‘I’m Not Here to Play Games’: Applicant Praised for Cutting Interview Short – Newsweek

A job applicant has been praised for cutting an interview short, after telling the recruiter they weren’t there “to play games” after the actual salary was revealed to be much lower than the one on offer.

The potential employee shared the time-wasting interview to Reddit‘s AntiWork forum, under username Xodarkcloud, where they revealed it was for an “admin back office job.”

In the post, which has amassed more than 15,000 upvotes since being posted on Thursday, they revealed that after working for a Canadian bank, they decided to quit during the pandemic and look for something in a different, but related, field.

After applying for a job, HR scheduled an online chat, but the applicant soon realized they didn’t seem to match the desired qualifications, despite being offered an interview.

They explained: “We were going over my resume and whatever I had written wasn’t right, ‘oh you went to this university, we prefer our employees to be from this other university.’ ‘You have 5 years experience, we are looking for someone with 10 years'” sort of situation.

“At one point the HR recruiter said ‘You have this certification and license but we would rather you have a CFA” and I replied ‘I don’t see how having a CFA works for this admin position, can you elaborate how?’ to which they didn’t know they just said the manager for this job likes seeing CFA.

“Regardless, I carried on. We discussed salary and I provided a range and they said my range was too high and they were looking for about 70-80% my range. I replied that the salary range I provided was the same one on Indeed [a jobs board]. The HR interviewer replied it was to attract talent but the real range was lower.”

Released in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released statistics covering weekly earnings in the last quarter of 2021.

It revealed the median weekly earnings of the 116.3 million full-time wage and salary workers was $1,010. That would equate to an annual wage of $52,520, if 52 weeks per year are worked.

While figures from Statistics Canada, from January 2022, revealed the average weekly earnings were $1,161 CAD ($929). That works out to $60,417 CAD ($48,382) annually, if 52 weeks per year are worked.

It was at that moment the interviewee decided enough was enough, and they were through with the pointless questions.

“At that point I told him I was cutting the interview short. He was a little taken aback and asked why. I told him I don’t think we are on the same page, your company is looking for something I am not.

“I wasn’t looking to play games and stated ‘You’re looking for someone with a CFA with 10 years experience that you’re looking to pay 70% of my salary range.’ The HR recruiter then told me everything was negotiable and I would be seeing salary increases every year but that they were trying to judge my reactions to criticism,” they wrote.

They claimed they don’t personally believe in promises of end-of-year salary increases or pay scale reviews.

“I told him I had the impression they were playing games. I wished them the best of luck finding this ideal candidate, wished them a good day, and hung up the teams interview,” they said.

While they doubled down on their stance, adding: “I am a professional, you want to have a professional work for you and you want a professional conversation about tasks and responsibilities don’t waste my time with trying to judge reactions and trying to cut me down.”

Their applicant was applauded for their actions online, as people slammed the hiring practices of the unnamed company.

DUREgAUl reminded people: “Interviews are two-way, you are interviewing the company too.

Zerkrazus thought: “This should be illegal. Same thing with not listing any pay at all.”

JumboJimbo2307 pointed out: “If they’re bad enough to lie about actual salary, you can bet they’re lying about the increases each year too.”

Ryanberry_ claimed: “If I ever apply for a job again, I will be that guy. Ain’t gonna sit there and act ‘professional’ and polite while they don’t even bother to reciprocate.”

Awfuleverything advised: “You should have said you had 10 years experience, then when they asked about it, said ‘I actually only have five. I just say that to attract employers.'”

Jlm8981victorian raved: “Omg, I love you. More people need to do this and we can all start putting prospective employers in their place. Lord knows they deserve it.”

In response to someone asking if Xodarkcloud left a negative review following their experience, they responded by simply saying: “Glassdoor.”

The recruitment site shared tips for prospective employees to negotiate a fair salary, as they advised people looking to open discussions need to “build their case,” be prepared to “face some resistance,” but ultimately “strike a balance between firm and flexible.”

They advised: “Before you go into a salary negotiation, it’s crucial that you find out, objectively, how much someone in your position, with your experience and in your location, should be paid.

“Salaries range greatly by industry, seniority and geography, and getting the salary you want will depend on asking for a realistic compensation package.”

They said candidate should always have a range in mind, rather than a figure, avoid accepting the first offer, and understand the benefits of leverage.

Newsweek reached out to Xodarkcloud for comment.