I received a call from the hiring manager who requested to ask a few qualifying questions. Everything was going fine until he asked what my desired pay would be. I started with my most desired rate ($17/hr) and he told me that was "a little over what they could pay" and asked if my desired rate would be negotiable. I of course agreed to negotiate because I wanted the job and went all the way down to $12/hr and was still told "that's a little over what we can pay".. what can you pay? When I inquired I was told that was confidential and he couldn't release that information. I guess I'm just at a loss because the offer was made- but there was no real negotiation. Basically I was just told I was asking for too much for an advisory role. I even asked if he could share a general range because I could refer someone else that might be satisfied with a lower rate but was still told that this information could not be shared. You can easily research how much H&M employees can make so this seemed a little out of the norm. What employer contacts you but can't tell you how much they are prepared to pay for your service?