I was approached on LinkedIn twice. I didn’t notice the first message from their in-house recruiter but noticed the message from the external recruiter on LinkedIn. The opportunity sounded great. I also read the job description and they required 1-4 years industry experience in trafficking and Campaign Management. I have 3 years of experience. He connected me with the in-house recruiter and she was a bit snarky about me missing her message about the opportunity but responding to his. That was a little unprofessional to me but didn’t turn me off completely. Then a few days later, I had a phone screening. She was outdoors and it was difficult to hear her. That was an odd way to conduct business so that made me feel a little uneasy. Now here comes the kicker. Not only did the external recruiter inform her I was comfortable in the $80k-$85k range, the job listing on their LinkedIn page literally listed this position’s pay range was $80k-$85k. She offered me $65k! I was insulted. I wish I would’ve spoke up more but I was so thrown off. The requirement was 1-4 years experience, I have 3 years, not even including my internship and my past entry level position so really, 4 years, and I’m offered 15k-20k LESS than the listed salary range? I also had to factor in the cost of transportation. I would’ve been out of my mind to accept it and I regret not calling that out in the interview. I just never experienced something like this before. Unfortunately, this is why start-ups get a bad rep. Lack of professionalism, low-balling offers, and lack of stability. I wanted to give them a chance because the initial offer sounded good but this experience was a complete turn off. I informed them I will not be moving forward. I will not mention the external recruiter because his company was great.