I recently applied for a position/promotion.

31 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 27,2023 at 2:54PM UTC

   Was a formal offer actually made, one that included a salary and benefits? Or was it an invitation to interview? If this truly was an offer, what did the hiring manager say when you asked them about this odd interview dynamic?

2. AyianDecember 27,2023 at 3:14PM UTC

   That definitely sounds like a bait and switch. You interviewed for x job title with y salary range. They are welcome to offer you a different job instead, but what happened to the one you applied to?

   It may be that the company reassessed their needs and/or the were budgetary constraints. See if you can ask for other benefits - more pto for example, or if the salary has wiggle room or a bonus that could be added.

3. Terrie McWhorterDecember 27,2023 at 3:17PM UTC

   Listen to your gut. Know your worth! Best of Luck

4. Barb HansenDecember 27,2023 at 4:50PM UTC

   Bait and switch? Perhaps.

   Did the job get posted originally with the wrong job title and salary? Perhaps .

   Is the company going through a job-title reconciliation and realignment process? Perhaps.

   If I was interested in moving forward with this job, I would ask the hiring manager why the job title and salary range changed. I would also ask if the job responsibilities have changed or are expected to change.

   I would be suspicious of the company. This doesn't feel right, although I would certainly ask the hiring manager why things changed, and base my final decision on their answer (or non-answer).

   As @Terri McWhorter brilliantly said in a previous comment "Listen to your gut. Know your worth"

5. Rosa GoesDecember 27,2023 at 5:28PM UTC

   It is definitely bait & switch. I understand change can happen, but it's not the position you applied for. Continue your for other opportunities.

6. AnonymousDecember 27,2023 at 7:40PM UTC

   Thank you all for your responses.

   The title and job description and salary range were approved by HR before being posted.

   I have basically been an understudy for the position for the last 5 years and was told no one else came close to being offered the position. My boss is as frustrated with what happened as I am but she is not one to make waves. I plan to ask further questions, but this is profoundly disappointing and discouraging.

7. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistDecember 28,2023 at 7:23AM UTC

   I'm really sorry this has happened to you. It may be a bait and switch situation, it may not.

   It's especially distressing to hear that this has happened when you've been an understudy for this position for the last 5 years - a ridiculously long time, in my opinion.

   I think the first thing you need to do is get a straight answer as to why the title on this position has been changed and the salary decreased.

   They go hand in hand - I suspect that they legally couldn't decrease the salary without changing the title.

   I don't want to discourage you in any way but I will tell you that in my experience, typically positions are leveled down when either the hiring manager, their managers or HR (or a combination of those folks) do not believe that the person they're making an offer to's experience is up to the level originally outlined.

   That this would be the case after 5 years understudying that position, is ridiculous. Unless you are really bad at your job, I really can't imagine how that could be true. But that doesn't mean that they don't believe that.

   The other potential reason that comes to mind is that you are currently being grossly underpaid and that even the minimum they would have to pay you for the position you originally applied for would be such a big bump, that they're choaking on giving you that big a raise.

   Some companies also have a policy that your raise can only be up to a certain percentage.

   I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it's possible that you will have to leave your current company to get the opportunities that it sounds like you have certainly earned.

   Please let me know if you have any questions and please keep us posted on what you find out.

   GOOD LUCK!!!

8. Amy Carissa OliverJanuary 1,2024 at 2:43PM UTC

   I agree with most of what Joan has said here. However, if I were to give you advice, I'd say to ask the questions about the leveling and point blank ask if there is an issue with policy that prevents such a raise. If that's the case then only agree to the new position if they give you the current amount listed and then agree in writing to bump you to the range they originally listed and that you applied for in one year and they need to do that in writing. And don't allow them to base it on something arbitrary like "if you continue to perform well." If it has to be performance and not experience based then they need to give you hard numbers. Otherwise just say "thank you very much but I do not think the new version of the position is right for me. I appreciate your consideration but will stay in my current role." And you should make sure your manager knows you won't be playing understudy anymore. And when they hire someone under qualified for the role you're not available to train them because if you are experienced enough to train someone then you were experienced enough for the higher level role they don't want to pay you for.

