Fob fibs

I am used to rejection now and being fobbed off. 


Apply for jobs in your 50s and it is par for the course. That's not to say it wounds sometimes, mostly I pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again but other times it just gets me leaking steam. This is a steam moment.


In my last blog I mentioned that I had terminated an interview after 5 minutes because the maximum salary, which hadn't been mentioned in any of the adverts, was revealed in the interview after just two minutes to be quite a bit less than I'm currently earning. If I'd have known that I wouldn't have wasted my time. So I walked out. I wasted time on the application, took half a day's holiday and bore the cost of travelling to the interview.


Then I get this email.


'Thank you for attending the interview...the quality of candidates who attended the interview was extremely high, however after careful consideration; (sic) I regret to inform you that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.'


They can't even get the facts right.


I emailed them to say you've just wasted my time - HR replied;


'However, in terms of the salary, the salary was negotiable according to the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate, it is just unfortunate that you asked what the salary range was at the interview.'


What? 


Silly me to ask what the salary range was.



The MD raised the subject after 2 minutes not me. And anyway why would I not ask what the salary range was at some point - why is that 'unfortunate'? I'd have thought that was rather essential.

The MD said that the maximum they would pay was £quite little and that it was not 'negotiable according to the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate' and that she believed that the maximum salary was on the all the adverts. It wasn't.


If an advert says  'salary negotiable according to the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate' that seems perfectly clear and unambiguous. If the salary is capped at a maximum then I'd have thought that should be stated otherwise it is misleading.


It will make no difference. However if it causes a minor irritation for some HR idiot then my mission is complete.