Job Offers Don't Match Expectations
Candidates consistently experience a disconnect between advertised salary ranges/expectations and the actual offers received. This leads to frustration, wasted time, and a feeling of being misled throughout the interview process, often involving recruiters or agencies pushing for lower compensation. The issue spans various industries and company sizes.
SOURCES (60)
“Hello good folks of reddit. I am in a position to get a higher paying role. However, my current role has a lot of flexibility built into on start/end times and remote days. At what price would other folks be willing to give that up…”
“They asked something like (i don't even remember exactly honestly) what are my career plans if I'm hired at the company. First I just said I'm looking to stay long-term at your company. Then foolishly I said I am looking to grow and advance and in the future if there are more opportunities at the company I would be interested in those roles. Then I emphasized again that I want to stay long-term at their company. Right when I said it, I knew I f-cked up. Now they're thinking, &quo”
“How much should I value the remote option? That is a very subjective question. It's very, very dependent on the person. Some would pick a +20k increase in salary for in-person over remote, whereas some won't do it for less than a million a year. I'm the later. I traded in a 270k a year in-person job for a 90k remote job. Not having to waste +10 hours of commuting a week on top of having to be on-time every day probably extended my life span by a decade.”
“Hi, would love some input. I have worked in sales and account management for quite a few years now. I’m also a mother and have shifted roles so they work around my child and offer me flexibility. My current sales role is fairly steady, but the salary is terrible and the average commission they discussed with me was clearly made up. I have worked hard and done well, but I should be on a lot more money. The flexibility is the main benefit. I work from home 2 days per week and it’s fairly low press”
“Hi everyone, I'm a 2026 graduate and currently have two offers in progress: TCS Digital (7.01 LPA) – I've received the offer letter and am waiting for the joining letter. Cognizant GenC – I've been selected, but I haven't received the offer letter yet. I'm also not sure whether the onboarding will be as an intern first or directly as a full-time employee. If Cognizant starts before TCS gives me a joining date, I'm thinking of joining Cognizant instead of sitting idle. The”
“Got an offer on the table for an AE role-highest pay l've ever been offered, strong company, big upside. But it's 5 days/week in office, like 40 min commuting each way, and it's a genuinely tough. Grind to quota but hit your numbers if you work hard My conflict is I don't want to be it sales long term. I'm trying to build something of my own on the side and eventually go do that full-time. This role would fund that runway faster than anything else I could take right now, but”
“As long as skip approves, you should get return offer. It’s not guaranteed because company wide hiring freezes and policies can change it, but that’s C-suite mandates not “upper management”. Theoretically if you’re close with your SDM, they can tell you before you leave if that got approved or not. Source - I was SDM and went through this process last summer.”
“I think that's probably a mistake but yeah the quality of the ad overall is a signal for you to not look at it as one worth applying to.”
Hi everyone! I’m looking to get onto a product management grad scheme or to get a grad role and was wondering how much people get paid on them? If you’ve been on…
“I currently have a NTT position and I'm very close to getting an offer in industry. If I get the offer and I try to negotiate with my current unversity, how much do I have to share with HR? Do I have to give them proof of the salary and benefits? The actual offer letter? Any tips for the negotation appreciated! I'm in the US by the way, R1 institution. submitted by /u/Motor_Fee7299 [link] [comments]”
“Hey everyone, Looking for a realistic salary reality check for an upcoming negotiation. I’m an internal candidate being moved into a Major Incident Manager (MIM) role at a high-volume corporate hub (large grocery retail client base). Management is calling it an "entry-level" headcount for the band, but I’ve been running the actual bridges here for a while. My Background & Relevant Experience: Current Role: Service Desk Escalation lead (1 yr) + previously L1 Inbound Analyst (1 yr) a”
“That just means they'll talk more about the job, then throw the question again about your salary expectations at the end, and never actually give you the number.”
“If love to be closer to certain people in my family out in CO, but $37 plus same night shift diff is insane for your cost of living.”
“I would price the clawback like actual debt, not vibes. If the new role really gets you back into AWS fleet work, that is a way better story than ServiceNow automation lol, but 90k pretax clawback plus sick family in NYC is not a small career optimization.”
“True at the low entry level white collar, fast food, retail and blue collar hourly jobs.”
“Probably shouldn’t have been okay with the lowest… but ig you felt like asking $130k was too high? I was in the same position albeit the range was lower and they gave me what I asked at the higher end of the range. Didn’t feel like I could negotiate off that but I asked for something else and they said no. Still took the offer since I believed the role to be a better fit and represented a 27.5% increase”
“I think 120 is not too far from your offer, in this economy it’s a medium risk? Not too big. Just ask once. You never know but it’s not likely to be rescinded. If they like u they might even exceed your nego”
“Negotiate once, I think 120 is fine. You do risk it but it’s fine, rescinding is not likely if you ask only once”
“I recently graduated, and after discussing it with my parents, I've decided to reject an offer from a Noida-based startup. I wanted to hear opinions from people who have been in the industry longer than me. For the past month, I've been working with them as a freelancer. I was hired as a Full Stack Developer , but most of the work I've been doing is AI-related. I don't mind learning, but it's quite different from the role I was initially brought in for. Yesterday, the CTO cal”
“I'm already employed but their proposed salary is already a 15% increase for me. I just don't want to be lesser paid than someone junior to me because I think the junior roles overlap with my current pay.”