   There are also other ways to get the pay issue sorted out. You can ask for a bonus that covers the gap for the first year. You can ask for 10-20 days of administrative leave (and fyi I would use that to look for a new job!). You can ask for a more flexible work schedule. Money is great but it's not always the only or most important thing. I'm myself in the middle of a promotion that didn't come with a pay raise (I knew this when I accepted it because I know it will change later). What I'm getting is an amazing job title, training in an area I need for my own career trajectory (I lost an executive director interview to someone with this experience and I never want that to happen again), and the opportunity to network industry wide and globally in ways that would never have been available. Those aren't part of the job per se, they're things I've asked for.

   So just consider all of these things but remember that you come first.

9. AnonymousDecember 28,2023 at 2:08PM UTC

   This is not necessarily a bad thing. It sounds like they like you, but don’t think you quite meet the qualifications for the posted role, so they are creating a role for you. Presumably this is still a promotion for you. Ask about how you can move towards the posted role in the future,

10. AnonymousDecember 28,2023 at 5:29PM UTC

    It does sound like that to me as well. OP said they were an understudy for this position, which means they never held the title. Some companies have to have seen you with that title before.

    I would ask what a realistic timeframe, and what you have to prove, to get that higher title. If you decide to take the position, they will know that you intend to reach that level and will be unhappy and leave if you don't.

11. AnonymousDecember 28,2023 at 3:04PM UTC

    nothing you can do about that though

12. AnonymousDecember 28,2023 at 9:28PM UTC

    Were you offered the position or were you just interviewed for the position?

    Bait & switch? I don't know. Often times, we will post a role and what we originally post turns out to be not what we need and we will revise and repost.

13. Susan WehnerDecember 28,2023 at 11:22PM UTC

    I was being offered the position and my manager was as frustrated and actually embarrassed that this happened. She is still attempting to sort it out.

14. Monique M. Angers, ARM, sHRBPDecember 29,2023 at 1:30PM UTC

    Go with your instinct... does not sound like a good fit, unless the revised position suits your needs. It is ok to gracefully decline an offer.

15. Jessica FerlandDecember 29,2023 at 2:17PM UTC

    Agree

16. AnonymousDecember 29,2023 at 2:27PM UTC

    If the title and salary being offered no longer meets your requirements, then it sounds like you should decline the offer.

17. Colleen HansonDecember 29,2023 at 3:28PM UTC

    I had this happen years ago. I applied for an Office Administrator position with fairly decent pay. I accepted the position and my first day was informed that it was actually a call center customer service position with the pay being $7 per hour lower than what they advertised and what was discussed in my interview. I had already left my other place of employment and was not in a position to go without a job. Within a few weeks I found out that it was not a "family business", there were no benefits, no year end bonuses, etc.; basically several lies were told in the original ad and in my interview. I was stuck, at least until I could find something else. While the Office Manager seemed ashamed, embarrassed and sympathetic, the owners actually laughed as they would discuss their various lies to get "bodies in the door". Worst experience of my life! I would keep looking if I were you. There is either some type of deception going on or at the very least extreme disorganization.

18. AnonymousDecember 31,2023 at 1:30PM UTC

    You should have sued for misrepresentation and violation of labor laws. There's a labor/law regulation department in your state and I would have shut these people down.

19. Colleen HansonJanuary 4,2024 at 7:36PM UTC

    I did try to report them and I soon became their target for anything that went wrong. They lied through their teeth when they were interviewed, they threatened the jobs of my co-workers if they did not back them up, and they had given me nothing in writing so it all came down to my word against theirs. I was able to get them investigated for time card fraud and failure to pay overtime (the owner was changing our timecards to delete any overtime we had worked). They were also operating large trucks without proper DOT certifications, which they also weaseled out of by claiming all but a few of their drivers were lying. It baffled me how so many complaints had been made against them and yet the state I live in continued to take these con-artists word for it. I found new employment as soon as I could. They are still in business, unfortunately, and they still have an extremely high employee turnover rate.

