A manager from some company reached out to me on LinkedIn about a job opening and then called me directly. I've been out of a job for a few months now, so I'm actively looking and I told him I'm interested. During the call, he started talking about the salary, which was a bit suspicious. I mean, why does a manager need to know about my current pay? Anyway, I told him my expectation is around my current salary plus thirty percent, but he said they can only offer me my current salary. Since I'm currently not working, I was still open to considering the offer. I just asked him if the job is hybrid or full time office work. The moment I asked that, the guy got really offended. He started saying things like: "Why are you worried about hybrid or office if you're getting the salary?" "This is a problem with the new generation." "You guys don't want to come to the office." Then he went on and on, saying things like: "After a year, this job might be there or it might not be there. At least now you should work hard, come to the office, and focus on your work." The whole conversation started feeling like a red flag. It was pretty authoritative and a bit condescending for a first call. So I decided not to move forward with the opportunity. I'd rather take a few more months to find a good team and manager than rush into something that already feels toxic from the first conversation. TLDR: Hiring manager called me about a job, said they could only offer my current salary. I asked if the job is hybrid since that would influence my decision. He got offended and started lecturing me about "this generation should work from office" and that jobs might not exist after a year. Decided to drop the opportunity because it felt like a red flag. Has anyone else had similar conversations with hiring managers or recruiters?
he was way out of line
If you can take the offer, it will help you to negotiate with other companies.
There will be some who think the manager was not much wrong, previously I too was like that, yeah ok I will listen, you are right but once you start working they will become more authoritative, more manipulative, it's like they are the final say. They will act like they are giving you the salary, not the company.
I've been pretty bitter about this one experience. I interviewed at a company called Strategy. I cleared the technical rounds and it went to the managerial round. The manager had a bias against my profile since I've worked in a service-based company. He was constantly insulting me and the work I do. This kept going with personal attacks too. I kept quiet, thinking I should be professional about this. I kept clarifying things to him. After the interview, I got a notification that I'm not selected. That's when I decided, if anyone insults me or my work, I won't tolerate it anymore. I'll leave the interview right away. Because even if I went through the insults, I will not be getting the job anyway. Why should I endure the insults for a company that isn't even interested in me?
You should have told him, unlike some people, others have a life outside the office and work for their family, hobbies, and friends. Asking for hybrid or regular office is a very common and justified question. Good call on not proceeding with the opportunity, sounds too toxic to begin with. Wait for the right opportunity
We need some good labor laws like they have in Europe. These people treat us like dirt.
This is very common with some managers, they have an unusual obsession with getting employees to work from the office even if there's no impact on productivity while working remotely. P.S I prefer working from the office but I don't like forcing people to work from the office if they can deliver results while working from home.
I would have told him to get lost and then disconnected the call
> "Why does hybrid or office matter if you are getting the salary?" "This is a problem with the new generation." "You people don't want to come to the office." I would have cut the call.
Ping me his number, I will call him up with a job opening and will give him the same treatment.