Junior-Level Deception

Employees, Jerk, Job Interview, Job Seekers, Liars/Scammers, USA | Working | July 13, 2022

A few years ago I interviewed for a job (in the US) that was labeled as a senior-level position, which is my level of experience in this field.

I went through two phone interviews and a stellar in-person interview. Shortly after the in-person interview, they called me and said they absolutely loved me and that I would be a great fit at the company. However, they thought I was “a little too green” (implying I was inexperienced) for the senior-level position, but lucky for me, they had an opening for the junior-level position (at a salary decrease).

I kindly told them that the reason I’d applied to their job posting in the first place was that it was a senior-level position and that I wasn’t going to take a step backward in my career by taking a junior-level position since I had both the appropriate experience and the work history. I also let them know that trying to trick someone with senior-level experience into taking a junior-level position by stringing them along through interviews and a job offer was deceptive and unethical.

There was silence over the phone for a moment and then the interviewer said in an offended tone:

Interviewer: “Well, we’ve all had to make sacrifices for [Company]!”

Me: “You may have had to, but I don’t make sacrifices for anyone.”

Stunned silence.

Then, the interviewer, who was so appalled that they didn’t know what to say, replied:

Interviewer: “Well… maybe you can think about it and I’ll call you tomorrow to check in.”

Me: “No, thank you, and please don’t call me.”

I hung up the phone.

They do this a lot to young females like me in a variety of industries. Don’t take crap from anybody. Know your qualifications, believe in them, and tell abusers to [bug] right off. Your talents will be appreciated and paid for elsewhere, I promise you.

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