20. Diane J HuffDecember 31,2023 at 1:47PM UTC

    That was reportable to the NLRB. They can’t do that in ANY state.

21. AnonymousDecember 29,2023 at 4:04PM UTC

    Listen to your gut. If the position is not what you want and the money isn’t worth it, pass on it. Or if you have to take it for unemployment reasons, take it and keep looking.

    I have a friend who had this happen, and she was MISERABLE for the entire duration of her employment there.

22. AnonymousDecember 29,2023 at 6:10PM UTC

    Internally? If you currently work for the company as for the why and if you are questioned as to why you are asking let them know that from a career perspective you want to understand the titling and why the change was made. Don't make it about the money because at end of year it is typical that companies either use it or lose it so perhaps the hiring manager made those changes to not lose the extra headcount. Remember it is also end of quarter in most places and justifying the need and the spend might be part of it. You could if it is internal ask for the title of the role originally posted to be your external title to the world and then internally be okay with the revised one.

23. Crystal HowellDecember 30,2023 at 12:33AM UTC

    Sounds like it, ask why is it still open if you were offered it. Why did the salary decrease, ask and you shall receive. Better than trying to guess? Good Luck

24. AnonymousDecember 30,2023 at 2:56PM UTC

    Is it still a promotion and salary increase compared to where you are? Is it work you want to do and can be successful at?

25. AnonymousDecember 31,2023 at 8:45PM UTC

    You’ll never know if this was the plan originally or whether business needs changed.

    That said, this switch is a bad look for the company. For your purposes, this move is fundamentally untrustworthy and rightfully so.

26. AnonymousJanuary 1,2024 at 3:29PM UTC

    This happened to me a couple of years ago.
    I applied for a position within my company, and was told the title/grade was reduced. Upon further conversation with the recruiter, he said all his open positions at that grade were downgraded and everything above that grade was canceled. This was happening due to short-term cost reduction efforts by the corporation as a whole.

    My response was that I applied for X position at X grade level, which had more responsibilities. I asked for clarification of the functions I'd be expected to perform: the functions of the lower grade (where I already was), or the functions of the new grade but at a lower title/grade level. Normally, titles don't matter to me, but when they're associated with specific roles/responsibilities and salary ranges, they're pretty important.

    I respectfully declined the offer, stating that I applied for the original role/grade and would keep my eyes open for future opportunities within the company. They escalated it to a VP, changed the grade/title back to what it was, and then offered it to me again. I accepted.

27. LORI-ANN BURLINGAMEJanuary 1,2024 at 8:03PM UTC

    It is bait and switch -- do not take this job. This is not the company that you want to work for. If this is how they treat you as an applicant, how are they going to treat you as an employee? Listen to your inner voice.

28. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJanuary 4,2024 at 5:09AM UTC

    Based on my understanding of both the original post and the OP's comment below, she already works for this company - she said "I have basically been an understudy for the position for the last 5 years".

29. LORI-ANN BURLINGAMEJanuary 6,2024 at 12:49AM UTC

    Thank you for your comment. However, your remarks do not change how I view the posting. As you know, everything is subject to interruption and HR departments speak double-talk better than most.

30. EMILY KIKUE FRANKJanuary 2,2024 at 3:52PM UTC

    If you're offered the position, negotiate for both the higher salary and the more apporopriate title. If they say no, don't accept.

31. Farah BajwaJanuary 3,2024 at 9:12PM UTC

    It could be, but if its a reputable company, they could be fine tuning the role for their needs as they actively search for someone to fill it.

    At the end of the day, the decision is yours completely. I'd check the job description - has that stayed the same? If it has, I'd then see if I tolerate the salary decrease. If it has not, then first is to decide if I like the new job description