A tech professional’s account of a job interview has drawn attention online after he claimed that a salary-related issue came up only after he had gone through the interview process.
According to the Reddit user, he was contacted by a practice lead who knew him from a previous engagement about a role with one of the company’s clients. He said he was clear about his current salary from the very beginning. “There was no ambiguity around my compensation,” he wrote.
The hiring process continued despite the company knowing what he currently earned. The candidate said he had to prepare for the interview, take time off work and travel to the company’s office before meeting the client.
He claimed that he cleared the interview and that the client was happy with his performance and ready to onboard him. “They still went ahead with the process,” he wrote.
It was only after this that the candidate said the company told him it did not have the budget for the role.
‘Startups can shut down’
According to the post, the company then began negotiating his salary down to an amount lower than what he currently earns.
The candidate said the reason given was that he works at a startup. “Apparently startups can shut down at any time,” he wrote.
He claimed the company presented its own size and stability as a reason for him to accept the lower salary. “HCL is a large, stable company, so I should be willing to take a lower salary in exchange for that ‘stability’,” he said.
The candidate said he would have understood if the company had been upfront about its budget at the start.
“If you had told me at the beginning, ‘This is our maximum budget and it’s below what you’re currently earning,’ absolutely no problem,” he wrote, adding that he would have “politely declined” and moved on.
Instead, he said what frustrated him was the time and effort he had already invested in the process. “What irritates me is that they already knew my current remuneration and still made me spend time preparing, travelling to their office and attending the client interview,” he wrote.
He eventually declined the role, making it clear that the issue was not simply the company’s inability to match his salary.
“Companies have budgets, that’s perfectly understandable,” he wrote. His objection, he said, was being asked to see a pay cut as a benefit because of job stability.
“Since when did ‘we probably won’t shut down’ become part of the CTC?” he asked.
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Internet reacts
The post sparked a mixed response on Reddit, with several users supporting his decision to turn down the offer.
“Good on you for declining. Only if enough people push back will the behaviour change,” one user commented.
Another suggested a different approach, writing, “You should not have declined. You should have accepted and made them wait all 90 days, telling them you are on a notice period. On the joining date, send them an email stating the reason you are not joining.”
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Another user said, “They think that people prefer them over startups or contract positions.”
A fourth commenter suggested, “Tell them you’ll join, then tell them I got a better offer two weeks before joining.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
