When I got the offer letter, I learned that my salary would be much lower than I thought. Since I knew that I wasn't worth that little, I asked the company if they could reconsider. So the recruiter organized a call for me to talk things through with the manager.
A call should be innocent enough, right? Nope, I was wrong. I didn't listen to his point of view in the call and instead tried to sell mine. Rather than understanding his stance, I gave rebuttals since it was much easier than listening.
We found less and less common ground throughout the call and were more entrenched in our positions than before. So to break the stalemate, he asked for an estimate of my expenses, which I sent the following hour.
This was my second mistake. I should've never sent that spreadsheet because I misjudged how he was feeling. Nobody wants to read numbers that prove them wrong. When he asked me to break down my bills, he wanted me to see that they were much more manageable than I thought. But I didn't understand that since I thought there was still room to meet in the middle.
At this point, I recognized that I came off as too monetarily driven, so I sent a follow-up reaffirming that I was excited to work for him but was anxious about my financials.
No response. Worried, I thanked the recruiter for all of her assistance and asked if the team was comfortable with helping my situation.
But instead of saying: "I hope your Monday is going well." I accidentally wrote: "I hope your money is going well."
They rescinded the offer the next day, and I cried.
I would later ask to work for less than their original contract, but I didn't hear back.
Fast forward 24 hours, and I've been fortunate enough to re-enter another company's hiring process. It's now 7 am on the following day, but I have yet to sleep because this is my last chance to find a job.
And I'm scared to death.
My most stressful moments have always turned into my most memorable ones. And whether I fail or succeed, I won't regret what I did because I've learned a lot.
So I don't ever want to forget this moment. That's why I'm writing this down.
I'll see you on the other side.
- Curtis
Hey, I just want to say that even if things don't feel like they're working out right now, it'll probably get better. I've seen so many people get the job of their dreams right before their summer break starts, so hang in there! We all have more than one chance.
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