“If you need the job and just being slightly greedy for the extra amount then I’d just accept. 5-10k at that pay range is fairly negligible. That being said, if you have wriggle room then you might be able to negotiate a couple grand. Just try not to come across as greedy”
“So I've been at my current job for a couple years. Figured I'd look around since I've gotten a good amount of experience and I'm ready to switch (Electrical engineering) Long story short I got an offer from a startup and I have a couple options in terms of my salary/RSU split. The RSUs vest over 4 years - 25% of them time vest after 1 year, then 1/48 every month thereafter. The thing is they only fully vest if they are time vested AND there is a liquidity event - IPO, acquisition”
Teller will be hourly so they would expect an hourly wage response.
“If they are asking for salary, give them an annual number. If they ask for hourly, give an hourly number. Here's a definition of salary: A salary refers to a fixed amount of money or compensation that employees receive every year from their employer in return for their work. Though you often earn this regular payment on a monthly or biweekly basis, you often express your salary as an annual sum.”
“I have doubts. I make 20k more than my fellowship trained peers. submitted by /u/aenopt [link] [comments]”
“I am a new graduate and found a dream job of mine in women’s health. They are offering 100k/year. I’m willing to go a little bit under the national average to do something I love, but is 100k a little too low? The average salary in this area seems to be 130k-160k, though I’m not too sure. My school told us to aim for $130k for our first job in this area. The job I’m talking about doesn’t not do negotiations. My student loans are around 280,000k so I don’t know if that will be enough to sustain m”
“I recently went through a panel interview for a job that matched pretty much my exact current job in accounts receivable, but with better pay. I got the call yesterday from their HR recruiter that they made an offer to another candidate and would let me know if anything changes as they’re waiting on them to accept. During that conversation their recruiter told me that I have strong skills and to keep an eye out on their postings and let him know if any come up that I’m interested in as he’d be h”
“Hello there - I am currently employed making $66,000 per year but I have an interview next week for a job with a posted salary of $75,000-$85,000 for three years of experience in my field. The job is a niche/kinda unknown so the posting on indeed only had one application in the last month. The job/field I have six years of experience, and have always been a top performer (top 1 or 2 out of usually ten technicians) in terms of production. How would I go about getting them to give me 85k? Start th”
“I recently moved to the US and accepted a seasonal Walmart position ($15/hr, 45-minute commute, rotating shifts until 11 p.m.). This is just a temporary job before I start my master's program next year. I start onboarding Monday, but I also have interviews next week for an office job and Target, both closer to home with slightly better pay. I also have an online class, and I help take care of my home and my husband, so the commute and schedule are my biggest concerns, not the pay. If you wer”
“This was from discription Minimum Requirements: 1-3 years of Inside Sales, Sales, or Account Management related experience. High school diploma or equivalent. Associate or bachelor's degree.”
“I applied to like 6 20-25$ an hr jobs in one day about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I didn’t hear back from any of them and then decided to settle for and got hired at a job for 15$ an hr. Keep in mind I literally haven’t had an interview in a year since my last job and suddenly when they see I’m employed 3 of the 6 asked me for an interview anyways, it’s fine. I like my job. submitted by /u/goreandsuch [link] [comments]”
“I was hired back in September 2025 as a HR coordinator but the role was for onboarding. The salary range was $24-31 an hour. Based on my 15 years of experience (some HR)I was offered the $31 an hour. I was in that role for six months until I was hired as a recruiter at the same company. I was offered the same salary in the recruiting role but I asked for $33 an hour and was given the $33 instead. My position was then posted internally with a hourly salary range of $31-39 an hour. They hired a pe”
“If you're already getting offers, what's the issue you're trying to solve for?”
“Why ? Can I join RM as part time as i want to be financially independent and prepare for a competitive exam, I was also thinking that is working hours is too much or too hectic then I will work for few months like 4-5 and then survive on savings and study”
“How much do you really feel like you’ve learned after 5 years? Because yes, salary is great, but at some point there isn’t that big of a jump in salary unless you’re EP and nearly 3 years of mostly reviewing docs and preparing signature pages plus intense hours, only to get to the 5th year and get small pieces of deals that I still don’t fully understand…like will I ever fully understand? Am I just fucked and don’t know it? submitted by /u/rideordiegem [link] [comments]”
“(Health Care Setting) I Accepted Job 1 (smaller non profit company) , Pay is significantly lower. ( Less Hours less stress / familiar with the job as it would be a smooth transition ) Job 2 (corporate big company) reached out offering a much larger pay. ( More of a on the phone desk job not exactly what I am looking to do ) They Both offer comparable Benefits. Problem : The pay gap is almost 20k different yearly. I'm not struggling but this seems like a substantial difference but Job 1 is a”
“I got a job offer finally after looking for nearly a year, in and it’s a pretty unique small company doing nontraditional therapy, like drama and art with young people. However, I got the benefits package and it’s pretty shit. 10 days off, 7 days sick leave, standard holidays off, only medical insurance, which I know is unique for any small company, but my monthly contribution would be $540, am I deductible would be 3,750. That’s honestly about it in terms of the benefits. No dental or anything.”
