Candidate rejects job offer after discovering HR lied about the 90k salary, HR insists the "company benefits” are worth it: ‘I can't afford to live on that wage’

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 13, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

This company really thought that if they dragged a job candidate through multiple interviews and assignments, the candidate wouldn't care that the salary they offer is significantly lower than on the job posting.

It's a bizarre strategy, but it must be working for some companies if many still keep this up.

Here's how they do it: The company posts a job listing with a salary range that is appropriate for the role and the demands they're making, and they happily watch as the applications roll in. They interview hundreds of candidates, making them jump through hoops and go through countless interviews and assignments to prove their worth. They make people work so hard for a job they think they want.

Then comes the time to negotiate pay, which is when the company finally reveals the real salary they plan to offer to the one who "wins" the job, but that salary is significantly lower than what the company posted in that initial job posting. How can that be?

That is when the hiring manager starts jumping through hoops themselves in order to explain why they offer a salary that cannot compare to the one they proudly posted online. They say that the base pay doesn't include the benefits, and they add the health insurance and the unlimited snacks employees have in the office… They basically lie about every little detail to get the candidate to agree to something they never signed up for.

And after all these interviews and assignments, some employees might actually take the bait and accept the offer despite the insulting salary, exactly as the company planned in the first place.

Is that the case for the job candidate below? We wouldn't count on it. They shared on Reddit's r/jobs Subreddit how disappointed they were when this exact scenario happened to them, but they weren't quick to accept the job offer with the gaslighting base pay. They knew they could do so much better.

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  • 01
    A job interview, depicted by models sitting at an office and talking.
    via Ahmet Kurt

    A job interview, depicted by models sitting at an office and talking.

  • 02

    The 90k salary was a total lie and they tried to gaslight me with a spreadsheet

    So i just finished four rounds of interviews for this Senior Analyst role here in Austin. The LinkedIn listing clearly stated the range was 85k to 105k. I am a bit on the younger side for a senior
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 03
    role but i have the technical skills and the portfolio to back it up so i was expecting something. around 90k. Everything seemed great during the calls. The hiring manager was vibing with my
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 04
    ideas and they kept talking about how much they need someone to overhaul their data pipeline. Then the offer letter hits my inbox this morning and i honestly thought it was a typo for a different candidate.
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 05
    The base salary was 55k. I sat there staring at the screen for a solid minute trying to do the math. Along with the offer letter they sent this ridiculous 'Total Compensation' PDF that was
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 06
    basically three pages of corporate creative writing. They had the audacity to claim the total package value is 92k because they factored in the estimated cost of the health
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 07
    insurance premium the comany pays and a 15 percent performance bonus that is not even guaranteed. The best part was when i saw a line item for
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 08
    'Professional Development Value' set at 5k a year because they give you access to some cry internal video library that nobody uses.
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 09
    I called the HR rep to clarify because i thought maybe there was a mistake with the base pay. She had this incredibly condescending tone like i was a child who idnt understand how
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 10
    money works. She started rambling about the 'culture' and the 'unlimited snacks' in the breakroom as if those things pay my rent. She literally told me that the 55k is very competitive when you consider the 'holistic
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 11
    investment' the firm is making in my career path. It is pure gaslighting. They want senior level output for entry level pay and they think a colorful chart
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 12
    about dental insurance is going to distract me from the fact that i cant afford to live in this city on that wage.
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 13
    Person (model) holding a job offer letter.
    via Andrey Bukreev

    Person (model) holding a job offer letter.

  • 14
    I spent probably twelve hours total on their take-home assignment and the interviews just to be insulted like this. It feels like companies are just putting fake high ranges on job
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 15
    boards now to attract top talent and then hoping people are desperate enough to sign for half the amount once they are deep in the process. I told her to withdraw my application and
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 16
    she actually sounded offended that i idnt find their offer 'compelling.' The lack of self awareness in these HR departments is truly staggering.
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 17
    I am going back to the drawing board but man this job market is making me want to just move into the woods and give up on tech totaly.
    via Nitro500_Gear
  • 18
    Investigator516 Decline the offer. Report the job listing. Leave a company review. Name it here. Advertised salary must be the BASE SALARY. Not mental gymnastics.
    via Investigator516
  • 19
    Also be wary of where and what region these offers are coming from and have a Labor attorney eyeball anything to be signed... Because in addition to bait-and-switch there can be much greater losses, such as selling/buying a home or moving cross country only to be laid off between Day 2 and 3-6 months.
    via Investigator516
  • 20
    braywarshawsky The ol' bait and switch... they figured you'd just take it, because you're young and have no other prospects. Then they got upset when you called them on their bit as not only insulting, but deal breaking.
    via braywarshawsky
  • 21
    Just-Shoe2689 "Okay, I will take it" Then dont show up.
    via Just-Shoe2689

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