Prospective Employers Changing Job Postings During Interviewing Stage

[Northendzone]

my thought is that would really want to work for a place that pulls this stuff.

i applied for a job last year on a monday night, they called me tuesday to set up and interview. had a great rapport with the guy in the first interview and left thinking i had it nailed. went for a second interview which included someone from the us on the phone and based on the questions she was asking it seemed like she had a totalkly different vision of the job compared to what was outlined in the original posting.

a week later my guy calls me back to tell me i am no longer in the mix - two weeks later i get a call from hr to tell me they are not filling the position - my impression of the whole place was that they were confused and not very good at planning thier staffing needs.

[Torture]

I've always been told that when you're asked for a salary you don't give a number. You just say something along the lines of "I'm flexible and I'm sure we could agree on something once you give me an offer".

Cause if you're too low, well....they hire you but you don't make much. If you're too high they throw your resume in the shredder.
DuffMan's answer probably wouldn't be too bad either.

[First Lady]

I haven't interviewed for a job in years; I have been on the other side .....so a couple of pointers from the other side of the desk.

Originally Posted by Drury18

I've been very straightfoward asking what their range is or what the current person is making and have been met with "That's confidential and we want to know your expectations first". The confidential thing amazes me since I would think if you're interested enough in having me in for an interview, you'd be willing to reveal a monetary range.

By asking that you are comparing yourself to the exiting person. Possibly someone they are letting go due to any number of negative reasons. Avoid putting yourself in the same pool as them.

The places that have revealed what they are paying are in the $36-40K range with the explaination that its the recession and I can't expect to make much.

This is very true. I don't offer the same wages I did 5 years ago; likewise the rate I charge my clients has also gone down.

When I counter with info on the pay rates as per the sites, I'm just told they can hire someone cheaper and will.

Two things on this one.
Don't compare yourself to bulk statistics. Sell yourself. Explain how you will be an asset to them; are there ways you can save them money to jusitify paying you a higher rate?

Second, by quoting rates from other sources gives the impression you either don't understand or have no interest in understanding their business. It sounds like you are telling them how to run their business and/or that they are sub-rate compared to other employers.


Research the companies prior to going for an interview. If it is a company you are truly interested in working for you might try something like this; "Mr Interviewer, I know your company has grow X% in the last three years. I would really like to be a part of your continued success. To illustrate how committed I am, I am willing to consider the wage you are proposing for the first 3 months."

This opens the door to futher negotiation.


One last piece of advice; broaden your search beyond "posted" jobs. With the number of people looking for work now most jobs are never posted.

Network, network, network.

Edited to add: BTW, I'm hiring.....

[Drury18]

Thanks to everyone for the information.

I will changing my approach to the salary question since that seems to be the common theme here.

First Lady, with respect to the wage and recession info, I understand I won't be making the top or excess wage in the field, however the amounts they are stating are completely out of whack. My previous job, I was hired in the midst of the recession by a non-profit corporation and was paid anywhere between $15-20K more for the same type of job that's being offered by a competitive company trying to justify that $36K for an Executive Assistant is them being more then fair. I'm sorry but in two years, the wages haven't dropped to those of what first time Receptionists and Admins positions are being advertised for.

I think arming yourself with information is actually showing you've put some time and effort into researching wages and trends. Many websites now have the ability to show wages per job title as well as industry. It's not just bulk information for the whole job title as a whole. I obviously cannot understand what they pay or how their business model runs until I meet with them so am I just supposed to trust what they say is fair because they know the business better then I would? I think by quoting amounts for similar industries or sized businesses you are showing you do know something about their business and the payscales in similar situations. For buisinesses serious about hiring the best candidate, I think they will listen to reasoning and comparisions or at least recognize some effort as been put into the numbers being asked for. For businesses just looking for the best deal, they would have passed me over anyway when I countered their offer for more so no loss there.

I have to completely disagree with the advice about willing to work for 3 months at the lesser wage and negotiate later. I believe that's a sign of desperation on the Employee's part, not dedication. You know what you are worth, but rather then negotiate and prove that's what you are worth you back down and let them know that you will be taken advantage of. I think that's a poor start to any working relationship because you are showing that not only are you not confident that you are worth what you're asking, but that your willing to do anything they say for the job. If you start off on that foot, you can expect to continue to be treated that way for the duration of the job. In addition, Employers do not always follow through on that promise so you end up continously working for less pay because they already know they got away with it once and since you like the job so much you'll stay for any amount they give you. That is just a poor move to accept less just to get the job and hope they will pay you more later. Especially when you are trying to land a position that requires you to be assertive in pressing situations. You've already shown you can be pushed around and if I was hiring, I'd pass that type of person over since obviously they will back down easily if the situation becomes desperate.