What is SOLAR? I am not sure I fully understand your post perhaps?
“I work hard, but my pay never seems enough and struggle every month. One unexpected payment or bill throws me. How do you go about asking for a pay rise - historically my company only doing yearly incremental increases. I work in marketing. submitted by /u/Worldly-Yellow-6217 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all! Im back with another lateral hire question. Is it common to negotiate with a firm after receiving an offer on class year/salary? They want me to start a class year behind, and I spoke with my recruiter and they are asking if the firm can start me at my true class year. For some context, I am switching into a sort of new practice area so I understand the rationale behind the cut. However, I do have experience in this area. Is there any risk the firm might rescind my offer for trying to ne”
“Just out of curiosity, how many hours a month were you anticipating for that job?”
“OK, executives won’t be interested in any amount of money a normal person could pay. And execs tend to have gatekeepers. I think your only way in, in the short term, is to already know a c-level executive who likes you and wants to introduce you, as a personal favor.”
“hey y'all! recently got off the phone for a preliminary call to about the aforementioned position, and i immediately wanted to get some feedback. long story short, the interviewer asked what my salary expectations were. i had done some research on pay scales, but it had been generally inconclusive. i decided to go with 65k. mind you, i have limited experience in recruitment, and the lowest i saw for base pay at my experience level (aka,0-1 years) ranged between 46-58k, so i thought i was bei”
“I am a marketing coordinator in the construction industry in Southern California. Was this just to keep me “happy” as I do the same things as a Senior already? My responsibilities didn’t change and it’s 3.3% of an increase. Is this normal? submitted by /u/kalecoconuts23 [link] [comments]”
“No, it's for the interviewees sake. Negotiation before you have an offer is a disadvantage to the employee, not the other way around. You are negotiating against yourself. Wait until they decide they want you most, then you have the most leverage that you'll have at any point in the process. Your take is an idiotic one, and it's the reason people with this take are getting fewer jobs, lower salaries, and this have this self-fulfilling negative view. You sabotage yourself.”
“Yep ! As a general rule, any company that "reaches "out for a role that has plenty of potential candidates available ...I wouldn't get excited : Either Low pay/bad location or they are just phishing. I get LinkedIn reach outs all the time and it's always the same story In this job market, the only ones being "head hunted " are rare specialties. For the rest of us ..a role gets a 100 qualified resumes within an hour of posting”
“I’m a new grad just about to graduate school, and long story short I’ve been offered a job with a base salary of $135k with $4 RVUs after a certain amount of RVUs per month. Of course there’s benefits, relocation bonuses, etc. tied into the offer as well, but could anyone here describe to me how to break down RVUs and how that works from an income basis? It’s a concept I’m still not familiar with submitted by /u/Loose_Frosting3895 [link] [comments]”
“So I got an offer for a Health Information management assistant but the wages the union calculated are lower than I expected... After all the insurance deductions and whatever I will be making the same wages I do in my current remote full time job. However I do not see growth in my current job, it is a call center, even if I grow to become a supervisor the payment raise is not that much and my mental health will tank it. Also the health insurance sucks ass My question is, do you guys think it is”
“I am changing jobs, I got accepted into 2 companies and their salaries are as follows; Currently: $1480 monthly, $2800 bonus 2 times a year. > Yearly $23,400 Company A: $2700 monthly, $2700 bonus 2 times a year. > Yearly $37,600 Company B: $2260 monthly, $6800 bonus once a year. > Yearly $34,000 And their working conditions and my thinking are as follows; Currently: Working as data science, dont like it, cnat do much. I did some AI/LLM engineering, both freelance, and in my current work”
“Hi everyone, I'm a 2026 graduate and I'm in a confusing situation. I'd really appreciate advice from people who have experienced something similar. Here's my situation: I have an Accenture ASE offer with a confirmed joining date of 24th July. I also received a TCS Digital offer recently. For TCS, I have completed all the onboarding formalities and submitted all the required documents on the NextStep portal, but I haven't received my joining letter or joining date yet”
“So I have a Job that pays around 21 an hour after my commission, sometimes more. I'm currently a college student majoring in Finance. I've been looking at internships, but its really hard to get in somewhere, and if I do, the pay is lower than what I get paid now. Should I quit my job and take the pay cut for the experience and resume building? My current job has nothing to do with what I want to do in the future. submitted by /u/GRansom26 [link] [comments]”
“I’m roughly 28 and have been working for almost 3 years as a federal Contract Specialist (1102) with the Department of Defense I’m currently a GS-11 making around $80k. Objectively, I know that’s not a bad salary. I have good benefits, decent work-life balance, and job security. I’m grateful for all of those things. But I can’t shake the feeling that I’m getting locked into a career that has a relatively low ceiling outside of government, and the more time I spend here, the harder it becomes to”