Job interviews can be tough for applicants, who need to market themselves to potential employers, but one of the most stressful parts of it is the salary negotiation. Job seekers don't want to miss out on an opportunity, but they also want to be paid what they deserve. After the interview, hiring managers typically chat within their organizations about how the interviews went, who they are interested in and what they might pay those people. Typically, applicants are not part of these conversations but that wasn't the case for one woman who was accidentally cc'd on an email she definitely should not have seen.
On Reddit, the woman shared a screenshot of what was supposed to be an internal email. It said that the company was interested in her and although she asked for a salary of $55k-$60k, they felt she would accept the position even if they offered her $53k. It also noted she had a second interview coming up.
The woman followed up on her post explaining that in her initial interview, they did discuss pay and she told them her minimum was $60k since she was leaving an entry level role in the same field and saw no point to go lower on her salary. She also knew from Glassdoor that this position pays at least $55k and while they never told her directly what the salary was, they did say "okay" after she told them what she wanted.
Even after seeing the email, she still wound up going to the second interview and said this of the experience:
I just told them I saw the email, they apologized and told me they’re embarrassed etc etc. I told them I feel they wouldn't have my best interest at heart if they're already undervaluing me and that I didn't want to continue forward with a team that's likely to stab me in the back. HR sent texts asking me to continue forward and called me apologizing and saying "that's not how they do business and if that was them they would be pissed" but I think that was more damage control and the other person declined. I told them the fact it was offered by who would be my boss means they would not be looking out for me if I took this position. And I also said it speaks volumes about the company that HR is apologizing on the Director’s behalf.
The story has a happy ending though - shortly after the interview the woman took a job at a different company, where they are paying her more than $60k.