Horrifying Hourly change
I applied on indeed for Intimissimi in Walt Whitman Mall, Huntington,N.Y. The hourly was $15-$17, I got a phone interview with a junior recruiter name Brian. Over the phone one of the questions was “what is your desired hourly rate”? I said $17 and Brian agreed with me and said yes I think you deserve $17 because of all the responsibilities and duties I do at my current job. I get a face to face interview with the hiring manager and I asked what was the hourly and she didn’t understand me she said yes we pay hourly so I said $17 and she said yes. She asked me what I made now and I told her $10 per hour and how much I made a week. I got a call from Brian on Friday the 29th offering me the position for $13 an hour. I told him he told me $17 and he was confused but said okay that’s fine but he’s going to check with the hiring manager but it should be fine so I accepted the position. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get what I was offered originally even though he assured me I will. He calls me back and offered $13 and thought there was a misunderstanding but there wasn’t any at all. I declined the offer, me and him agreed on $17 an hour and from what I interpreted from Brian the hiring manager doesn’t think I deserve $17 or I shouldn’t be jumping that high since I only make $10 an hour so they went below what the application offers because of the amount I make now and not my skills. I’m devastated, this has never happened to me before. Thank you Intimissimi, that was an experience. Has this ever happen to anyone ?
Yes, a true bait and switch tactic. They advertise a higher rate to bring in qualified candidates then use the applicant's current hourly rate as a bargaining chip.
Years ago I applied for a customer service manager position. They said it paid 50 a year in the ad. I show up, interview and they offer me the job on the spot but offer a salary of 30k. I didn't need a job because I was already working, so I turned it down. But, sadly, this shady practice is all too common.
Honestly, I would have negotiated at that point. The salary was between 15 and 17. I would have shot for 15.75 to 16.00 an hour. That would still be a big bump over your previous rate of $10.00 and left you room for advancement. Most positions have a salary cap for a role, and 17.00 an hour for retail is rather high, so I imagine you would cap out quickly at that rate.
Wow, definitely a curveball thrown at you. This happened to one of my family members, she ended up speaking directly to the manager, ad got what she the hourly wage that was expected for that position. Sadly, they tend band how much they pay based on previous employment and most times experience.
Tammy, just a few things. You were negotiating the hourly wage with Brian, who had no authority to secure or authorize your hourly wage. Brian didn't have the authority to agree to anything. You make $10/hr currently, you had an opportunity for a $3/hr increase, and you walked away because once you seen $17/hr, your mind was set. If I was going for a job paying $17/hr, I would have told the hiring manager I was making $15/hr, and my back-up reason for the difference between $10/hr and $15/hr would have been the cost of insurance and other benefits, as they add to your wage. It is much easier as a hiring manager to pay someone $2/hr more to get them to join my company, than to almost double someone's money from $10/hr to $17/hr. I would have suggested taking the job at $13/hr, knowing it could build to $17/hr if I did a really good job. And yes, I joined a company paying me $22.50/hr, and 20 hours of overtime, so $34.75 for 20 hours and $22.50 for 40 hours. After 9 months they called me into HR to explain they could not pay more the $13.22/hr after 2 more months, as they had lost a huge government contract. I told them I would be leaving, but I would stay until I found something else. Within 2 months I was gone, and it all worked out financially. I wanted to quit right away, but my bank requires money to pay my bills, so I had to buy my time, and find something better. You can do it, Good Luck...