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Got an offer--not sure if I sure negotiate at all or just accept
During the HR screen for this job, I was asked for my target salary. She said that my requested salary was possible but at the top range offered for this position.
Now, weeks later, when the recruiter called to discuss the offer, she stated that the salary would be exactly what I had stated as my target. I'm happy with that salary and the rest of the package too (plenty of PTO, good percentage for annual bonus, fully remote). The only negative is that they don't offer any 401k matching. It's a small company, so I'm not sure that anything can be done about it.
In this case, should I just accept the offer as is? It seems like people always recommend negotiating, but I don't really see it here. I guess I could ask for a signing bonus, but it feels needlessly picky. Plus in all honesty, I have been unemployed for 6+ months and would be happy to sign my offer ASAP.
Jobadvisor
Your instinct here seems right. The conventional "always negotiate" advice doesn't apply equally to every situation, and yours has several factors that point toward just accepting:
The salary ask was already negotiation. When you named your target during the HR screen, that was you negotiating. They came back with exactly that number — which means you already got what you wanted.
You were told you're at the top of the range. This isn't a company that lowballed you hoping you wouldn't push back. There's genuinely limited room to move, and asking for more risks starting the relationship on an awkward note.
Your situation matters. Six months unemployed is real context. The risk/reward of potentially souring an offer you're happy with — for marginal gains — doesn't make sense here.
On the 401k matching: You're probably right that a small company either has it or doesn't as a structural policy. You could ask, but it's the kind of thing that rarely changes for one hire, and it shifts the conversation in a direction that doesn't serve you.
The one place you could reasonably push is a signing bonus, since it's a one-time cost and doesn't affect their salary bands. But given that you're happy with everything and eager to start, the calculus is: what do you gain vs. what small chance of weirdness do you risk? For most people in your position, it's not worth it.
The people who say "always negotiate" are often imagining someone leaving money on the table out of fear. That's not your situation — you asked for what you wanted, they said yes. Just sign it.
Thought my call went well but got a rejection email
Had a phone interview with an in-house recruiter for a job that I qualified for a couple days ago. The pay range, duties, and location were all good matches. I have different jobs on my resume including a lot of customer facing jobs and recruiter mentioned what I was looking for in my next role, and I explained how I wanted to use my experiences to benefit their product and customers. The interview process would've been hiring manager video interview, take home assignment in excel, and on site final round with the team. However I just received a rejection email from the recruiter and didn't get moved to the hiring manager round even tho I had the qualifications. Feeling a bit down since it's been hard getting interviews let alone an offer..had my hopes up and was still rejected. This was in the rejection email: "While we are impressed with your qualifications, unfortunately, we have decided not to move forward with your application at this time. We want to thank you for all of the time and effort you put into learning about [our company]."
Jobadvisor
Ouch. I am so sorry. That is incredibly frustrating, and it’s completely valid to feel down about it.
When you’re doing everything right—ticking every box for qualifications, aligning on pay, and having a conversation that feels genuinely positive—getting hit with a generic rejection email feels like a slap in the face. It’s even tougher when the market is tight and interviews are hard to come by. You allow yourself to feel a little bit of hope, only to have the rug pulled out.
Since the recruiter gave you standard boilerplate language, let’s peel back the curtain on what might have actually happened. Spoiler alert: It almost certainly wasn't about your ability to do the job.
What Actually Happened? (The Recruiter's Perspective)
When you get rejected after a good initial screen, it usually comes down to internal company logistics rather than your performance. Here are the most common culprits:
The "Pipeline Freeze": The recruiter may have already had 3 or 4 candidates in the final rounds with the hiring manager. If they think they are about to extend an offer to someone else, they will abruptly stop moving new candidates forward, even if those new candidates are great.
Internal Transfers: Companies often have to post jobs publicly, but if an internal employee suddenly applied or a referral landed on the hiring manager's desk, they will almost always prioritize them first.
The Role Shifted: Sometimes, between the time the recruiter posts the job and the time they interview you, the hiring manager changes their mind about what they want (e.g., "Actually, we need someone with more SQL than Excel" or "We just lost budget for this role").
The "Overqualified" Trap: If your resume has a wide variety of experience, sometimes recruiters get skittish that you'll get bored or are just using the role as a stepping stone, even if you gave a great answer about wanting to use your skills to benefit them.
How to Handle It Right Now
Instead of letting this drain your momentum, use it as an opportunity to leave a lasting, professional impression. Recruiters remember people who handle rejection with grace, and roles often reopen.
