A Woman’s Job Interview Was Cancelled Because She Asked a Simple Question | Hacker News Reader

A Woman’s Job Interview Was Cancelled Because She Asked a Simple Question

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28 pointspavel_lishin18 comments

I once interviewed for a senior software developer job at a startup where I would be the lead developer in charge of an international team and on call pretty much 24-7 for any issues. The CEO put me through a pretty rigorous interview process over 2 weeks. I asked about compensation from the beginning and he assured me that it was in line with current Silicon Valley compensation. When he offered me the job, it was as a contractor for $20 per hour. I was insulted and angry that I'd wasted 2 weeks of my life on this. Any company that won't be upfront with you about compensation is trying to take advantage of you. I'm glad this lady called them out by name.

The idea that the responsibilities of a salaried role are typically well-defined, largely fixed, and presented upfront yet compensation is obfuscated, negotiatiable, and settled virtually last is just maddeningly absurd.

Just thinking about the psychology of it... the manipulative nature of it all: haggling for your income; the hidden inequality between coworkers of roughly equivalent skillsets and effectiveness; the idea that you & your potential employer are going to start your professional relationship in such a way.

Sadly, it's far too similar an experience to traditional (American) car buying, another demoralizing dinosaur of a process whose extinction is long overdue.

Seriously? How do you fail at car buying. You're more informed than you ever could be. Dealerships know that in the age of online reviews the can't actually take full advantage of buyers who know absolutely nothing. Things have never been better for the buyer.

This headline could be less clickbaity, e.g. A Woman's Job Interview was Cancelled Because She Asked about Compensation.

It does look like the company apologized for this nonsense: https://mobile.twitter.com/SkipTheDishes/status/841512446678...

Why bother interviewing the candidate if expectations on salary can't be met on both sides? I always ask candidates their salary expectations before spending more time on the interview process.

Employees need to feel they are remunerated fairly. Similarly, companies need to derive expected value with the wages paid.

I am surprised the company didn't post the compensation with the description. Doesn't the company want people to know the range which the job pays?

Otherwise, 5 rounds in.

A: Congratulations, we want to make you an offer!

B: Great.

A: Okay, first what are your expectations?

B: Um, I hope I can something in the $560k-$580k range, but I would settle for $500k...

A: Uh... we pay $12 an hour...

B: er...

A: er...

I don't think even 10% of programming jobs do this. Often only the really good and really bad ones.

This happens all the time... except most times companies will cancel interview without justifications. Companies will never tell why they didn't pick you for the job either.

Always wait until the company wants to hire before talking money.

Older people mentioned to me how employers exploited/defrauded workers back in the 1920's and 1930's.

Which is exactly the kinda stuff employers are doing now to the best of their ability. Granted after the new deal and WWII the corporate bottom feeders never stopped, but now it's pretty much every company.

I pray this company perishes solely on the demerits of this email exchange. They flew their true colors too early.

If this was an hourly position, that should be advertised and openly available to candidates. Basically a priori information.

If, on the other hand, this is salaried (unlikely) I could understand the firm feeling a bit yucked by the candidate asking this so early. That's something a candidate in most cases can research in advance.

But, again, I imagine this was an hourly position and in such case should have been advertised to candidates.

The location is Winnipeg Canada. I think I know what happened. There are hardly any jobs out there and even fewer good jobs. . .

In fact, Canada doesn't pay it's developers well at all, (I assume this lady was applying as a coder and not as delivery girl) it's so bad that many end up going South to get better jobs. I know one computer science major in Toronto who quit the field altogether and is working in a warehouse because the 16 dollars an hour he makes there is more than he could make coding. And Toronto is one of the better cities for tech in Canada. Those is Silocon Valley are lucky enough to be outraged but in Canada this is the norm unfortunately, especially in Winnipeg which is one of our poorer cities with high unemployment.

16 bucks an hour in Toronto?

Try closer to 40-55/hour for salaried full-time and 55-125/hour for contracts/consulting.

If a person can't inquire about what a job pays it hardly seems fair for a company to inquire about their ability to do the work.

I'd think given this she wouldn't want to be there anyway.

The email the interviewee sent was very unprofessional.

Even without the passive aggressive 'Benefits will be included, right?' it was very unprofessional.

To me it would be a big warning flag.

But the reply was also a warning sign, you never call out why you reject the person on specifics it never benefits you.

If you want to be nice do it verbally and be broad.

And the company turn out right, as the interviewee went out and burned the company on twitter because they didn't get the job.

And I'd point out, since the article is making this a women's issue, she was rejected by a women.

Considering I've had jobs that only tell me after my first day there that the health insurance wouldn't kick in for 2 months which would trigger the aca fine at that point, I don't think this was an unreasonable request. The person appeared polite in the email based on what's shown in the article here. Personally I wouldn't be insulted if a candidate was completely to the point in an opening question like this.

If employers can just post a list of required skills in a matter of fact manner, why can't a prospective employee act the same way for their requirements?

Edit:Additionally, your problem with the companies reaction is that they told her their reason? That would be the only positive mark for them in my book. That sort of view would imply discriminating against employees for any sort of illegal or immoral reason would be fine as long as they kept quiet about it

It is not "unprofessional". I'm a professional developer and when an employer asks me what I can do for them I don't consider it unprofessional. Likewise, when I ask an employer what they can do for me, it isn't "unprofessional".

To think otherwise is to lose sight of the fact that this is a business arrangement; a value for value exchange. Asking the counter party what they are trading for your labor is a "big warning flag" to an employer only if they didn't want a fair exchange of value i.e. "Sorry, we're looking for someone more exploitable."

We should do a more scientific experiment and see what the discrimination distributions are for men and woman per industry

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