I had an absolutely humiliating and disrespectful experience that I feel compelled to share with other candidates.
The Process: 6 rounds of interviews plus a 1-hour presentation to the entire team. After passing all interviews, was told they wanted to move forward with an offer. Last-minute surprise: an additional interview with VP of Product (not mentioned in original process outline)
Post-VP interview: told excited to extend me an offer, but at a downgraded level and lower compensation than originally discussed.
The process felt disorganized from the start. Adding an unplanned VP interview after telling me I'd passed all rounds was unprofessional and suggested poor internal coordination.
More concerning was the compensation discussion. After verbally stating a total comp figure and lower title, they asked for my expectations. I provided a number within market range for the level, and asked them to come back with their written offer.
After 2 days of ghosting me, the recruiter called to withdraw the offer entirely, stating my expectations were "too high." This was after explicitly telling me I got the job and they were working on my offer, with multiple team members providing positive feedback throughout the process.
To go from "you got the job, we're working on your offer" to completely withdrawing the offer over a reasonable compensation discussion is beyond unprofessional - it's genuinely shocking behavior from a major tech company.
The treatment I received when negotiating compensation raises serious concerns about how this company handles salary discussions, particularly with women. This kind of punitive response to reasonable compensation requests is exactly why the wage gap persists. Women are statistically more likely to accept lower offers, and when we do advocate for fair compensation, we're often penalized or labeled as demanding. This experience is a perfect example of that dynamic.
