Woman Allegedly Catches Her Recruiter Trying To Lowball Her by $20,000. Then She Pulls Out the Receipts: ‘Red Flag?’
A recruiter suddenly claimed a job paid $20k less than before. Comments cry foul.
A salary conversation can reveal a lot about a company. One TikTok creator says she learned that firsthand after a recruiter appeared to offer her $20,000 less than she’d previously been told.
TikTok creator @kathrine.works shared the conversation, showing the moment she says she was offered $80,000 after previously being told the position paid $100,000. She later said she had a transcript of the earlier discussion when the recruiter questioned the higher figure.
In the video, the recruiter tells @kathrine.works that the position comes with a starting salary of $80,000. “I’m sorry, $80,000?” she responds. The candidate then says she is confused because she was told during her first onboarding meeting that the salary would be $100,000.
That’s when viewers started calling it a red flag
The recruiter asks who provided that information, and the candidate says it was someone named Katie. The recruiter then responds that there was “no way” that was correct and says the company would not be able to offer that amount.
The candidate replies that she has a summary transcript of the conversation and can send it over as proof. After hearing that, the recruiter says they can look into the information and see whether they can negotiate, but adds that she is unsure whether the company can meet the $100,000 salary. The video was captioned, “Red flag???”
The conversation has led many viewers to question how salary expectations are handled during hiring. While the video shows the candidate’s side of the exchange, it does not confirm whether the difference came from an internal communication issue, a misunderstanding, or a change in the company’s offer. The company involved was not identified in the video, and there has been no public response from anyone connected to the hiring process.
The comments section quickly centered on the recruiter’s reaction after the candidate mentioned having proof of the earlier salary discussion. “HR here. That person is extremely unprofessional,” one commenter wrote.
Other viewers pointed to the recruiter’s statement that $100,000 was “so much money for a starting position.” Several commenters said they felt the response was inappropriate, especially during a conversation about compensation. “Girl, RUN! The gaslighting here is a massive red flag,” another viewer wrote.
Some commenters also questioned why the candidate needed to provide evidence for a salary figure she says was already discussed during the hiring process. “If you have proof of it we can negotiate” one viewer wrote, referring to the recruiter’s response.
Others shared their own experiences with salary negotiations, saying candidates should keep records of conversations about compensation before accepting a position. Many emphasized that written communication, including emails, offer letters and meeting summaries, can help avoid confusion over salary expectations.
The discussion follows previous workplace stories about salary transparency and how employees understand their value in the workplace. It also echoes another story about how companies treat employees, after a woman said she was passed over for a promotion before being asked to train her replacement.
The video has also brought attention to the importance of consistency during the hiring process. For candidates, pay is obviously a huge factor when deciding whether to accept a job, and changes late in the process can affect how they view an employer.
The creator’s video doesn’t show the outcome of the salary discussion or whether the company changed its offer after reviewing the transcript. It remains unclear whether she accepted the position or continued negotiations with the employer.
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