US
About a year ago I wrote a blog about missing out on a job because I had out-priced myself for failing to understanding salary levels at that particular firm.
More recently, an old colleague of mine asked me to be a referee on her CV. She was applying for a back-office role in financial planning for which she has about 10 years’ experience, including leading a team and working in London.
During her job search she noticed an advertisement, which had been online for sometime, and decided to apply. She emailed her CV and heard back within an hour. An interview was hastily arranged and she went the following morning, having researched the market price of the job.
You’re very good
At the interview they told her how well suited she was for the role and how impressed they were with her experience. Within 20 minutes they asked her when she could start and even specified a time by which they wanted her to be completely settled into the role. At that point she started feeling uncomfortable about why the selection process was going so fast.
The interviewers asked her what her salary expectation was and she told them she had done her research and reviewed the job spec. She then gave what she thought was a fair figure. The interviewers’ faces dropped and they started laughing. Their salary proposal was several thousand less than she had hoped for. She pointed out that she had been earning a similar amount more than five years ago.
You’re very bad
The interview then got stranger still. Instead of the interviewers calmly explaining that her proposed salary was just too high for them, they started questioning the very capabilities which they had been praising a few minutes before.
They told her that she wasn’t really that qualified after all, and probably hadn’t even understood the process of what she had been doing in her previous roles. They accused her of having worked routinely, without having to think.
After about 10 minutes of being told she wasn’t competent enough to ask for that salary, the interviewers said they still really wanted her to work for them, at a lower price. She politely told them where to go and realised that her current employer may not have been so bad after all.
Recruiters to the rescue
I actually believe that in her case, had the job been advertised via a recruiter and not directly, it would have saved everybody’s time because the recruiter could have probably provided a salary range in the first phone call.
In all my dealings with recruiters, the one thing that never fazed me was telling them what salary I wanted – something I always struggled with when dealing with the firm itself.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of eFinancialCareers. The author works for a financial institution in Australia.
I once had a phrase on my CV of “technically strong” – the interviewer made it his “right” for 20mins to belittle any “understanding” I had – asking questions, that albeit where part of the wider technical framework , were still not quite relevant to my area -kinda like asking a batsman the ins and out of bowling – anyway – i had enough of him calling me “stupid” so i fired back and said no matter how gifted he was he cant speak to me that way – so moral of story – you are treated in interview how you will be treated in role and worse – it is not a one way field – i got asked back as the interviewer is known to be somewhat tackless but i declined as well. However, i did add a few more phrases to my CV to make clear what I was aying i knew !
That is a horrifying tale about an interview. Was the interview by HR or by the hiring managers? I would hope nobody would ever treat someone like that but obviously they do. When we advertise roles directly, we always ask for expected base salary range as one of the “pre-screening” questions. If we do see a great CV but their expected salary is outside our range, I will call to discuss. Unrealistic expectations sometime happens when people move back from the UK and try to convert GBP into AUD, which just never works.
I don’t think an external recruiter is necessary to avoid this type of situation as long as you cover it off right at the start of the process (without laughing at anyone!).
Just had a similar experience with a major bank. As you say, a recruiter would have saved everyone lots of time.
All are vogas
Hi
I honestly think that recruiters behave like that when they feel threatened. They advertise, hoping to get a sucker that will come in and say yes sir, no sir im an idiot and I will work for 15% less than anyone and im so desperate for a job I will let you speak down to me. But then someone descent rocks up, with confidence and intelligence, so they try to lower you and make you feel bad so that you take a pay cut and work harder than before. So I think that tearing someone down, trying to ruin their confidence and your ability to act alone.
And yes this other person is correct, if they are arrogant and rude in an interview thats what type of people you will be working with. Perhaps the job being advertised for such a long time and their quick response is an indication of their desperation and or arogance. This could have been used to your advantage to negotiate matters in your favour. But people will like you and others will hate you for the same reasons. So you really have to accept it and move on.
I think its a good idea not to start in a job like this, because you are on the back foot from the beginning.