Matrix_N3on's journey

I recently went through a frustrating experience while interviewing for a position at a tech company. During my initial screening call with the recruiter last month, I clearly communicated my salary expectations, stating that my minimum acceptable salary was ninety-five thousand dollars. The recruiter assured me that this figure was well within their approved salary band. After four rounds of interviews, including two panel presentations and taking two days off from my current job, I received a call from the hiring manager with a job offer. However, when the written offer letter arrived, I was shocked to see that the salary was only sixty-five thousand dollars. I immediately reached out to the recruiter, thinking there must have been a mistake. To my dismay, the recruiter informed me that after their 'internal salary calibrations and equity reviews,' sixty-five thousand was their final offer. It was clear to me that they had no intention of offering the salary I had discussed from the beginning. They strung me along through the entire interview process, banking on the fact that I might feel pressured to accept a significant pay cut due to the time I had already invested. This experience has left me questioning why companies think it’s acceptable to waste candidates' time with misleading salary information. It feels like a manipulative tactic to get people to accept lower offers.