I did an interview for the position of HR Coordinator which went well. I believe my skillset and what I could bring to the table to help the company grow was in line with what they were looking for. I interviewed with Alexandre, one of the co-founders. He seemed very enthused with my candidacy and told me he would get back to me before the end of the day to email me the job details. 6 days passed, at which point I assumed I was no longer a candidate. It was disappointing as I was very interested to work for this company. To my surprise, after the 6 days I received a job offer via email. I was honestly shocked by the salary offer as it was even below the salary range I had discussed in the interview. The salary was below industry average which was surprising considering how much difficulty the company has in recruiting and hiring according to the founder. I respectfully declined the position without counteroffering as I am not interested in negotiating and did not know if a counteroffer was expected. Had they raised the salary to within my range I would have gladly accepted. Two days later, the job offer was posted on LinkedIn, but 5000$ higher than the offer was made and a salary that was within my range initially discussed. I have no idea if my refusal prompted them to raise the salary, or it's because I didnt negotiate, or if I was just given a lowball offer. What I do know is that this company has a lot of growing up to do in terms of professionalism and how to proceed with recruiting. You should never lowball a candidate if you already have a salary range available. You should also never play around to save a few bucks if you are attempting to attract top talent as a growing startup. This company and its leadership team desperately needs outside leadership and people who understand operational processes and professionalism. The cost related to losing talent or never hiring them in the first place is crucial as is the reputation as an employer someone might want to work for. If you think someone will add value to your company, dont mess around with salary. Also, no need to tell someone you will message them the same day and then not do it as it makes you look unprofessional. It doesn't matter if you are a startup or very busy, everyone is busy. Simply say you will get back to a candidate at a later date. This makes it look like the candidate might be a plan B or C or that working for your company will be chaotic. Interviews should also be done in a closed room without external noises. It is quite a shame as I was extremely motivated to work and contribute to this company.