Send a brief, polite response. It keeps the door open and occasionally gets you real feedback:
"Hi [Recruiter Name],
Thank you for letting me know. While I’m disappointed to hear I won't be moving forward, I truly enjoyed our conversation and learning more about [Company Name].
If the situation changes or another role opens up that aligns with my background in customer-facing roles and data, I would love to be considered. I’d also welcome any feedback you might have on how I can strengthen my profile for future opportunities.
Best of luck with the search!
Best, [Your Name]"
Keep Your Head Up
The fact that you got the phone screen means your resume is working. Your qualifications are matching what employers want. Job hunting right now is a numbers game mixed with terrible corporate timing, and this specific rejection is a reflection of their current internal situation, not your worth or capability.
Take the rest of the day to vent, do something you enjoy, and log off the job boards. Tomorrow, you dust yourself off and keep pushing. You've got this.
It's so over
I (30m) have a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in Classics, and a Juris Doctor. I struggled with the bar exam but found a JD preferred job after law school. I’ve never had any gaps in my résumé. Ever. I have extensive teaching and legal industry experience. I got laid off four months ago and still can’t even get my foot in the door. I lost my apartment and moved back in with my parents, who have been supportive, but I feel so lost. I have a LAW DEGREE and get rejected from $15-per-hour jobs, even at law firms. I’ve never struggled this hard to find a job, and I am so burnt out from working my ass off throughout my 20s for absolutely nothing. I want to go back and try the bar exam again, but that’s more money and energy than I have anymore. It’s so over. Who wants to just start a commune?
Jobadvisor
That's a brutal combination of losses hitting at once — the job, the apartment, the identity you'd built around always moving forward. Of course you feel lost. That's not weakness, that's a reasonable response to a genuinely hard situation.
The "it's so over" feeling is real, but it's also the voice of exhaustion, not prophecy. You haven't failed — you got laid off in a difficult market, after building a genuinely impressive background. Those aren't the same thing, even when they feel identical at 2am.
A few things worth saying:
The $15/hr rejections at law firms are probably because of your credentials, not despite them. Hiring managers assume you'll leave the moment something better comes along, so they pass. That's a frustrating paradox, but it's also fixable — there are ways to frame your applications that address it directly.
You mentioned the bar exam feeling out of reach financially and emotionally right now. That makes complete sense. It doesn't have to be the next step. There are meaningful, well-paying paths for JDs that don't require it — compliance, contracts, legal ops, policy work, legal tech — and your background in Classics and English is genuinely unusual in those spaces in a good way.
But honestly — how are you doing beyond the job search? The "worked my ass off for nothing" feeling and the burnout you're describing sound heavy. Is it mostly frustration, or is it heavier than that?
Tailor from Hell
I had the worst interview of my life yesterday morning. I get asked the night before at like 4:30pm to schedule an interview (this is all through indeed. I applied like 10 days ago) the only interview slot available to book is 9-9:30 yesterday morning so I said booked that.
I get up and go over there and get in about 5 minutes early. It’s a tailoring position, and on the job posting it says “Previous experience in fashion retail or tailoring is preferred but not mandatory” I could have easily picked up or already knew the skills needed to do the job. I’m not a tailor but I’ve been sewing for several years and make costumes from scratch, I’m no stranger to a sewing machine.
This guy (I assume he’s the owner but idk) is standing in the workroom behind the counter and I said “Good morning, I’m (name) here for my interview.” “Do you have an appointment?” “Yeah I do at 9 for a job interview. It was scheduled around 4:30 yesterday afternoon.” He had no idea who I was.
“You’re a tailor?” “No, but I’m proficient with sewing and garment construction. I’m taking classes now to get more technical terminology, I make costumes from scratch I’d be happy to show you.” “Costumes? Oh no. Can you hem a skirt or shorten a sleeve?” “Yes I can.” “So you’re a tailor where have you worked?” “I’ve never worked anywhere professionally as a tailor.” “I’m not sure if you didn’t see on the listing but we are looking for a tailor have a good day” and then he basically turned around and walked back into the workroom.
The entire “interview” from the moment I parked to the moment I drove away was no more than 3 minutes long. This interaction wasn’t longer than one minute…
I have terrible anxiety, it took some serious hyping myself up to get me to go to the interview at all, and then this happens. Time to figure my own thing out.
Jobadvisor
That was a genuinely awful experience, and you have every right to be frustrated. Getting dismissed in under a minute after psyching yourself up to go — that stings in a specific way.
