I was interviewed throughout July-August 2018. A recruiter reached out to me, and we had a phone screen a few days later. A week after that, she set up a phone screen with the hiring manager. I was told it went very well, but they were candid about the fact that they couldn’t afford my asking salary. I proceeded to compromise and told them my absolute minimum range, which is still above what they were offering.

The onsite interview was automatically set up a week later, which I thought was odd. But since money is not my main motivation, I decided to go ahead with the interview and try to see the bigger picture (you know how you regret things that you don’t do and keep thinking, 'what if?').

The interview was all day, with lunch in between, and I had seven turns. It was okay, but I got so out of it by the time it hit number seven. I received feedback a few days later, which was apparently all positive, but they supposedly would get back to me once they knew something more. I don’t know what that means—is that a yes, no, or maybe?

Anyway, I heard nothing since, even after I followed up once, so it’s probably a no, as it has been a few weeks since I got my 'positive' feedback. I seriously think it was my salary range at the beginning of the conversation. They should have scraped me from the list the minute they found out that my numbers were way above what they were willing to pay.

I don’t regret the experience; it’s all about learning. Yes, I probably wasted my time (and PTO!), but at the same time, it’s part of being an adult and knowing your value when nobody else seems to have a clue.

Signed NDA