them to guess like that and refuse to hire them even though they’d be happy with the lower salary?
It sounds like the hiring manager purposefully set them up for failure. Why would they do something like this?
They Want To Pay Less
They mainly make potential employees guess so they can underpay people.
“They make you do that because if you’re willing to work for even less than what they can pay you, they want to pay you less,” stated one user.
If the top of their range is 50k, but a candidate guesses 35k, you can rest assured the company will offer 35k. The ridiculous guessing game only helps the companies keep labor costs low. It doesn’t help job seekers at all.
It’s a Power Trip
Internet users pointed out that the company is probably toxic. They likely rejected OP for guessing too high because they only want to hire desperate people who will beg for scraps.
They can lord their power and egos over desperate folks, but folks like OP might not tolerate it.
Their Pay Range is Insulting
Others pointed out that they aren’t advertising their salary range because it’s insulting for a job requiring a BA in finance.
“60k, for 50 weeks, is 3000 hours, putting you at 20 an hour. I wouldn’t go lower than that for a job that requires education,” said one user.
“So $16/hour is their number for BA in Finance? I would say you dodged a bullet,” said another, adding, “That’s starting pay for retail in a major market.”
“A local fast food chain in my area (Seattle) pays $20/hr starting out. $16/hr for a job that requires a bachelor’s is asinine, even in a low cost of living area,” said a third.
You’re Better Off OP
OP really wants a job in their industry, which makes sense. However, they need to realize that this company is toxic, and they’re probably better off working elsewhere.
Source: Reddit