In the very first screening call, the candidate named their number and asked if it fit the budget. Ninety-five thousand, they said, was their floor. The recruiter took notes, smiled, and confirmed it sat comfortably in the middle of the approved band.
What followed was four separate rounds of interviews and two panel presentations. The candidate burned two days of paid leave from their current job to attend them, each time reassured that everything was on track.
The offer arrived in writing. Sixty-five thousand dollars.
They wrote back immediately, assuming a typo. The recruiter replied, straight-faced, that after internal salary calibrations and equity reviews, sixty-five thousand was the final, best offer. The band had never held ninety-five. The company had known that from the first call, and spent four weeks betting the candidate would be too deep in to walk.