
Ask HN: Offer retracted because of negotiation? - bigbear0310
My friend has recently received an offer from a YC-backed 20-person startup. Negotiated the compensation in a polite email but they decided to retract the offer. I was mind blown and felt truly bad. Is it normal&#x2F;ethical for companies to do this? If not, how can I post about this company&#x27;s process so that other candidates are aware?
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nostrademons
It happens sometimes. Usually it's because of one of two situations:

1) The company was on the fence about wanting you anyway, and negotiating
takes you from the "maybe kinda sorta want to work with" to the "don't want to
work with" pile.

2) The company is looking for people who don't question authority and don't
stick up for their own interests.

Both of these are red flags. It's not really a matter of ethics - they're
completely within their rights to withdraw an offer for any reason - but it's
a matter of "Would you really want to work there anyway?" For both
corporations and individuals, it usually leads to a smoother life if you only
surround yourself with people who _really_ value you.

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bigbear0310
Agreed. To me it's a red flag about that company's culture.

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bigbear0310
Also.. no phone conversation. No clarifying question. Nothing. Just one email
saying they can't go higher. The second email a couple of hours later saying
they have to go with someone else.

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endswapper
Your friend made her/himself less attractive as a candidate because of the
expressed dissatisfaction with the offer. That's why the offer was retracted.

Know how to close. Your friend allowed this to happen. There is nothing
unethical or abnormal about the circumstances described.

There is no need to post anything beyond your question. Perhaps people will
learn from the experience.

Apparently your friend didn't think it was a great offer, so there is no
reason to be sad, or otherwise.

~~~
bigbear0310
My friend just wanted to understand if there was room to negotiate. She was
going to take it anyways even if they said they couldn't go higher. So are you
saying people should not negotiate at all then?

~~~
endswapper
Just about everything is negotiable, and should be negotiated. A big part of
that is understanding what deal can get done. My point was to know how to
negotiate and close.

Negotiating typically doesn't need to be cloak and dagger and being earnest
builds trust and rapport. You can take a position and continue to negotiate.
Even more so if you are asking them to match or get closer to your current
comp. She left it open for retraction for hours.

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JumpCrisscross
Negotiations are a transaction cost. If your services are a commodity, or if
you make too bold an ask, the other side may prefer not to waste time.

If this is ethical this hinges on what they asked for.

~~~
bigbear0310
Ironically she did not make any ask. Basically she laid out the facts about
her current comp and a competing offer, but stated that she liked this company
more, so she would like to see if they could work together on this or if
there's room for negotiation.

~~~
JumpCrisscross
That sounds like "I want to negotiate but don't know what I want". Could come
across as a potential time suck.

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gdulli
This is between your friend and the company. It's not our business. And it no
doubt had more to do with the details and the subtext of their recruitment
scenario as a whole than a fixed policy about how to respond to negotiation.

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alexmorse
They made an offer, your friend rejected it and gave another, they rejected
that.

That's how negotiations work guy.

~~~
bigbear0310
She did not reject it. Basically she said "it's lower than my current/other
offer, and was wondering if this is something we could work together". It was
all polite. She just wondered if there was room for negotiation, and was
planning on taking it anyways. I think the employer is being really passive
aggressive in that sense.

