I apologize if this is a dumber question than usual, as it's just for my part-time job over the summer. So here's a brief summary.
I applied online for a position at a local hotel's spa for a position with no listed rate. It asked me on the application what my minimally acceptable rate would be, and I answered $11/hour. Get an interview, really crush it, and at the end the boss asked me what I would accept as an hourly rate. Say that I had been making $11 at my past job (only looking for a new one because I moved states), so as long as I don't go backwards I'm fine.
The boss says they have to ask a superior to approve the hourly rate, but asks me "if the superior only lets me hire for $10, would you be okay with that?". I said if I'm offered any less than 11 I would likely look for options elsewhere. They say okay; they'll ask for $11, and they schedule a meeting with HR the next week.
FF to today, meeting with boss again, no HR yet. Meet the other employees, tour the place, more small talk, meet with direct supervisor, things go well. At the end of my time there I meet with the boss again, and they say "The position really starts at $9.50, so if you want to start now, you'll have to take that. Otherwise, I'll have to ask the GM to approve a higher starting rate, and that could take multiple weeks. What would you like to do?"
I'm not a very shrewd negotiator, but I just felt really taken advantage of, like this tactic probably worked on lots of younger adults applying for the position. I ended up saying "you know, since we discussed the rate of $11 last time, and because it was offered, I would rather have you ask the GM for a rate increase rather than accept anything less than $11."
Boss said okay, they'll ask, and the meeting was promptly over.
So my question is, is this normal? Am I being taken advantage of? How can I apply and interview in a way that doesn't let employers back out of their previous offers in the future? I really do want a part time job, but I don't want one bad enough to go backwards $1.50 in pay. I'm honestly not super in need of the $.50-$1.50 more an hour, but it felt extremely shitty to have something offered to me and then taken off the table. I doubt I'll ever hear back from them.
Submitted May 08, 2018 at 09:33PM by Spodermayne https://ift.tt/2G0zeRi
