HR processes, bias, and profiling of candidates
Three months ago I got contacted by a Norwegian company launching a new product looking to create a team of professionals to put the project ongoing.
They found my CV in a database and were interested in my 18 years of experience, 4 languages, and diverse background. After our first meeting, I received very good feedback, together with a request for contact persons and some extra info.
My references had a nice telephone conversation about my performance and after two weeks I got invited for the second and last interview. This meeting was a 45 minutes pitch on the possibilities of the product, the brilliant future of the company, and the advantages of shifting from my current position to their company.
The post was called “Project Manager” and they needed someone to take care of:
- Graphic design/branding
- Backoffice administrative tasks
- Project Management
- Social media accounts
- Introducing the product to the Spanish market
Finally, and as a mandatory topic, they did THE question: “Salary Expectations”.
My answer was short and clear: I want to keep my current salary which is XXXXX. I can tell you all now, I earn an average amount for a Project Manager in a field where numbers are not especially high.
From there, the conversation turned 180 degrees. They said they had no money, that was more than they were expecting, that they had planned much less amount for this post…
I never heard back from them, but I saw on Linkedin that they just hired a young student with no previous job experience under the title: Project Manager.
After this happened I started questioning many things and reflecting on the situation of the current job market. How is it possible that a company tries to hire a senior employee to cover 4 posts in one but wanting to pay a junior salary? Why would a company contact the references if they do not intend to make a serious offer after all? How do companies profile employees and why did I fall in the cheap workforce category? Could this have been avoided?
Many questions but zero answers so far. What do you think? Has something like that happened to you?
It has definitely happened to me. Not once but many. I think at times companies are all too sure that people out there are desperate to accept any job offer regardless of the working conditions. Therefore they demand and demand, so you have to set your limits. It's a daily impression here in Spain, unfortunately.
I've had this happen to me several times during an interview. I once even had an interviewer rudely inform me that I was not worth $20 an hour and that I would never find a job offering that wage. Joke's on him, though. I eventually found such a job and I've been with them for nearly two years now. Even found a second job that at least met my salary requirements. He's still hiring and turnover at that job is astronomical. I don't understand why employers think it's perfectly acceptable to expect candidates to be okay with doing the work of four people while only earning half a salary.
I've been looking for jobs for over a year now. Gone through many interview processes... Had a similar situation a while back. Got contacted by a recruiter, he said I was a perfect fit for the position, told me all about it and was setting an appointment for an interview with the company. He just wanted to confirm with the company when it suits them, and would get back to me day after. I didn't hear from him for over a week and tried reaching out, but no luck. After some weeks he gets back to me saying that another recruiter took over the process. It was so unprofessional, and confusing. Also, I have many years of experience, and the salary they were offering was extremely low for that position.