I was contacted recently by a Fortune 500 company that saw my portfolio site and called me to see if I was open to discussing a job they had. After discussing the position, the interviewer asked what my salary expectation was. I told her how much I was interested in making, she said that was well within the salary range for the job in question. She made an appointment for me to come in for an in-person interview. At the interview, it went very well. The team interviewing me seemed genuinely impressed with me and my skillsets that fit exactly what they were looking for. A few days went by, I got another call for a second interview. I went to the interview and they offered me the job...at more than $22,000 less than we had talked about. I asked why the amount had been reduced from the amount we talked about in the interview. They told me "Hey, lots of people are out of work right now, and we think this is a fair amount". I politely thanked them for considering me, and got up to leave. The manager asked where I was going? I told him "If you believe that the salary you offered is enough, all you have to do is find someone willing to take it, but that someone is not me". I left his office and smiled all the way to my car. I suppose there are lots of folks who are more desperate than I for a job...luckily, I have always been frugal and a saver, and have enough to wait it out until I get an offer with a salary that reflects my experience.