Not directly relevant to the article, but I'm in the middle of a unique-for-me experience re salary negotiation. My interview process with a FAANG reached the point where I had a verbal "yes" and was invited to share my salary expectations for an offer to be created. I gave a certain number and explained that it is based on my current compensation in the same location, plus some extra because the role would be for a higher title. The FAANG recruiter said the result was out of the salary range for the role, which was not terribly surprising. I answered by reiterating how I'd come at the number, that it's effectively just a guess, and explaining that I'm happy to consider any offer they make, which is accurate. At this point, they essentially stopped negotiations, and the offer appears to have gone up in smoke.

Now, I understand the psychological impact a too-large number might have on an individual. But this is a grown-up company. I gave them the gift of free information about the salary market and then invited them to ignore it. So I'm baffled by the response. The only explanation I can fathom, besides mundane ones like the headcount being withdrawn for reasons unrelated to my hiring process or the verbal yes being unreliable, is that they are unwilling to give away their own salary info to someone they believe will noever take their offer. And that itself is quite odd, since it implies their numbers are so uncompetitive in this location that they're unwilling to credit my assertion that I'll consider any offer.

Alternative takes?