A headhunting firm had been engaged by a company to fill an executive role. Six weeks ago the recruiter called him.
In that first conversation he gave his current compensation — inflated, he admitted — and his expectation of an increase. Not a problem, the recruiter said.
Five rounds followed. After the last one the recruiter phoned: the hiring manager loved him, he was the one, HR was putting the proposed package together and the offer would arrive shortly.
Two days of silence. He called for an update. The recruiter had, conveniently, been about to call him back. The company had an issue with the comp. He was, they had concluded, too expensive — nobody at his level there earned what he already earned, let alone more. They had gone another way.
At no point in those six weeks, the recruiter admitted, had he obtained a salary range from the company or passed the candidate’s expectations up the chain.