Rescinded offer

Anonymous

August 26,2022 at 1:35PM UTC

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Rescinded offer

My husband recently applied for a job, that he is well qualified for, within the company he works for. The interview went well and they let him know that they would be extending an offer. The hiring manager asked him what salary would make him "excited" to come to work every day. He thought that was strange but they agreed to talk about it the next day. The job requires a move to Florida, where the cost of housing is 30% higher and to buy a house is about $150k more than we paid where we are for a great house and neighborhood. The job was also not offering relocation. After thinking about it, we settled on a figure 15% higher than his current salary, and certainly not out of line, because the job was much bigger than the one he has and would require more hours, holidays and shorter vacations. The hiring manager knows how much he makes now as the job is internal, but told him that his number was much higher than his ceiling and would get back to him the next day. The next day comes and he tells my husband that they can't come anywhere near what he is asking for and they are rescinding the offer. No negotiation, nothing. We found it rather odd all things considered. Is this normal? He hasn't been in the market for a job in over 5 years.

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SUZANNE SWANSONAugust 26,2022 at 1:48PM UTC
Good thing before you moved! Wow!
Gretchen SkalkaAugust 26,2022 at 2:00PM UTC
Offers can be rescinded for a variety of reasons, many unrelated to any action the candidate has taken.
For example, if relo wasn't offered, it may also be likely that the budget for the position wasn't set or that they decided to go with a candidate in that market and the hiring manager wasn't part of that decision (yes, it happens).
Don't put too much energy into trying to figure it out.
Be happy that you didn't move your family to another state only to find out other things had changed with the position, as well.
Lara Ivey KauchakAugust 26,2022 at 3:32PM UTC
If he really wants the role, its worth a conversation with the hiring manager to find out what happened and why he is asking for more. Maybe they would help with relo but bring the salary down slightly?
Barb HansenAugust 26,2022 at 4:08PM UTC
Your husband was in the negotiation phase for a potential new position.
It's common for hiring manager to remove potential candidates from contention.
Generally, there is an opportunity to negotiate. If your husband made it clear what his bottom salary range is, the hiring manager made have leapt to the conclusion that there was no room for negotiation.
It sucks but it happens.
AnonymousAugust 26,2022 at 5:09PM UTC
If your husband is still willing to negotiate, have him reach back out. But think through will this be a decision the family will be willing to accept with the cons explained earlier?
Julie HumbirdAugust 26,2022 at 7:09PM UTC
If cost of living is 30% higher and they aren't willing to come up half that, why continue to negotiate unless he is massively over-paid for the market you are in. Plus no relocation package. I'm always a fan of taking a look outside of his current organization for the opportunity he wants. Internal promotions have a long-time problem of putting a cap on the pay increase while external hires are paid at market value. Its terribly antiquated.
Joanne RosenAugust 26,2022 at 7:42PM UTC
Hi,
It sounds like a red flag. For an internal position, the salary should have been disclosed.
Maybe it IS time for him to be in the job market and find a company that pays employees what they are worth!
Cheers
Joanne
Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistAugust 27,2022 at 5:45AM UTC
It sounds to me like y'all were pretty far off on the comp.
If someone tells me they need $180k for a base and my salary band tops out at $140k, I'm not exactly sure what there is to negotiate.
Some companies really stick to their salary bands and work hard to maintain internal equity and others have more flexibility.
My guess is the hiring manager looked at his number and knew he could not give your husband what he was looking for. If he can't even get close, what's to negotiate.
BeaBoss671049August 29,2022 at 6:05PM UTC
It wasn't 40k off it was 15K from what he is making but they wanted him to take a 5k paycut, and pay to move for a job that would require 20 more hours a week. Oh, they also thought he should be "excited" about that.
JJAugust 27,2022 at 3:51PM UTC
Yes that is often how companies treat people and probably your husband dodged a bullet. I’m sorry he lost out on the job but it may be better in the end.
Lynda BoothAugust 28,2022 at 12:43PM UTC
Was your husband willing to negotiate? If so, he should have expressed that. But yes, it is normal if the salary asked for is much higher than the employer can offer.
AnonymousAugust 28,2022 at 3:42PM UTC
I have to say 15% for a promotion is definitely a reasonable expectation. Even more so for requirement to relocate without a package. Sounds like the company hiring manager had no clue what he was doing....almost like he would expect your husband to take a pay cut!
KathrynAugust 28,2022 at 4:30PM UTC
The company was trying to do it on the cheap. Nothing really your husband could have done. I uses ot work for a big corp and every opening was internal first because they could give 8% pay raise and all would be happy but when they asked for more the company would just say no. And then hire from outside with a 20- 25% higher pay band
AnonymousAugust 29,2022 at 2:33PM UTC
I think that the 15% is fair, though with any offer I would make sure to let them know you are willing to negotiate (only if you are though). If the offer doesn't ever get to where you would need it then you can always decline the offer.
Jami HuntSeptember 9,2022 at 1:46PM UTC
When I was hired for my current job a year ago, they gave me an offer that I didn't like. I countered. They were not able to meet my request, but countered with something else. It was my understanding that this was very normal in a business setting. If the company has a specific policy they should make people aware of it rather than just shutting them down. I turned down a couple of jobs because they couldn't pay what I would need, and that's the employee's right as well.
AnonymousSeptember 10,2022 at 12:30PM UTC
Respectfully.. That policy is absolute nonsense. It ensures that your company is not going to access the best and brightest employes on the market. If they want to attract those high impact candidates, they need to understand that there is a very real competition for them and they need to get in the game. Otherwise, they can live with their draconian - archaic internal promotion policy and convince themselves it's working. It's kind of like playing chess with yourself. You can convince yourself that you're winning but are you really?
As an executive search consultant, I can't tell you how often I recruit away from a company where a candidate has worked for many years and believes they are earning a market competitive compensation only to get them an offer of 20-4% higher that IS market competitive. Your company needs to join the current century or be left far behind in the race for the best talent.
AnonymousSeptember 10,2022 at 12:30PM UTC
Correction: 20% - 40%
AnonymousSeptember 12,2022 at 9:25PM UTC
Ooooohhhh... not intended to ignite your ire. Definitely not intended as antagonistic.. you'll know it when that happens. Reeeelax.
Sylvia Cavazos LeeSeptember 16,2022 at 3:20PM UTC
Count your blessings. My daughter moved to Florida for a job and is ready to move back to Texas.
Everything is way to expensive.