Reputable company lowballs overqualified ‘unicorn candidate’ with 10% below her asking salary, candidate questions their intentions: ‘She's already taking a pay cut’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Dec 20, 2025 6:00 AM EST

This job market has even the most overqualified candidates scrounging the bottom of the barrel for any employer who will finally take a look at their resumes. SEO-heavy, AI-generated resumes are the new thing because a person isn't even taking a look at them. It's nearly all robots, baby! Welcome to 2025.

Many prospective employees and job seekers in general attempt to go for the coveted open positions. Think: Top publishing houses, Fortune 500 businesses, and any major bank. These companies' namesakes sell. Having their names on our LinkedIn profiles, along with knowing some of the most reputable people in our respective career fields, makes us a cutting-edge candidate whose middle name is competition.

Some employees even take a drastic pay cut to work at popular, reputable companies. Though you might be in a different tax bracket, the new working possibilities might pay off in the long run. Maybe someday, you'll be the CEO of a private equity firm because you opted for 45k instead of 65k one year when you were in your 20s.

The candidate in the next story is what the recruiting field calls a "unicorn candidate": overqualified and willing to take a pay cut for the company. Somehow, the hiring committee still lowballed her. The candidate tried on the company like a pair of shoes, but she's probably going to shop elsewhere for a more trusted, quality pair.

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  • 01
    a woman sitting at a table with a resume in her hand during a job interview
    via Resume Genius for Unsplash

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "Company lowballed unicorn candidate"

    I've been an agency recruiter for 5 months. I was given this role my first week on the job and was told that it was urgent to fill and the company was desperate.
    via alxlwn
  • 03
    I am the third recruiter on my team to work on the position-the other two had given up and passed it to me.
    via alxlwn
  • 04
    The client has been a nightmare to work with. They are the leading company in their field and literally a household name, and they think it's everyone's dream to work with them.
    via alxlwn
  • 05
    They have rejected so many high quality candidates over tiny details, splitting hairs without even speaking with the candidates once.
    via alxlwn
  • 06
    The ones they are interested in, they drag out the interviewing process for months, take weeks to schedule interviews.
    via alxlwn
  • 07
    They went on vacation for 3 weeks back in October, when they announced this to me in September I told them not to wait until after then to schedule interviews with the candidates and their response was literally "we expect them to be available when we get back"!!!
    via alxlwn
  • 08
    As if the candidates aren't applying to other jobs at the same time! After losing candidate after candidate after candidate due to long gaps in between scheduling interviews, including one at the offer stage, they finally got the memo and started to move faster with the candidates.
    via alxlwn
  • 09
    I sent them a great candidate who is overqualified for the position but down to work for them because she appreciates the name brand of the company.
    via alxlwn
  • 10
    She has moved along in the process for the past two months in good spirits, wowed them with her presentation and take- home assignment, has done everything right.
    via alxlwn
  • 11
    We got to the final stage and the client asked me to remind them what her salary expectations are and I gave them the number.
    via alxlwn
  • 12
    Candidate gets her salary offer today, and..... They lowballed her and offered her 10% less than what she asked for.
    via alxlwn

  • Sometimes, doing everything right will get you nowhere. Companies believe that it will always be a hirer's market, and not the other way around. The job market's “temperature” nowadays is definitely in favor of companies rather than employees, but this candidate is not your typical one.

    When the recruiter who shared this story explains how well the candidate was doing in the hiring process, it is clear that the candidate would receive an offer. Now, where there's an offer doesn't always mean there will be an accepted offer. It's challenging as a job seeker to know your worth and stoop down for a brand-name employer, but it's even more difficult to take an even larger pay cut because they deem you even less valuable.

  • 13
    Mind you, the number she requested originally, was within their salary range for the position! Candidate calls me upset and not understanding why she was offered less.
    via alxlwn
  • 14
    She's already taking a pay cut for this job due to the name brand. How could they finally reach the end of SUCH a long process, almost half a year, in which other candidates have dropped out time and time. again due to their inaction including one who had already received a salary offer from them.
    via alxlwn
  • 15
    How could they fuck this up now... The candidate is going to decline if they don't give her what she asked for.
    via alxlwn
  • 16
    female employee with her head in her hand displaying stress in the office
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    I asked my manager and she said that as recruiters we don't get involved with salary negotiations.
    via alxlwn
  • 18
    Altruistic-Meal6846 Honestly this is exactly how companies burn great candidates and then blame the market If her ask was in range and they still lowballed after months of delays that's on them I'd push back once with data and make it clear she'll walk then let the consequences happen sometimes losing the unicorn is the only lesson they learn.
    via Altruistic-Meal6846
  • 19
    JMLegend22 Tell your boss that someone else should take the account. That you don't think they are serious about hiring someone.
    via JMLegend22
  • 20
    NormalAtmosphere8274 Take home assignments? No thanks, thats a hard pass
    via NormalAtmosphere8274
  • 21
    Past-Disaster-2801 I did that once. They asked me to send a quick paper on how I'd build a crowdfounding campaign. I turned it in and never heard from them again.
    via Past-Disaster-2801

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toxic job recruiter workplace-stories manager job search
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