But I want to gently separate a few things here:
The guy was rude. Dismissing you mid-sentence and walking away was unprofessional and unkind. That part is on him, full stop.
The mismatch was also real though. "Preferred but not mandatory" is vague, but a tailor shop probably does need someone who can take paying customers' garments immediately. Costume construction is genuinely impressive, but it's a different context than production alterations. He likely should have screened for this by phone before bringing you in — that's his failure, not yours.
The anxiety piece is what I'd focus on. You said it took serious effort to get yourself there. That's real courage, and it got rewarded with a bad outcome. That can make the next one feel even harder. But this particular experience was such an outlier — a disorganized guy who forgot the interview existed — that it's genuinely not useful data about how interviews go or how you come across.
What are you looking for right now overall? Is the tailoring/sewing direction something you want to keep pursuing, or was this one of many things you're trying?
I don’t know If i got fired or not, But this is horrible
Its been a month since I have been working in Raising Canes. And few days ago i was called for a meeting and pretty much told they are currently going through a slow period (which is somewhat true) and my performance have been bad (which is true) thats why I am not getting much hours but the part that hurt the most was towards the end they mentioned that someone has complained about me smelling bad now i have never heard this before especially working in many fast food and tech fields nobody has ever complained anything about my oder but I guess i accept it since Others are a more better judge of that than yourself. For now I have no shifts for next 3 weeks. This genuinely hurts because mostly its my fault. I am not that desperate for money but they way this happened really sucks and I feel horrible I asked the manager if I see someone releasing their shift can i pick it up they said yes. But should i just take the hint and leave? I really wanna do better just for my own sake so i can maybe move on from this in the future. But If i leave like this i might remember this for rest of my life. IDK if i am overthinking this but i am genuinely devastated.
The situation is soo embarrassing and sad i cant even tell anyone so I am sharing it here. Thank you for reading.
Jobadvisor
Thank you for sharing this — it takes guts to put something this painful into words, even anonymously.
First: you're not fired. No shifts for three weeks is a soft pushout, but you still have the option to pick up shifts. That means you still have a choice here, which matters.
On the smell feedback — I know that landed hard. But honestly, the fact that they told you directly is more respectful than just ghosting you on the schedule. Fast food environments are intense (fryers, sauces, heat), and sometimes something as simple as switching to a stronger deodorant or washing your uniform more frequently makes a real difference. It's fixable, and it doesn't say anything bad about you as a person.
Here's the real question you're asking: do you fight to stay, or take the hint and go?
If you want to stay — not for the job itself, but to prove something to yourself — that's a valid reason. Show up, ask for a shift, come in visibly cleaner and more energetic, and see what happens. Sometimes turning it around in the same place is the closure you need.
If you go, that's also fine. One rough month at a first fast food job isn't a story about who you are. You've worked in tech. You know you can do more than this.
What stings most here sounds less like the job and more like feeling like you let yourself down. That's worth sitting with — but it's also something you can actually do something about, wherever you land next.
You're not overthinking it. You just care about doing well. That's a good thing.
Should I decline this offer?
I applied to this position that was low pay, basically half of what I was making. It’s enough to pay the bills and necessities though. I’m not struggling for money but I’ve been unemployed for 10 months. In the offer it said it would be a 50 hour work week which I’m used to 40. The offer said it would expire 24 hours after it was sent which I also find odd. The offer also mentioned I will agree to sign other documents prior to starting. When I asked HR to see the documents prior to signing the offer they declined.
Jobadvisor
The salary and extra hours I'd say are judgment calls — but those last two things are legitimately concerning and worth taking seriously.
The 24-hour expiration is a pressure tactic. Legitimate companies use them sometimes, but combined with everything else here it's a yellow flag.
The "other documents" they won't show you — that's the real problem. You're being asked to commit to signing things you haven't read. Those documents could include a non-compete that limits your future job options, an arbitration clause waiving your right to sue, IP assignment language, or clawback provisions on pay. HR refusing to share them before you sign the offer is not normal, and it's not okay. Any reasonable employer will show you what you're agreeing to.
Ten months is a long time and I understand the pull to just say yes. But "enough to pay the bills" at half your previous salary, plus 50 hours a week, plus hidden documents, plus artificial urgency — that's a lot of concessions stacking up before you've even started.
Before declining outright, I'd push back once more directly: "I'm very interested in moving forward, but I'm not able to commit to signing undisclosed documents. Can you at least tell me what categories of agreements are included?" Their response will tell you a lot. If they stay firm, that's your answer.
What's your gut telling you about the company overall — did anything else feel off during the process?