In a viral TikTok, a job hunter shared her frustrating email exchange with a recruiter who wasn’t transparent about the role’s pay range.
The TikTok carousel, posted by @lunawrites974, included screenshots of the email exchanges between the worker and the recruiter.
According to the screenshots, the interaction started off pleasantly enough, with a recruiter reaching out to @lunawrites974 to discuss salary expectations and comfort level with being on-site before going on to the next step of setting up a preliminary job interview.
“Why are you asking me my salary range when it was listed in the job description as 74K-110K?” the worker wondered.
Nonetheless, @lunawrites974 replied, stating that while her salary expectations are “flexible,” she’s hoping to land around $108K to $110K. She pointed out that the range is in line with the job description. The tech worker added that she’s justified in asking for the higher end of the salary range given her years of experience, previous employers, and leadership experience.
Given the listed pay range, @lunawrites974 was shocked when the recruiter shared that the role is actually budgeted for an $80,000 salary, but the company offers unlimited PTO and an annual merit raise up to 5% (which equals $4,000).
“I know this is a gap, but thoughts?” the recruiter asked.
“Pretty sure I said 100k+ which is in range. How did we get to 80k??’ @lunawrites974 said to herself.
She countered, stating that due to her over a decade of experience creating “dynamic and inclusive global events for Fortune 500 companies,” she couldn’t go lower than a $98,000 salary.
The person said @lunawrites974 and the company “wont be a fit” since they knew they won’t be able to meet @lunawrites974’s salary expectations.
“The multiple spelling and formatting errors are huge red flags…so looks I’m better off,” @lunawrites974 wrote.
The TikTok has more than 220,000 views and close to 200 comments.
“If you weren’t planning to pay that high then WHY LIST IT IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION,” @lunawrites974 wrote.
In a comment, she added that she was laid off and has been on the job hunt for the last few months. She said the search has been exhausting, and this is just one example of what she’s endured.
Since several states came out with pay transparency laws in the last few years, multiple companies have been accused of listing unrealistic pay ranges, leaving job candidates to feel bait-and-switched at the job-offer stage.
Several commenters shared their own negotiation experiences.
“I’ve noticed a ton of companies post huge pay ranges then some fine print stating that includes ‘company perks,’” a top comment read.
“This happened to me too when I applied to GoFundMe lol. Job range was $65-90k and she wouldn’t go above $70k,” a person shared.
“that IS the salary range, but they get kickback for “saving” the company $. they’re looking for a bigger bonus from a sucker,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to @lunawrites974 for comment via TikTok comment.
