Initially, the HR reached out to me and walked me through the job description, and I was completely aligned with it. She then asked about my salary expectations—I mentioned a 40% hike, and she countered with 30%. I agreed and said we could proceed with 30%. The interview process went really well, and the interviewer was impressive. It felt like I was almost selected, as HR asked me to share all my past employment records, documents, and salary slips. Only the final round was pending, which they said would be conducted face-to-face. I confirmed my availability. However, it took them two weeks to schedule the face-to-face round. During this time, they were evaluating other candidates—which is understandable—but apparently couldn’t find a better fit. Finally, after two weeks, HR called me again, but this time for salary negotiation. She mentioned they could offer ₹20 LPA, or at most ₹20.5 LPA. I pointed out that my current CTC is already ₹19 LPA and reminded her that we had already agreed on a 30% hike before proceeding. Offering such a low increment at this stage didn’t make sense. She cited budget constraints, but I expressed that such practices are not appropriate.