# Workplace Surgery: Six interviews, then a pay cut? - **Episode:** [190](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/190.md) (2025-04-22) - **Type:** workplace-surgery - **Tags:** job-interviews, salary, pay-cut, career-advice - **Time:** 37:30–42:03 (start 2250s) - **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/190?t=2250](https://truthliesandwork.com/190?t=2250) --- [37:30] Leanne Elliott: Okay [37:30] Al Elliott: get the interview in the first place, and he told me I'd done a great job, but that the recruiter had taken the question about the salary difference very, very personally. Apparently, if I didn't have an internal connection, this person, they might have pulled the offer altogether. In the end, I accepted the job. I'm excited, and I know £30K is still a good salary for a first-time job, but part of me keeps wondering, did I make a mistake by asking this in the first place, or is this just how things work sometimes? [37:55] Leanne Elliott: I don't think they made a mistake by asking. I think that's more than fair. If a— I mean, one, good for the company that they're advertising the salary. We enjoy that pay transparency. But then to adjust it and not expect a question is just silly. So, good for you. You're well within your rights to ask about that, even just from a point of view, can I understand why the offer's at £30,000 when it was advertised at £35,000? Is there maybe something missing in my experience? Or, you know [38:21] Al Elliott: Yeah [38:22] Leanne Elliott: Um, it's, it's quite uncool of the recruiter to react like this and bordering on unprofessional if they're reacting in a way that this person who referred you to the business is now getting wind of it to tell you. You didn't say if that recruiter works for the company. They could be a third-party recruiter, in which case they might be bonused on how they maybe bring in a candidate for a lesser salary, get some percentage of the difference, or Or even just get, you know, a nice tick against their name of, um, as a recruiter with that client, which means they might get more roles in the future. So if they're a third party, eh. If they're internal, yes, this could be a bit of a red flag because what it's showing is how people behave, how they react when they're challenged. In this example, not behaving and reacting very well. Um, particularly to give that threatening language of, oh, well, you know, we would have pulled it all. Anyway, if you wouldn't have been connected to the company. I don't think any company is going to hire somebody for a job who isn't qualified or qualified enough to be developed, and particularly in a grad role. That's all you really need to prove is that you've got huge amounts of potential to be developed through the grad scheme. So, it is uncool. Equally, you're excited about the job, you're excited about the people, it's hybrid, excellent. £30,000 is a good salary [39:47] Al Elliott: Yeah [39:48] Leanne Elliott: for your first job out of uni. I think, yeah, you've got to do what you can. It sounds like you have anyway, to kind of move on and look forward into the future and into this role. What I would say is that, um, you are right to ask. Never be afraid to ask about salary and have that, um, conversation. Um, 2, it's not how things necessarily work in terms of how the person reacted to it. It probably is how things work in terms of You know, salary negotiation, which is frustrating, but part of the current working way. And third, I would just maybe be a little bit cautious because what this might show is maybe potential— a red flag in terms of a lack of trust, things being changed without any real reason, potentially lack of transparency. I would just make little notes as you go through anything else like this that you notice, any other behaviours [40:39] Al Elliott: Yeah [40:40] Leanne Elliott: Um, that happen, just to keep yourself a little record, if only to help you distinguish between what is normal and abnormal, or what, you know, the consistency and frequency of it. So you can, you can talk to a mentor or a friend or, um, to kind of get their view on it as well. And just accept that if this behaviour does come up again and again, in 6 months' time, that might start to shift your perception and view and feelings towards this organisation. So, there's an element of being prepared for that if it happens, not in a, oh, I knew I shouldn't have taken the job, but I was aware this was a risk. I thought it might be coming. I'm not too overly disappointed. I've still, you know, learned lots of stuff and got what I needed out of my first job. And when the time is right, and I'd say you want to be in that job probably at least 18 months without raising a red flag of another recruiter, then it might be time to look around and move on. But in the meantime, congratulations. It sounds like a really great opportunity [41:36] Al Elliott: Thank you [41:36] Leanne Elliott: And fingers crossed this was a third-party recruiter and not a reflection of the organisation [41:41] Al Elliott: Could just be a reflection of the recruiter person. Maybe the recruiter person's had a bit of a tough week. Plot twist. What about if this didn't happen at all and the person inside the organisation, your friend who's helping you, just wants to feel really important? And so they want you to fall in love with them and go, oh my God, thank you so much for saving it, when in actual fact none of that actually happened. Yeah, there's a thought. Yeah