Applied online and was contacted about a week later for an initial phone screen, which happened over a video call. I was initially thrilled because I really wanted this role, and the conversation went very well up until the end, when I was asked about my compensation requirements. After giving the range I was looking for, I was told even my lower-end amount was way beyond what they were budgeting for this role. The amount they offered was, frankly, insultingly low, particularly for the years of experience required, the responsibilities, the knowledge the candidate was expected to have going into the role, and the fact that it was a senior position. It honestly felt like the person interviewing me, while very nice and pleasant, didn't take the time to research me, my location, my job experience, or my current role — because if they did, I'm not sure why they would've reached out to me in the first place and thought that I'd want to move forward with a salary that was less than my starting salary in my first-ever, entry-level role in this line of work many years ago. It felt like a carrot was dangled in front of my face and pulled away abruptly, and my stomach sank when I had to tell the interviewer our pay gap was likely too large to bridge and they agreed. They tried to placate me by telling me the company offers a ton of paid time off throughout the year (including a minimum amount of days off employees need to take), but that's not the same as paying people what they're worth. Word of advice to this team: please do your research on average pay for comparable roles in the area a candidate lives in combined with average pay for their level of experience. If you can't get anywhere near those numbers with the pay scale you're offering for the role, please do not reach out to a candidate even if they'd be a great fit. It's much worse to have that moment of elation thinking there's a possibility you could get a role only to learn they pay tens of thousands less than you earn, than it is to simply not move forward in the process at all. Better yet? Put your pay scale in your job listing so no one is wasting their time. This was 30 minutes this person could've spent interviewing someone who was willing to take their low salary instead of me, who was not and who wouldn't have applied if I'd known what the role paid from the outset. Deeply disappointing and frustrating experience.