In the wake of a turbulent few years, the working economy has seen a paradigm shift and some companies are finding it increasingly difficult to find staff. At the same time, massive layoffs have been sweeping through tech and media companies, making the job hunting process more stressful than usual.
What makes job hunting even more stressful is negotiating salary at a time when the cost of living feels higher than ever. There have been movements on Twitter to bring more transparency to how much people are paid to help level the salary playing field, but some employers are still doing what they can to keep money matters confidential.
Unfortunately for one company, they whistleblew on themselves when they copied a potential employee on a discussion about job offers.
You Are So Busted
Redditor u/Komeandgo posted a screenshot of a company email discussing the potential salary offer following her recent interview.
In the screenshot, one HR member writes to the other (names are removed):
“Here is a candidate that my Team likes as an alternative to [redacted] if he does not work out. [Redacted] is looking for 55k-60k. She lives in [Redacted] I think she would accept 53k. She has committed to a second interview with you. I am sending you her resume.”
The original poster explained, “I was accidentally cc’d in the email, which is hilarious since it was for an IT role.”
Leverage or a Red Flag?
Now, could this be a stroke of good luck and some leverage? What would most people do in this situation? Most people would say nothing, of course, but it is hard to gauge the correct moral response to this dilemma.
Does one email back with a discreet reply, explaining the error and demonstrating their professionalism? A reply from Successful_Peanut812 didn’t think so, saying, “I wouldn't be able to resist shooting an email back mentioning that you'll take $65k and can properly use the CC field when sending email.”
Doing The Right Thing
Such bravery could be one way of showing the company you are an asset, showing your no-nonsense mentality and direct communication skills. In any case, knowing they were discussing an offer must have given some confidence.
Mental_Cut8290 seemed to agree, offering: “We've all made mistakes in growing into our career. Working through lunch. Accepting the first offer. That was the day OP learned to work a golden parachute into her contract.”
To be fair, it isn’t a good look when the team responsible for hiring an IT candidate discloses leverage like this. Other Redditors also laughed at the ineptitude of the employers, joking that the original poster should be taking the job.
A Growth Opportunity
This one from vetratten declared: “Quick, somebody make the OP senior VP of technology.”
Was the company even doing anything immoral? A business will always preserve its bottom line, after all. Some comments in the thread concurred.
Business First
In contrast to the majority of responses, rcx918 said, “Where do you see “low-ball”? I see someone evaluating market value and what they are willing to pay. We have no information to know if they are lowballing you.”
This could be a fair point. There isn’t a job candidate out there who puts their actual or current salary unless they must. It would be foolish not to ask for more than your market worth.
However, the only response to rcx918’s thread was from vetratten, who just dismissed their fair point: “Did you really just pick a random comment thread to reply?”
Make Them Stop!
In a hilarious exchange, StillestofInsanities quipped, “F***! Did NOT see that coming!” to which Now_Wait-4-Last_Year replied, “In our heart of hearts, I think we actually did.”
It is hard not to see the potential for ridicule here. Kel174 simply wrote “HIRED!” in response to the post. Aquintana replied to this, giving it a new angle: “It’s for a church. NEXT!”
Hired or Fired
Clearly, whoever made this email mistake didn’t mean to, though they may have some making up to do if this gets out. Mercifully, the original poster kept both her and the employers’ names private, which is just as well.
If this were an episode of The Apprentice, Donald Trump might be ready to hire this candidate, but one thing is for sure: somebody at the other end would be getting fired.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.