A job seeker’s explosive rant about HR negotiations in India is going viral—calling out the gruelling, time-wasting process and shockingly low offers.
The Reddit user, who has worked primarily in the U.S., shared their experience returning to India and facing hiring roadblocks. "One such firm took 3 months to get to the ‘HR discussion’ part of the interview. And that call was so amusing to me…" they wrote.
The company then hit them with a jaw-dropping lowball offer. "They are offering me 20% low than what I quoted citing ‘parity’ BS. That’s a supremely lowball offer."
What made it worse? The user had already discussed salary expectations with a third-party recruiter for the same role. "I told him—look, I have financial considerations that I’ve to be mindful of before considering this role, please let me know what the salary range is… I had quoted a number exactly in the middle of this range to the company HR."
Instead of negotiating, the HR team took a blunt approach. "Another HR said—if you think the salary range is low… you can pick up a second job as well no? I LOLed so hard."
The user further noted "The entitlement the HR firms have in India is baffling and funny at the same. And no.. I am not disillusioned expecting the same HR experience as in the US (where a valuable candidate always has an upperhand).. but this atrocious behavior of HR saying - take it or leave it entitlement is seldom appreciated."
The frustration struck a nerve, with others on Reddit weighing in. One user didn’t hold back: "It’s India. There are no corporate ethics here."
Another criticized HR's haggling tactics: "Corporate staff in India has deteriorated so much it’s not even funny… Now you get people who act like they are haggling vegetables at the local market."
Others noted that HR practices vary widely. "In my firm, HR asks for salary expectation from the candidate first and if it is out of budget then we don’t go ahead with the interview itself. It wastes a lot of the hiring manager’s time."
For many, the post summed up a deeper problem: a lack of respect for talent. "Candidates who don’t feel they are compensated well seldom give their 100%," the author noted.