Had an in person interview today for a senior project manager role at a mid-sized tech company. Got through two rounds of phone screens no problem, both recruiters hyped me up and said I was a strong candidate.

I show up, meet the hiring manager, and the first 20 minutes actually went really well. Good conversation, seemed engaged, asked solid questions about my experience.

Then we get to compensation. I gave my range which was exactly what was listed on the job posting $95k-$110k. He literally laughed. Not a chuckle, an actual laugh. Then said “yeah that’s not going to happen here, we were thinking more like $62k for someone at your level.”

I paused for a second and asked him why the posting listed a range that was $30k higher than what he just said. He shrugged and said “those ranges are just to attract applicants.”

I closed my notebook, thanked him for his time, and walked out. He called after me saying we could “negotiate” but I just kept walking.

Life is too short to work for people who think lying in job postings is just a normal recruiting strategy. Know your worth and don’t let anyone lowball you into settling.

Edit: To everyone saying this is AI or botted lol I get it, Reddit is full of fake posts but this actually happened to me today. If the mods remove it that’s fine, I just wanted to share my experience and vent a little. Didn’t expect it to blow up like this.