Recruiter told a 32-year-old woman her salary expectations were far above the company’s budget and rejected her application, but she said she was proud she did not offer to work for less just to stay in the running

Rejection after a job interview usually stings, especially when the reason is how much money you asked for. But one Reddit user said her latest rejection felt different, because she refused to lower her salary expectations just to keep a job opportunity alive.

She gave the salary range she believed was fair

The 32-year-old woman shared her experience on Reddit’s r/OfficePolitics, saying she had spent much of her career trying to be the kind of employee companies would find easy to hire and retain.


She said she regularly took on extra work and received praise, but still accepted less money than people doing similar work. This time, she decided to approach things differently.

After researching the position and salaries appropriate for her experience level, she gave the recruiter a salary range she genuinely considered fair. The recruiter then told her that the company's budget was far below her expectations and that they would not be moving forward with her.

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This time, rejection did not feel like a loss

She said that a few years ago, she would probably have panicked and accepted less money just to remain under consideration. This time, she felt relieved.

According to her post, she did not believe her salary expectations were unreasonable. Instead, she felt the company was looking for someone with extensive experience while trying to hire them at a much lower price.

The experience also changed how she viewed salary and self-worth. She wrote that she had finally stopped treating the amount a company was willing to pay her as proof of her value.

Another Reddit user said the same thing happened

One commenter said they take a similar approach with recruiters, joking that their biggest flaw as a candidate is simply that they are “expensive.”

The commenter said some recruiters laughed and said they would see what they could do, while others simply disappeared.

They also shared a more frustrating experience while applying for jobs in New York.

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According to the commenter, a company initially invited them to interview but asked about salary expectations the next day. After they provided their requirements, the company cancelled the interview.

The candidate said they offered to be flexible if the company could share its own salary range, but the company eventually ghosted them.

The commenter then reported the company to the New York Department of Labor over what they believed was a failure to provide the required salary range. They said they later received a letter indicating the matter was being investigated.

The job search eventually worked out

Despite the frustrating experience, the commenter said the story had a positive ending. They eventually landed another job offering more than their original desired salary range.

For the original Reddit poster, however, there was no such happy ending yet. She had simply reached a point where losing a job opportunity no longer felt worse than accepting an offer she believed undervalued her experience.


Disclaimer: This story is based on a post and comments shared on Reddit. Economic Times has not independently verified the claims, identities, employment details or circumstances described by the users.