# Rejected at Screening for Not Guessing an Unadvertised Salary.

**[TRUE STORY]** — by Candidate · via r/recruitinghell

His application was rejected before anyone read it. The reason given: his salary expectations did not align with their budget.

The budget was never advertised. Nor was a range. He had been asked, in effect, to guess a number he had never been shown, and then assessed on how close the guess came.

“If there’s a budget, why not just tell us?” he wrote. “Some of us are trying to build a future here, not compete on The Price is Right.”

There was no negotiation and no question. Just a rejection for missing a figure that existed only inside the company. He was not asking for a fortune — a life, bills, and maybe the occasional holiday. The mystery salary was the test. He failed it by not being psychic.

*Source: [r/recruitinghell · post](https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/comments/1xhypq1/rejected_because_i_couldnt_guess_the_salary_range/)*
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