Job offer rescinded after trying to negotiate salary

[u/SeaKaleidoscope6298]

Applied for a Process Engineer role through a recruitment agency. I hold both a BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering, with a year of work experience in a multinational manufacturing company. The job was advertised at £40k. Went through the interview process and got a verbal offer for £35k.

The role would require me to relocate up north to a very remote village, away from family and friends, so naturally I wanted to make sure the salary made sense for the move. I told the recruiter I’d be happy to accept if they could bring it closer to the advertised £40k. Recruiter said he informed the company and they’d get back to me. About a week later, they told me the company has decided not to proceed with me at all. No official written offer ever came - it was all verbal.

Feeling a bit blindsided, since I wasn’t trying to be unreasonable and I negotiated based on their own advertised salary.

Has anyone else had an offer pulled like this? Did I handle this wrong or was this just a bad employer fit from the start? I always believed the worst the company could say was no.

[u/KingSamosa]

You did nothing wrong. Market is ass and someone who was scored slightly less probably accepted to do it for £35K.

Also, that could be the salary for a more experienced engineer (maybe 2 YOE). Maybe check next time before going through the interview so you don’t feel let down. Btw, it’s not a binding offer until it’s on paper.

Personally, the company/ recruiter seems to be a bit sneaky, I would avoid them in the future.

[u/SeaKaleidoscope6298 → u/KingSamosa]

Thanks for this. Makes me feel a bit better knowing I didn’t exactly do anything wrong by trying to negotiate. And yeah, I’ll be steering clear of that company and recruiter cause they do seem a bit sneaky.